Akshata Ashok with Milo.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Sometime in May last year, I found myself in the dense tropical rainforests of Costa Rica. The Central American country is known, among other things, for its incessant rainfall. It also has a long list of endangered animals.
As the assistant wildlife internship manager at the Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center, it was my job to nourish different endangered species and help them get back to the wild. However, it was easier said than done. The domestication of jaguars is quite common in the region. Weighing over 50 kg, these predators are often reduced to pets.
One such adventurer had two jaguars, which he claimed were mother and daughter. We rescued both and brought them to Rescate. It was soon obvious to us that the caretaker had lied. How could they be mother and daughter, especially when they displayed such contrasting traits? The mother was quiet and timid, while the child retained its
wild instincts.
Their needs were very urgent indeed — their diet was poor and they were not exercising enough. Quite unsurprisingly, they displayed stereotypical behaviour — unnatural behaviour superimposed by unfavourable conditions. We could not leave them in the forests unsupervised as there was no way they would survive. They had lost their natural instincts, which are crucial for their survival.
Despite our best efforts, we could not save the older jaguar. It died due to fissures. Now, we were caring for two jaguars — the young female one and an older male jaguar called Guapo.
The latter had been rescued years ago, when he was an infant. He was discovered floating on a log in the aftermath of hurricane Otto. The Center took care of him by providing an expansive enclosure, abundant environmental stimuli and meticulous care. He was rescued from Guapiles in Costa Rica, hence the name.
Though I am a postgraduate in animalbehaviour, being face-to-face with wild animals, and observing and recording their behaviour day in and day out was very demanding. My difficulties were exacerbated by the fact that I was the only Asian in the Center and also the only camp resident of the three managers.
One day, when I was deep in the forest, observing a group of capuchin monkeys that were about to be released, I felt an electric shock run through my body. I was momentarily petrified. Then, I realised that bullet ants had zipped through my body.
Mind you, these ants are mildly poisonous! I ran into my room and found that they had bitten me at four different points. I had to get those ants out of my trousers, however, I had no choice but to continue working. I was in the middle of a jungle and there was no replacement. Those bite marks remained for a fortnight and terrified me whenever I looked at them.
The Center was now focused on ensuring that the two jaguars were provided a safe and secure enclosure. The two enclosures were placed next to each other so that the duo could see each other. Secondly, an arrangement was made to help the jaguars meet if they wanted to. This was a unique idea as jaguars are
solitary animals. Such unorthodox ideas make Rescate special. No wonder, it has been accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuary (GFAS).
As my 3.5-month stint at the Center came to a close, I couldn’t help but recollect how it all started. It had begun, in the most innocuous and serendipitous of ways, five years ago in the lanes of Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
Baby steps
Things were completely different back then. I was a college-going 17-year-old and knew very little about animal care. My only link to the world of animals was our dog, Scooby, a partially domesticated street dog. It was very clear to both my parents and me that I loved being around dogs.
One morning, my mother went on her regular morning stroll. As she was walking past a busy road, she came across something that bothered her. As many as eight puppies were trapped in a ditch. When she came home and narrated the scene, I sprang into action. Luckily, the mother wasn’t aggressive and let us touch the puppies. She had infected nipples that rendered her incapable of feeding them and heavy rains had added to their problems. We first got them out of the ditch and constructed a temporary shelter where they would be safe and dry.
However, as a college student, it was impossible for me to stay with them the whole day. I found a family of construction workers who lived nearby. I would pay them to take care of the puppies while I was away. They were very young and we fed them Cerelac for around a month.
Just when we were trying to work out the logistics of their adoption through social media and word-of-mouth, we discovered that one of them — Milo — had an abscess on his throat. We took him to a veterinary hospital and got the abscess removed. He survived but continues to have a distinct scar on his throat. We failed to get him adopted but I succeeded in winning my parents’ admiration for my proactiveness — I even got Milo’s mother neutered after a couple of months. We ended up keeping Milo.
This entire episode kindled the fire within me to dedicate myself to animal welfare.
Increasing interest
All my life, I had been passionate about music. As a kid, I dreamt of moving abroad and becoming a professional singer. Though I gave up on that ambition, I still enjoy immersing myself in all kinds of music. However, I discovered that my interest in animals was different. From a passion, it was soon growing into a zealous mission.
I began getting involved in rescue missions and worked for several locality-specific groups in Yelahanka, Jakkur and beyond, in Bengaluru. I also got in touch with animal care centres, like CARE.
At the time, I was pursuing my bachelors in hospitality management, and travel and tourism at Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. But I would devote all my free time volunteering for animal care and rescue operations, animal birth control programmes, vaccination drives and so on. When I graduated, I had to think carefully about what I would do next.
Stint abroad
I got to know about the Masters in Applied Animal Behaviour programme in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Convinced that animal care was my true calling, my parents readily consented to applying for it. The entry process was rigorous and the University preferred people with an academic background in science. Being an arts student, my chances were slim. However, I think my passion and dedication, which I conveyed strongly with my statement of purpose, pulled me through.
I hoped the global exposure would help me find solutions for some of the most common problems in the field of animal care in India. Though, up until then, I had mostly been exposed to rescuing dogs and cats, I would be able to work with wild animals as part of my training.
The approach to animals in India is completely different from that of the United Kingdom. I feel there is scope for improvement of zoos in India. There is very little space for animals to move around. They rob them of their privacy by keeping them under constant public gaze. This leads to the development of stereotypical behaviour. Tigers, lions and cheetahs pacing their enclosures obsessively is a common sight in Indian zoos. Contrary to popular belief, this is not normal behaviour. But over the years, I have seen things improve.
In the UK, these animals are kept in large enclosures. If they wish to, they can escape to a hidden spot. It is also important that a wild animal does not lose its natural instincts. It was precisely this principle that compelled us to leave a blood trail around the enclosure where Guapo and the female jaguar were kept in Costa Rica. Some of the other standard practices are trying to fill the enclosure with some vegetation from the animal’s natural habitat and ensuring that it finds the captivity as natural as possible.
Working as an intern in a couple of zoos changed my opinion about their contribution to animal exploitation. I learnt that zoos could be great mediums for conveying the essence of coexistence and the beauty of wildlife to the younger generation. Also, several endangered species are only seen in the zoos and hence, they also help in conservation. I now firmly believe that if zoos can protect animal privacy, their positives far outweigh their drawbacks.
During these internships, I used an app called ZooMonitor to observe and record animal behaviour. Depending on the animal that we were working on, a certain set of behaviours, like locomotion, vigilance and so on, would be set. We would stand in front of the enclosure for a long time and observe whether the animal would show any divergence from its instinctive behaviour. This close monitoring would help us understand them
better and guide our further approach. Such a close association with wild animals broadened my horizons — I got a better grasp of their behaviour and started loving them all, irrespective of whether they were domesticated. This helped me a great deal when I later worked closely with the jaguars in Costa Rica. In hindsight, studying abroad was definitely the right decision.
My theoretical training in the UK and the hands-on experience in Costa Rica have led to my metamorphosis. These experiences act as a pivot around which I have designed my startup, Animal 360. I partnered with Rajesh Nataraj, a wildlife rescuer specialising in bird rescue, to set up the venture, which involves animal rescue, care and consultation services.
In India, we have a lot of crucial questions to address. One of the most common misconceptions is around neutering or spaying. They no doubt have temporary side effects such as a change in activity level or slight weight gain. However, the long-term benefits, such as population control and prevention of diseases, are worth the momentary trouble. But of course, it is important these procedures are conducted with utmost care, by taking into consideration the individual needs of each animal and ensuring responsible ownership practices.
Finding contentment
A couple of months ago, we were returning from a restaurant in Jakkur. We spotted a black dog running frantically to the middle of the main road. He tried to jump across but the divider was too high for him. It was obvious to me that it was a pet dog. Street dogs instinctively refrain from such suicidal activities on traffic-heavy roads. I made my father stop the car, jumped the barricade and approached the dog. He came to me and instantly collapsed into my arms. No doubt he was exhausted but he fainted as he sensed he was safe.
As he was too heavy, my mother came to the other side of the divider and carried him. We approached a vet for a routine check-up. We put out a missing dog poster but when that didn’t yield results, we handed him off to an organisation that offers life-time care and support for animals.
The inexplicable joy and pleasure I derived from rescuing Milo has brought me to where I am now. Each new experience with a new animal strengthens my resolve to dedicate myself further to this cause so dear to my heart.