Friday, December 27, 2019

Rasila Wadher: 1st Woman Forest Rescuer Has Rescued 1000+ Animals in 12 Years


Rasila Wadher had shot to limelight in 2008 as the first woman forest guard in Gir National Park, the last abode of Asiatic lions. Her exemplary courage in rescuing ferocious animals has drawn global applause.



Now, gun-totting 33-year-old Rasila Wadher is all set to head the entire rescue department of the sanctuary. In fact, Wadher will be the first woman to helm this crucial post ever since the department was formed 22 years ago. On an average, 700 rescue operations are undertaken in four districts - Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar - in a year.

Wadher, who has rescued 1,100 wild animals in her decade-long career, will now oversee these operations, which has become more challenging due to lions frequently straying close to human habitations. In Gir, she will be handling a team of 18 trackers, but her job is not limited to the four districts.

"Whenever there is a rescue call anywhere in Gujarat and there are no experts available, our teams rush to those places," said Wadher, who was promoted as sanctuary inspector two months ago. In 2008, Wadher was offered the posting in forest department's back office. But itching for a field job, she applied for recruitment as forest guard and got selected.

"Mine is a 24 hours job because you never know what would happen and where," said Wadher, mother of a nine-month-old boy whom she takes along sometimes when there is no one at home to take care.

Rasila was recently promoted to Forest Rescuer. She is now the head of Gir’s Rescue department. From having just one star on her uniform to now having three, from working as a subordinate to now heading a department, Rasila’s journey defines courage, dedication, hard work and genuine love for animals.

No comments:

Post a Comment