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National Geographic

They used to poach this rare bird. Now, they save them.

After decades of political unrest, former poachers and community members rallied to protect the Bengal florican. A Bengal florican sitting in long blades of grass. Photograph By Dhritiman Mukjerjee During mating season, the male Bengal florican bird, in glossy black plumes with streaks of white beneath a mottled back, performs aerial leaps as his white wings flare against a neck 'pouch' of puffed black feathers to attract females. The enamoured female, draped in buff-brown and black, then chooses her mate. Tourists now come to Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Assam, India, to see the Bengal floricans, the world's rarest bustard, and other wildlife. But the birds' resurgence has been a long—and still challenging—process. Listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, fewer than 800 Bengal floricans survive globally. The world's largest population—between 350 and 400—is in northeastern India today, and part of their recovery is being driven by communities intent on saving these two-foot-tall, three-or-four pound birds. The twist? Many of them once hunted the bustards. 'I was around 14 or 15 when I began poaching with my friends,' says Rustam Basumatary, now 40, of the Bodo tribe, who lives in Khamardwasa village near Manas National Park and its adjacent non-protected grassland in Kokilabari. Basumatary says he and other young poachers once hunted birds, including the Bengal floricans, with slingshots and bow and arrows. They consumed the meat but also sold the surplus for profit. 'Poverty pushed certain sections of our community to hunt wildlife for survival,' he says. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, a conflict between members of the Bodo ethnic group and the Indian state over the group's autonomy left Manas National Park desolate, devoid of patrols or offices. This meant its wildlife was more at risk than ever, says Basumatary. Bengal floricans were poached, but so were other animals like rhinos. Fewer than 800 Bengal floricans survive globally. Photograph By Dhritman Mukherjee When the Bodo movement ended in 2003, about 100 members formed the Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism Society (MMES) and pushed for change so that the park could regain its former glory. Basumatary was part of this effort to transform poachers into protectors. The MMES began reaching out to villagers, motivating them to become a part of their conservation movement. Local nonprofits, such as Aaranyak, also joined them to discourage hunting. 'We made them aware of the consequences, such as imprisonment, penalties, and environmental damage,' and encouraged them to divert their skills to protection, says Bibhuti Lahkar, Aaranyak's grassland expert. Gradually, community members began patrolling voluntarily alongside forest guards, protecting the very wildlife they once hunted. Basumatary notes that the transition was not easy, as poaching was, for so long, a means of survival But some nonprofits and wildlife enthusiasts provided essentials, including rations, for a couple of months to help the adjustment. The team's work was also supported by some senior district officials who visited their villages frequently and advised them to surrender their illegal arms and hunting weapons. Villagers 'would be thus relieved from the constant fear of being chased by police, and could return to a normal life,' says Anwaruddin Choudhury, a former senior bureaucrat and ornithologist who helped reform many poachers. Park enforcements were also strengthened to deter hunting. According to Basumatary, who began as a birding guide in 2004, over 60 weapons were willingly surrendered by villagers in 2006 and 2007, and in 2011, Manas National Park was removed from the UN's list of World Heritage in Danger. 'It was a moment of pride for our local community that our efforts were eventually paying off,' says Basumatary. According to records of the Bodoland Territorial Council, as of 2023, more than 800 volunteers, including former poachers and local community members, have been formally appointed to assist in various protection and forestry tasks. Today, a growing number of tourists from around the world visit, and have the chance to witness the Bengal florican and its legendary dance. And that helps the local economy. According to Basumatary, more than 2,000 families living around the park earn $400 to $450 per month during the florican season, from November through June. 'The same birds we killed in the past for food are today sustaining our households,' Basumatary says. Meanwhile, though still critically endangered, the Bengal Floricans are showing signs of improvement. A 2024 study in the Journal of Threatened Taxa found ten more of the birds in Manas compared to a 2011 survey, calling the modest increase an 'encouraging' sign. 'Today the Bengal florican has become a symbol of our culture, and we are proud in being able to protect the rare bird and show its unique ways to the rest of the world,' Basumatary says.