Sanctuary | Commentary
HAPPY ENDING
What a perfect example of conservation photography.
The image tells an inspirational story of a leopard that
fell into a well in Nashik, Maharashtra, where it swam
for an incredible 30 hours before being discovered
alive, but barely.
The cat would undoubtedly have died had it not
been for local villagers, who once informed, swung
instantly into action by alerting and then pitching in
to help forest offi cials. Using the remarkable ingenuity
for which rustic people in India are renowned and at
great risk to life and limb, villagers and offi cials worked
in unison against all odds and saved the leopard.
While justifi ably celebrating the fact that Indians
revere and worship nature, we must equally condemn
the reality that much too little is invested in equipping
and training wildlife offi cials, who have the thankless
job of protecting the wildernesses that feed water
into wells such as this... upon which millions of human
lives depend.
Often caught between a rock and hard place when
human-animal confl ict stretches the tolerance limits
of communities, forest offi cials owe conservation
photographers a debt of gratitude for bringing such
dramatic stories to public notice. Public opinion helps
convince decision-makers to protect natural ecosystems
and biodiversity... the foundation on which India’s water,
food, economic and social security rests.
This story had a happy ending. It is the purpose
of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation to work
with communities, governments, businesses and
colleagues to make happy endings the norm rather
than the exception.