Creature feature: Wildlife rescuers on the one mission they'll never forget
Across cities and villages, regular folks are making it their business to protect species that most Indians want to attack on sight. Some spend a whole day coaxing a snake out of a stairwell, others have convinced panicked villagers to spare the life of a monitor lizard. Young people have rehabbed bats, wrangled baby crocs from poachers, and seen lizard eggs as worth saving. We asked some of them about the rescues they'll never forget.
When a cobra got too closeNirit Datta (@Infant_Wild)
Datta, 28, started early. At 13, he was already rescuing street dogs and snakes in Kolkata. Now, as a wildlife conservationist and environmentalist, he works with everything from civets to birds of prey. The rescue that left a mark happened a decade ago, just after he'd moved to a college in Dehradun. Word spread that a cobra had entered a village 11km from campus. Datta knew he had to save the animal before locals killed it. He got there and managed to trap the reptile into a bag. 'But I got distracted by the crowd and forgot to zip the bag shut,' he recalls. The cobra bit him.
Panic hit. Cobra venom is neurotoxic. Symptoms begin within minutes: Blurred vision, blackened skin, slurred speech, drowsiness, often death. The nearest hospital with antivenom was 30 kilometres away. 'I was sure I'd die. I couldn't even call my parents because they didn't approve of my jungli pursuits.' An hour went by, but there were no symptoms. Turns out it was a dry bite – without venom. But Datta learnt his lesson: Concern for an animal isn't enough. Prep matters too. Even now, when he sometimes handles up to 10 rescues a day, he keeps in mind that there are no rules in the wild.
Aakash Vimal rehabilitates owls and vultures.
The owl who got a second chanceAakash Vimal (@Wildly_Indian_Official)
In the decade that he's been rescuing owls and vultures in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Vimal has found that humans are a greater threat to animals than the other way around. Humans in small towns are particularly dangerous – they compete with wildlife for space and resources, and they prefer superstition to conservation.
In May this year, Vimal, 30, was called to Seemapuri, in north-east Delhi. A rickshaw driver had just sold someone a barn owl for ₹5,000. It was about to be sacrificed in a black-magic ritual. Vimal got there in time to prevent the killing, but his problems had only just begun. The owl's legs were tied and it had been force-fed alcohol, 'so the bird cannot fight back'. He spent the next few days stabilising the bird with electrolytes and food, before it was well enough to fly.
Surya Keerthi has rescued more than 30,000 reptiles.
The croc of one's dreamsSurya Keerthi (@SuryaKeerthi728)
Some rescues begin even before you wake. One summer morning two years ago, Keerthi, 24, had a strange dream: He was wading through a village lake when a baby crocodile surfaced. As he reached for it, someone hurled a stone into the water. Another giant croc stirred beneath. He woke up unsettled. Two minutes later, his phone rang. A baby croc had been hauled up in a fishnet and dumped at the Mysuru fish market.
Keerthi grew up around reptiles; his father, 'Snake' Shyam, has rescued countless snakes. Keerthi himself has been part of 30,000 rescues. Toolkit in tow, he rescued the 10-inch croc. But where to put the little guy? He built a 2ft x 3ft tank filled with water, mud and later, just rocks. He added a heat lamp for basking and watched the baby constantly. 'I had to teach it to hunt, and to not get too used to humans,' he says.
He looked up what crocs eat in the wild, but local bazaars didn't stock tiny fish – fishing nets aren't woven closely enough to trap them. So, he built a second tank just for prey, releasing only a few into the croc's tank to simulate real hunting conditions. 'If you interfere too much, you change their instincts. I didn't want to change the law of nature.' It worked. Keerthi's croc, when it was finally released into the wild weeks later, knew exactly what to do in its new world. Don't try this at home. Animals belong in the wild.
Sushil Kumar Jain was recently injured while rescuing a wild boar that had barged into a Delhi college.
A boar on campusSushil Kumar Jain (@BailATail)
Just last week, a wild boar barged into a college in Delhi, causing full-blown evening chaos. Students and staff were trapped indoors, terrified to step out. Authorities called Sushil Kumar Jain, 59, founder of the wildlife rescue trust Bail A Tail. He and his team joined wildlife officials and spent 90 minutes safely trapping the panicked animal to release him into the forest.
Boars are fast, unpredictable, and fearless. Even big cats avoid them. Two weeks previously, one had attacked a woman drying clothes outdoors in North Delhi, slamming into her from behind and injuring her leg so badly, she needed 15 stitches. Jain's team worked quickly, using heavy nets to form a three-sided barrier and guide the animal into a cage. Two rescuers were injured in the scuffle. But the boar was safely handed over to the Delhi Forest Department.
Jain has been doing this since 1998, after he and his family moved to Sainik Farms and found that locals tended to kill any reptile on sight, especially snakes. So, he told neighbours to call him instead. That one promise grew into a massive rescue network. He has one strict rule: No photos during rescues. 'This is serious work,' he says. 'Not a spectacle.'
From HT Brunch, July 12, 2025
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