All-woman team keep poachers at bay in Assam's Kaziranga

Kaziranga (Assam): Dressed in olive greens with a rifle slung on their shoulders, the members of an all-woman anti-poaching team are at the frontline of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to protect and conserve its wildlife and bio-diversity.

The ‘King Cobra Camp’ in the park's Eastern Range of Agoratoli has six members, and it began functioning in 2023, a senior official said.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site has 54 female frontliners at present, comprising forest guards, foresters and some in the Rhino Protection Force, she said.

"Kaziranga is proud to have women frontliners, which has been made possible years after it was declared a National Park and a Tiger Reserve,” the park’s director, Sonali Ghosh, told PTI.

In 2023, the Assam Forest Department recruited more than 2,500 frontliners, comprising foresters and forest guards, and out of them, there were 300 young women from the northeastern state, she said.

"These women are performing extremely well, and are a big support, especially in dealing with tourists and community interaction,” Ghosh said.

They are engaged in the same patrolling and jungle duties as their male counterparts, the director said.

Forest Guard Rashmi Bora, a member of the all-woman camp, said every day is a new learning experience inside the park.

"It involves a lot of hard work, no doubt, but I am gaining crucial information about various wild animals and how they need to be conserved for a balanced environment,” Bora said.

Bora said though she misses home at times, the "environment at the camp is good and I like being here".

Agoratoli Range Officer Bidyut Bora said of the six members in the camp, five are forest guards and one is a forester.

"These women are a part of the park's conservation efforts, and are engaged in regular foot-patrolling duties along with drone patrolling,” he said.

Besides at the entry points, they are involved in ticket checking of tourists, the official said.

Forest Guard Priyanka Bharali said their daily duty begins at 7 am, and they again go for foot or elephant-back patrolling from 6 pm along the embankment areas.

"We visit particular areas in the range, which are vulnerable to various threats. We try to ensure that the animals do not move out of the protected areas to neighbouring villages to reduce human-animal conflict,” she said.

Another guard Deepamoni Mili said that sometimes, they have to face unforeseen circumstances and make quick decisions to resolve issues.

"On several occasions, when the forest guards accompany the tourists during the safari, some animals emerge, and we have to open blank fire to chase them away and take the tourists back to safety,” she said.

According to Forest Guard Deepanjali Bora, at times, the animals come too close, while on some occasions, tourists create problems by talking loudly.

"We have to be strict with the tourists so that animals do not get disturbed and no untoward incident takes place,” she said.

"The tourists should follow all the rules and regulations so that neither the animals nor the people are disturbed,” her colleague Rashmi said.

Ghosh pointed out that the women are trained on how to deal with wildlife as well as external forces affecting the conservation process.

"Once they are recruited, they undergo rigorous training in the police training centres of the state for three months,” she said.

There is also a forestry and wildlife training module for them, Ghosh added.