Mission Conservation: Bishnoi, Elephant Rehablitation & Ghariyal
30-minutes, 2007
Ref: 605

The Bishnois are a clan that lives in the Thar desert who worship nature and protect all animal and plant life. They worship trees , protect all wild animals and take from the forest only as much firewood as they require for a day. Felling of trees or hunting is punishable under their laws. They also believe that in their afterlife they will be reincarnated as deers, which could be the reason why herds of deers are never too far from their fields. In fact it is common to see wild deers get into the Bishnoi huts and be fed by children. The Indian Forest department has frequently used help given by Bishnois to nab poachers in Rathambhor and Sariska sanctuary.
WTI's Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) rescues young animals who are lost during floods , treats injuries that are attacked by villagers and restors these young animals to the wild. The first of it's kind animal orphanage in India that takes care of abandoned or separated elephant and rhino calves . These large and endangered species are then released into the wild.
The ghariyals seem to be making a slow comeback . Habitat loss and disturbances, lack of strict enforcement of existing laws, entrapment in nylon nets , construction of reservoirs and barrage had led to a terrible crash in the population of the endemic long snouted crocodile of Nepal . Intrusion in Ghariyal's habitat, and poaching of eggs by the local people for medicine and food added to the crisis . Collectively, these factors have resulted in the gharial becoming one of the rarest and most endangered crocodilians in Nepal. Now serious efforts are on to breed them in captivity and release juvenile babies in the wild so that the population can revive.