The two dropped out of school when they were in class 11 and now work in betel nut firms located inside the forest.
Two school-dropouts are on a mission to save the highly-endangered Western Hoolock Gibbons, their habitats, and birds in the forests of the remote East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.
Armed with a borrowed camera, the two are also taking pictures of birds found in the forests to document the variety of the winged species in the Hima Malaisohmat area.
Hima Malaisohmat, bordering Bangladesh, has five villages and the forest there is home to the endangered Hoolock Gibbons, the only ape found in Indian subcontinent.
"These apes are a favourite target of hunters. A family of three gibbons was killed by an unidentified hunter last month," said Banshim Wanniang, 22, one of the two crusaders.
Wanniang took upon himself the task of protecting the wildlife in his Phlangwanbroi village, and his friend, Wallam Kharlyngdoh hailing from nearby Mawkasain village, joined him.
"It is very sad to see that hoolock gibbons are disappearing at a very rapid rate from our forests. And so are our birds," said Wanniang.
With very little education, children of the villages are taught to hunt from an early age. This coupled with a lack of government intervention and rapid deforestation is resulting in rapid and drastic reduction in the number of gibbons, said Kharlyngdoh.
Wanniang and Kharlyngdoh told PTI that work is on to create awareness at the community level to conserve wildlife and to provide alternative livelihoods to people so that they stop hunting.
The two dropped out of school when they were in class 11 and now work in betel nut firms located inside the forest.
Asked how they grew conscious about the need to conserve, they said they were against poaching from childhood, but the knowledge about conservation came after their visit to Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
"A team of hunters and community elders had visited Kaziranga in April. We were also a part of that team because of our interest in wildlife," Kharlyngdoh, 24, said.The team of around 30 people was taken to the park to learn how tourism could bring about a positive change of co-existence and conservation, Kharlyngdoh said.
Of those team members, the two were selected to undergo a month-long training at the Wildlife Conservation Society in Nagaland, where they were trained in laying camera traps and basic wildlife photography.
"During the training, we learnt that there are at least 100 types of birds in our community forests and we have documented 25 of them already," Kharlyngdoh said.
Both the camera and the guide book were given to them by the wildlife enthusiast, who was behind the project. "We want to document all the animals and birds in the forest and print the pictures to create awareness in the community and for tourism purpose," Wanniang said.
A senior wildlife official of the Forest department said the department lacks manpower and resources for conservation. He, however, commended the effort of the two youth.
— With agency inputs
Why The Decline
With very little education, kids in the villages are taught to hunt from an early age. Lack of govt intervention, rapid deforestation adds to the rapid and drastic reduction in the number of gibbons.
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