AHMEDABAD:
They are the true 'lion queens' of Gir. These three women from
Saurashtra - Rasilaben Wadher; Kiran Pithiya; and Darshanaben Kagada -
have opted to work as foresters at Devaliya Safari Park in Sasan Gir
where they rescue lions, manage their diets and look after their health.
They even train officials of other states in rescue and management of
wildlife.
The three had to overcome opposition from their
families to work as foresters. They are praised and respected for their
professionalism. In fact, the wildlife TV channel, Animal Planet,
featured them in its documentary, `Lion Queens of Gir.' Rasila Wadher
was among the first women foresters to join the lion rescue team. She
has found herself at risk several times.
"Once I had gone with
my team to rescue an injured lion," she said. "We were to tranquilize
the beast. As soon as we fired the shot containing the tranquilizer, it
almost attacked us. But we kept our cool and slowly walked back to our
vehicles. The lion too slowly retreated into the forest."
Kiran
Pithiya, 25, not only takes part in rescue operations but has to record
the movement and change in behaviour of lions. She said that this
sounds easy but is not.
"Recently, a lioness gave birth and I
had to keep watch on the newborn cubs and movement of their mother,"
said Pithiya. "One day, I did not realize that it had turned dark. I was
leaving the area on my bike alone when a lioness began chasing me." She
realized she was in danger and immediately decided to signal to the
lioness that she was a forester.
"I turned my bike around made a
hat-hat and hud-hud sound," said Pithiya. "The lioness understood that I
was a forester and turned back. If I had tried to speed up and escape,
the lioness would have attacked and killed me."
For Darshana
Kagada, talking in Hindi or English was a challenge. "I handle awareness
programmes and even nature camps," she said. "As I am a commerce
graduate, I used to find technical matters a bit difficult. But senior
officers like Sandeep Kumar helped me understand these topics. I now
speak Hindi fluently and understand English."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Queens-of-Gir-jungle/articleshow/48637589.cms
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