Ex-poacher turns messiah for the Royal Bengal tiger
An ex-poacher’s conservation efforts help mitigate the human-animal conflict in the Sundarbans.
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Anil Mistry grew up in the mangrove forest adjacent to the village of Bali in the Sundarbans watching his family and friends go into the jungle for their livelihood. It was the beginning of the ’90s when everyone in the area depended on the forest and wildlife conservation was just a term no one even heard of. Villagers often hunted wild animals and birds for food. Anil joined them soon after his studies.
But his life turned upside down when on a poaching trip, his friend had killed a doe with a fawn. The tragic scene of the dying doe and the weeping fawn changed something in him. He immediately surrendered to the field officer of the forest department and promised himself that he would stop the vile act of poaching wildlife.
Today Anil Mistry is the field officer of the Wildlife Protection Society of India and is known for his conservation efforts in saving the Royal Bengal tigers. Every year several tigers stray into the human-inhabited islands of the delta where Anil plays a very important role in capturing them and sending them back to the jungle.
The work is very dangerous as often a crowd gathers to catch a glimpse of the tiger. When the tiger is cornered, it tries to break free by running through the crowds or attacking nearby humans. As the conflict is aggravated, villagers try to kill the poor animal by beating it with sticks. Anil and several volunteers step between the two sides and make sure that the tiger and humans are safe. He and his colleagues rescue the stray tiger and return it to its natural habitat. Over the past 20 years, he has saved 70 to 80 tigers.
Watch: With 2 tiger attacks a month, Sundarbans reels under human-animal conflict
He also created an information network to track down illegal poachers and wildlife traders in the region. His work includes spreading awareness about the role of tigers in the ecosystem and undertaking various alternative livelihood programmes for marginalised communities who are dependent on the forest. His continuous direct and indirect efforts ensure that the tiger population thrives in the Sundarbans, maintaining peace and co-habitation between tigers and humans.
The lead image on top shows a pugmark of a Royal Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans delta. (Photo by Sudip Maiti)
Sudip Maiti is an independent photographer and filmmaker based out of Kolkata. He is the winner of Chennai Photo Biennale 2023.
