National 9 (Spotlight Weekly)

Wildlife Expert

A descendent of Royal Hunters turned conservationist, Lama has collected thrilling experiences many of them close to death during the last three decades of his work with the wild animals at Royal Chitwan National Park.

By THAKUR AMGAI

Its 6:00 pm at the Banks of Rapti River. The sun has just set and dusk is falling slowly. Vacationing tourists and locals hanging around the bars at the riverside tourist hub of Sauraha look across the river at the silhouettes of the trees in the dense forest of Royal Chitwan National Park. At a table placed on the terrace barely five feet away from the water is seated an average built happy looking man in his late forties narrating his stories with the tigers, rhinos and the elephants. 'Bishnu Dai', is what the locals and those who visit the place for a short while affectionately know him as.

He is popular around Sauraha. But to you, this is probably the first time you have heard his name for he has spent more time with the animals than he has with humans. 'Chief Wild Life Technician with King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation' does not fully describe his rich knowledge of the wildlife and thrilling experiences with the beasts.

"I am used to it of course, but it is not easy to spend three decades in the jungle with animals that at any time could be the cause of your death," confesses Lama as he narrates his journey from an aspiring hunter to a senior conservationist, wildlife technician and friend of the wild animals.

His family served the Royal Palace as Royal Hunters. Under the special squad of the Army inside the palace his grandfather, father and elder brothers all were royal hunters. Had it not been for a small twist even Lama would probably be serving as a Royal Hunter now. But interestingly he has turned from a killer into a conservationist.

For a conservationist whose mission is to work for the welfare of wild animals undesired confrontation with the same animals have been part of daily schedule. Several times he has passed close to death. "Two of us were walking in the jungle once. We did not notice that a tigress was fortifying her cubs. The tiger suddenly pounced on us. Two of us ran in opposite directions. The tiger got startled about whom to chase. We got the time to escape just because of that," says a simply dressed Lama with a cap, talking to this scribe in the banks of Rapti River.

He recalls another incident where he escaped death when n wild elephant attacked him and a researcher. "Luckily we found a fortification of the tower of electricity transmission."

Just then, a baby Rhino-certainly not small, infuriated comes stampeding here and there knocking over the tables and signpost at the riverside tourist hub of Sauraha. Lama, who could not be assured that it would spare him, runs inside one of the huts to protect himself. "So, you can see how dangerous it is to work with the wild animals. This is a baby rhino and I have nurtured it since it was two days old. But still I need to be scared with it now," explains Lama, cautiously looking at the rhino sitting at the bank of the river nearby.

Lama did not inherit the love of the nature from his ancestors. His grandfather was a royal hunter. So, was his father and his brothers are still serving at the special hunting squad of the Royal Nepalese Army inside the palace. As soon as he could walk, his father would take him to the jungles of the outer slopes of the Chadragiri hills- one of the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley-and teach him to identify the pugmarks of different wild animals and lecture him the strategies of hunting. By the time he was 14 he could go to the jungles all on his own armed with a rifle to shoot down birds and smaller animals. " I started hunting for my father and elder brothers when they used to be sick," recalls Lama. He was probably assured that he would take up his family profession of hunting for the Royal Family.

But his life took a turn when Dr. Kirti Man Tamang took him on as one of the assistants for a tiger research project. "Dr. Kirti Man Tamang was in need of some boys to assist him in the research for the Tiger Ecology Project funded by an American university. He chose six of us working in the Timber Corporation." Among the six Lama is the only one who is still working for the King Mahendra Trust. "Most of the other friends left the job because of fear of being killed by the wild animals," smiled Lama.

In the years that followed, he has become a guru of many researchers. A high school drop out Lama speaks good English and has visited several countries including the US, Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh. He has a very enriching knowledge about the tigers, rhinos, birds and all other animals in Royal Chitwan National Parks. No researcher has completed his research at the jungles of Terai without Lama.

It is not abnormal to dread wild animals. Working 'with' the wild elephants, Royal Bengal Tigers and One-horn Rhino that could take lives demands a lot of courage and skill. Lama has perfected the art. Otherwise, he would probably have not survived in the dense jungles of Chitwan with his bare hands. The beasts have claimed hundreds of lives and there is always a fear of attack to people who live in the vicinity of the park. Yet, Lama is always for the protection of these animals. He is confident that you are safe if you know your place. "They will not harm you unless you enter their territory and disturb them."