In-house Editor

Q: With your passion for adventure and wildlife, how has your personal experience shaped the vision and offerings of Globe N Beyond and Aranyamie Wilderness Safaris?

A: Our services are designed to provide authentic and immersive experiences that connect travelers with nature. Our first hand experiences enable us to curate customized tours, treks, wildlife trips and adventure camps that cater to thrill-seekers and nature lovers. These offerings are not just about visiting new places but about creating memorable experiences that inspire and educate.

Q: Could you give us an overview of what Globe N Beyond and Aranyamie Wilderness Safaris specialize in? What sets your companies apart in the tourism market?

A : Globe n Beyond specializes in customization of trips like sports tours,offbeat treks and destinations while Aranyamie’s forte is wildlife safaris. Choice of destinations, attention to detail and personalized services is what sets us apart in the tourism market.

Q: Can you provide insights into the sales performance of Globe N Beyond and Aranyamie Wilderness Safaris? What percentage of growth have you seen over the years?

A : Post covid era, both Aranyamie and Globe n Beyond (GnB) have seen a steady growth. In fact what we have noticed is there is a significant rise in wildlife segment, almost 15% as compared to previous years while GnB has seen an almost 15% to 18% rise in luxury and offbeat travel.

Q: How do you measure the success of your business apart from financial metrics? Are there any specific milestones or achievements that you are particularly proud of?

A: Our biggest success apart from financial metrics is our ever growing family of  repeat customers and the fact that most of our marketing happens by word of mouth. GnB will be completing 10 years of operation in 2025 while Aranyamie in just its 3rd year will be breaching 5k happy customers.

Q: Sustainable tourism is increasingly important today. How does Globe N Beyond and Aranyamie Wilderness Safaris integrate sustainability into their operations?

A: One of our biggest policies is to follow NO PLASTIC. We also are looking at providing souvenirs that are made out of recycled products where off late we have been giving out sunglasses which are made from recycled wafer packets.

Q: Are there any upcoming projects or expansions that you are excited about sharing with your clients and stakeholders?

A : Aranyamie Wilderness safaris will be coming up with some exciting new tours in Africa and Amazon.

1. What are some of the most pressing issues facing wildlife and animals in India today, and how does Wildlife SOS address these challenges?

There is a lack of awareness and tolerance in people regarding animals, and this leads to man animal conflict. One of the biggest challenges is to convince people, and evoke compassion and kindness toward animals. The next major issue is the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats due to human encroachment and infrastructure building. As a result, more animals seem to appear in urban landscapes. This escalates conflict situations with wild animals, mostly due to lack of awareness about this complex issue. Poaching for illegal wildlife trade is another huge threat to wildlife populations globally. This can be due to various factors such as luxury products, keeping exotic animals as pets and for unscientific medicinal uses. Another major predicament for the field of wildlife conservation is to find the financial resources to support meaningful initiatives, and the associated human resource to facilitate these initiatives.

2. Could you share some success stories or notable achievements of Wildlife SOS in rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals?

One of the biggest success stories is with the Kalandar community, where we rescued over 620 sloth bears, helped reform over 3,000 families and sent over 11,000 children to school so that they did not have to exploit sloth bears anymore. Today the same community has settled in alternative livelihood and they no longer think about exploitation of wild animals for supporting their families.

With the establishment of the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC) and India’s first Elephant Hospital in Mathura, Wildlife SOS cares for over 30 elephants, including an injured female calf who was rescued from a train accident. 

We run and manage the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Maharashtra – established in 2007 – in collaboration with the forest department, caring for over 30 leopards. We also actively rescue leopards from conflict scenarios and rescue various wild animals from the threat of open wells in Maharashtra. The biggest achievement for leopard conservation in this landscape is that Wildlife SOS has reunited 110 leopard cubs since 2007, in partnership with the Maharashtra Forest Department.

3. How does Wildlife SOS collaborate with government agencies, local communities, and other organizations to achieve its conservation goals? Share some ongoing projects or initiatives Wildlife SOS is currently involved in, and their impact on wildlife and animal welfare?

As mentioned earlier, there are several challenges to wildlife conservation. Wildlife SOS is involved in multiple initiatives to address and resolve these issues. Firstly, to combat the threat of open wells to wild animals in the Junnar landscape, Wildlife SOS is carrying out the Open Wells Conservation project in Maharashtra. Various groups, including the villagers and the state forest department are involved in the endeavour. Under the project, we have already covered 14 open wells in the state out of the 40 open wells planned to be covered. 

In partnership with the various state forest departments, Wildlife SOS is involved in conservation of species and their habitats. The organisation is carrying out radio-collaring projects on Himalayan brown bears, sloth bears and elephants.

In Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bhopal, Wildlife SOS works toward rescuing, treating and rehabilitating tigers.

4. What are some of the innovative approaches or techniques Wildlife SOS employs in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation efforts?

Under the aegis of the J&K Wildlife Protection department, a Himalayan brown bear radio-collaring project is being implemented in Kashmir to understand the anthropogenic pressures on the species, their behaviour and strategies for human-bear conflict mitigation within the region.

By joining hands with the Karnataka Forest Department, Wildlife SOS is implementing a sloth bear radio-collaring project to understand their behaviour, population density, and causes of human-bear conflict for the species using radio-collaring technique. 

With the help of the Chhattisgarh Forest Department, we are also working with villagers and farmers to mitigate human-elephant conflict in the state. This is done after setting up early warning alert systems by researching elephant herd movement. As part of this initiative, the combined team has employed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones to monitor and track the movement of elephant herds in the wild.

5. How does Wildlife SOS raise awareness about wildlife conservation, animal welfare, and related issues?

Every rescue we conduct is an opportunity to educate people and build mass awareness. It is important for people to understand the intrinsic value that every animal plays in every ecosystem. They are often unaware of how a frog, a snake or even a butterfly can indicate the health of our surrounding environment. Their very presence in any ecosystem is a reflection of that ecosystem’s health.

At our leopard rescue centre in Junnar, Maharashtra, we work with the local communities such as farmers and villagers to train and sensitise them about leopard avoidance behaviour. This minimises negative interaction between leopards and humans. The local communities understand the ecological role played by leopards and we make them realise that their forefathers farmed here while coexisting peacefully with leopards. Through this, we have been able to build tolerance in the local communities toward leopards.

We also worked for 20 years with Delhi police to sensitise policemen and the police control room. We even get calls from VIP locations if a snake or a bird is seen in distress. So people now inform our helpline instead of taking matters in their own hands. It is a result of our efforts to engage with citizens in raising awareness.

We run active outreach programs throughout the country and conduct awareness sessions with schools, colleges and even corporate offices.

1. Can you tell us about your extensive experience serving in the Indian Army, particularly in combat operations and anti-terrorist actions in regions like Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeastern states?

Navaz Shariff: “I have had the good fortune of serving the country with 33 years of decorated service in the Indian Army. I was actively involved in various counter insurgency & terrorism operations all over the country and abroad including Operation Pawan of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka.Other combat mission’s including militant tracking using K-9 tracker dogs in counter-terrorist operations in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Manipur and Mizoram. These operations resulted in the apprehension of numerous terrorists along with confiscation of huge amounts of arms and ammunitions used by the terrorists in subversive activities.”

2. What motivated you to conduct humanitarian veterinary aid camps in conflict-ridden areas like Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh?

NS: “To answer this question, an understanding of the context of the abovementioned region is essential. Majority of the civilian population in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-Eastern states at the time are living below the poverty line. For a lot of them, animal husbandry was the only means to make a living. To assist the population that is dependent on animal husbandry, I was involved in various humanitarian and veterinary aid camps that assisted with deworming and vaccination of the animals along with any surgical interventions when necessary.

I trained the unemployed youth in animal husbandry, particularly in Sheep Rearing & Pig rearing to rehabilitate them and prevent them from leading a life of alcoholism and narcotic addictions. I also facilitated the process of helping them acquire soft loans from the State Bank of India to kickstart their farming and animal rearing farms. “

3. In your current role at People for Animals Wildlife Rescue, Conservation & Hospital in Bangalore, what are some of the key challenges you face in wildlife rescue and conservation efforts?

NS: “Being a non-profit organization dealing with high-risk situations on the daily, we constantly encounter wide variety of challenges. These include resource crunch, depleting forest lands / green covers, wildlife trafficking, increasing global temperatures and a severe lack of public awareness. Not all these issues are under our control, but we pride ourselves in working through struggles and making the most of every situation. Our work speaks for itself and over the years, it has gathered well-wishers who support us unconditionally. “

4. Achievements and contributions to PFA:

NS: “In the multifaceted role of both the Chief Veterinarian and General Manager of PfA Bengaluru, the first order of business was to streamline all the processes of the organization. Some of the notable improvements include a mobility boost to the 24×7 rescue operations in the form of more two and four wheeled ambulances which greatly improved our response times. When the inflow of injured animals was streamlined, we worked towards improving the quality of veterinary care by introducing an advance physio laser in combination with traditional acupuncture physiotherapy to boost the recovery period of injured wildlife under our care. To cite the effectiveness of the same, it reduced the recovery period of snakes with spinal injuries by 25-30%.

Establishment of a feather bank within the premises of PfA Bengaluru was another notable achievement. This enabled us to perform “imping” (feather implantation) on birds that have lost feathers due to injuries sustained to the wings. This method not only provides a higher chance of recovery but also a fast one. This had a significant positive impact on the success rate of our bird rescues and treatment.

Our latest successful venture was Operation Quench Thirst. My vision for this operation is to assist the wildlife consisting of spotted deers,wild boars,kites and peacocks of Turahalli Forest Reserve and B M Kaval Forest in combating the heat and prevent fatalities due to dehydration and animal-human interactions. With temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in parts of Bengaluru, PfA has delivered over 75,000 litres of water via water tankers into the forest to replenish natural watering holes as well as strategically placed concrete water rings. Since the inception of the second phase in March of 2024, reports of wild animal sightings outside the forests have seen a significant decline. “

5. How do you envision the future of wildlife conservation in Urban settings within India, considering the current growing urban infrastructure, environmental challenges and conservation efforts?

NS: “Time is of the essence when it comes to urban wildlife rescue and most of our efforts go into minimizing the response time. The vision of PfA Wildlife Rescue & Conservation Centre, in this light, is to expand our operations to reach more parts of the city to provide timely aid to all the voiceless creatures in need.

Despite our best efforts, we are but one organization. True wildlife conservation starts with public awareness. The day Manja ceases to be in use, the day urban construction work stops happening unplanned, the day our public becomes aware of the pest controllers and pollinators who live amidst us, that is the future that we are working towards through our wildlife conservation efforts.”

As a freelance writer in the field of conservation, how do you approach storytelling to raise awareness about wildlife and environmental issues?

Bhavna Menon: ”My vision as a storyteller is to raise awareness about the people who are making a difference on the ground with regard to conservation or environmental interventions. If I can help highlight the issues from the lens of the person executing solutions, it helps in giving a holistic perspective.” 

In your role as a consultant at Earth Focus Foundation and PashooPakshee what were the specific areas of work you were involved in? and how do Earth Focus and PashooPakshee contribute to the field of conservation?

BM: ”I have been involved in the space of conservation for 10+ years, wherein I have been engaged with conservation outreach, creation of alternate livelihoods and capacity building with the Forest Department. However, specific to Earth Focus Foundation (EF) I was engaged in capacity of partnership building, fund raising and outreach, to create larger awareness about the work being done by the organisation. 

With PashooPakshee (PP), I was involved with communications and marketing the Crafts for Conservation outlet at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. EF is working in the Kanha landscape for foundational education (Maths, Hindi and now also working on a biodiversity curriculum) and development in the primary schools and anganwadis in the buffer zone villages, while also engaging with the community members in villages for restoration of  land with regard to agriculture, thereby ensuring food security to the villagers, income via Government schemes and reducing distress migration to the cities, thereby maintaining the social fabric of the villages, and strengthening students participation, attendance and learning  in the schools. 

PP on the other hand, is working with community members across Pench, Kanha and Panna with regard to alternate livelihood, wherein the community members are trained in putting together of contextual, nature inspired responsible souvenirs, which not only gives them a source of livelihood, but helps in reducing Human- Wildlife conflict. The sustainable source of income reduces dependency on forest products (spending time in the forest would bring people directly in conflict with wild animals) and allows people to work from the safety of their homes.”

When writing about conservation issues, how do you navigate the ethical considerations, ensuring accurate representation while maintaining public interest?

BM: “In my opinion, rather than worrying about public interest, it is important to stick to the facts of a story instead of sensationalising it for the sake of readers. Also, if there is genuine work being done on the ground, it will automatically attract public interest while representing the exact nature of work. When you talk about ethics, it is important to do sufficient ground work, and I usually make sure to either visit the project or person in question to the extent possible, rather than relying on here say.”

Balancing roles as a consultant, writer, and director can be challenging. How do you manage these various responsibilities, and do you find synergy between them?

BM: “Yes! It is definitely challenging to juggle different roles. However, my work is centred around what I believe is my forte. Conservation and responsible tourism. Whatever roles I may essay, at the core of it, it contributes to the verticals mentioned, and that’s how the necessary synergy is achieved. Love for my work is of course another factor that contributes significantly.   I have learnt to manage my responsibilities by being more disciplined, and carving out a daily schedule I follow, to do justice to the work in question.” 

Looking ahead, what do you envision as the future of wildlife conservation, and what role do you see yourself playing in shaping that future?

BM: “The future of conservation is, and always will be the community members living around our Protected Areas. I hope to continue working with the people, their skill sets, traditional knowledge and opinion, to pave the way forward for long – term safeguarding of our wilderness spaces.”

Q. Can you share a brief overview of your early career and how you entered the field of forestry and wildlife management?

Sunil Limaye: ”During my college days, I was not sure what exactly I was to do. Normally, the people who are taking science in 11th or 12th grade always think that they want to become doctors or engineers. But if they can’t, they don’t have any plan B. The same thing happened to me when I did my graduation in geology. Thereafter, I started giving the exam. But before that, during my college days, I used to go a lot in the jungle because I am from Kolhapur. Radhanagiri and Dajipur are two famous places in Kolhapur. Most of the people who go to that area go hiking and trekking. And that’s where I started loving the forest. So, after my graduation, I decided I should join the army because that was my first preference. But when I didn’t get into the army, I took the examination of a range forest officer. And in my first go, I fought to the range for the exam. I joined at Chandrapur. While doing the training, I got selected for the next higher post, which is the assistant forest contractor. Then, I had my one-second training in Coimbatore. After doing the training, I was doing my probationary period in the Bundiya area. Meanwhile, in 1987, I appeared for the Indian Forest Service examination. Once again, I got selected. And I joined the forest service in 1988. Thus, for 6-7 years, I was undergoing training and various postings. And finally, I got into IFS. So, I will say, as I used to love the forest, I used to love wildlife, and I used to move in the forest area. That helped me get into the forest service. And it was my pleasure. Then, in 1988, I did my training at Dehradun. I came to Maharashtra in 1990. And until 1992, I was really a happy person. All the time, I served the forest department. I had one stint as the Additional Tribal Commissioner of Ambalvati, where I worked for the Tribal Development Department. I had my BSF postings at Alibaug, Satara, and Budhapur. But more than half of my period of service was in wildlife. I think I would be the first person in Maharashtra who has worked as DCF Wildlife, that is, Deputy Conservator, then Conservator, then Chief Conservator, then Additional PCCF, and finally PCCF Wildlife. So, my destiny was a forest. And I was very happy in the forest department. And whatever I get in my life, I always owe it to the forest department and the forest. So, this is my service. So, I started preparing for the competitive exam in 1984. Until 1990, I was giving the examination training. And from 1990 onwards, my career started as a forest officer”.

Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in forestry, and how did you find your initial experiences in the Indian Forest Service?

SL: ”As I told you my background, I was a geology student. So, getting into GSDA or GSI was our prime target. However, another goal was to join the army. From my side, that is, from my family, there was no one in the army. Some people were there. There used to be one, my uncle, who was in the army. But in the recent past, there was no one in the army. So, my first choice was to get into the army. But I told you it was my love and passion. My initial years during my college days were the first year of my graduation, the second year, and the third year. We moved a lot in the jungle. I had two very nice teachers with me in college. One was Mr. Bagi, because of whom I got into Gokhale College. And I was doing my graduation. Another one was Mr. Jagdale. He taught us how to go to the forest area, how to read the forest, and how to enjoy the wildlife. And because of that, I got into the forest. During my initial years, I was really happy as a D.C.A. I worked a lot at many places. Alibaug was quite challenging because a lot of problems were there regarding the encroachment on forest land. During my tenure as an additional tribal commissioner, I really enjoyed it. I was working for the welfare of the tribal people. I did a lot of things so that they would get a proper education. I shifted many tribal students to a very nice English school, which is Sanjeevan School. Many people helped me. One thing I can tell you is that if you are really in love with the forest, I think there is no better service than the Forest Department Service. So during all my tenure, it was wildlife, wildlife, wildlife, and people’s welfare. So I really enjoyed all my postings as D.C.A., C.A., and C.C.A. And once I became Additional Commissioner, that was mainly the policy. But every Saturday and Sunday, I kept my routine to go into the forest area and stay with the forest personnel, who were the frontline staff”.

Q. Could you share a memorable experience or success story from your tenure as Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park that stands out in your mind?

SL: ”Sanjay Gandhi National Park’s director post is a challenging one. I joined there in May. Two big problems were there. The first was to remove the encroachment from the border area of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. That was my own problem. That was the department’s problem. But another problem was that many people used to think that there were a lot of leopards in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. They don’t have a big prey base. That’s why they can’t survive in the park. And they come out of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and they attack the people. And that was a myth. As a forest worker, I knew that that was a myth. But it was very important to repel that myth and dispel that myth. So, one of my friends, Vidyarth Rishi, suggested me, let us do a project. So, we started one project called Mumbai Curse for Sanjay Gandhi National Park. And we went under, living with the leopards. So, first, we studied whether a leopard really has enough prey over there. We got the answer: yes, enough prey is there. Then we started finding out why the leopard was going out. Then we found out that an easy prey base was there. The dogs are there, the pigs are there, and the rodents are there. And why are they there? Because a lot of debris is there. Then we contacted all the stakeholders: local people, people staying in surrounding societies, municipal corporations, police, revenue officials, naturalists, and biologists. And we made it a citizen’s project. We decided that anybody who wanted to know about this project should come to the park and do all this work. Another thing is that we made our people, the forest officials, responsible people. When people used to complain regarding this leopard problem, we used to react. But we totally changed that. We started responding to the people. We started telling them that the main problem lies with us. We are creating problems for the leopard. We have already encroached on the leopard’s land. So, now either give the leopard his land back to him or you stay away from the forest area. But that was not easy for the people either. Then we decided we should behave in such a way that whatever leopard needs, we won’t provide. So leopards will not come into our territory. And it is a huge success. Many attacks, they stop. People now understand that leopards are not attacking them. Normally, 90% are accidents. And people are avoiding the things to do that are liked by the leopard. And that project, which is called Mumbai Coverage GMP, or Living with the Leopard, going pretty strong for the last 12 years. And I think that was the biggest achievement for any person who has worked in Sanjay Gandhi National Park”.

Q. Being recognized with the naming of a new species of gecko and spider is quite an honor. How does such recognition impact your perspective on the work you’ve done?

SL: “Yes, that was also a real story. It’s a funny story actually. I am not responsible for discovering any of these species. One is a day gecko that is called Nemaspis Limaye. And another is a jumping spider of HGMP that is called Zalzego Sunil Limaye. Both the names have been given by the researcher to those species just to honor me. Because when I was a college student, whenever I used to move in the forest area of Kolhapur and nearby areas, we never got the accommodation to stay. We never got any help from the forest officials. So when I became a forest officer, I decided I should always help the local people. I should always help the researcher. So many times researchers used to come and stay in my house till they complete their project. So one person, Rajesh Shanab, was there with me. Then another was Amit Syed, he also was there with me. And these two persons, they discovered two new species and these names were given. So I always tell them when you get some important position, when you are in a position to help the people, always help the people and that will always repay you.So whenever people think that Leemai is a great scientist and he had discovered it, I always tell them this example. It is not me, but it is the people whom I have helped a little bit. They are trying to repay whatever I have helped them in this way. So this was the best experience for me and another best thing that I could get from them is I also got an idea, what is the research, how research is being done, what is the help that they require and how those people can help the forest department”

Q. Were there instances where you faced resistance or difficulties in implementing conservation measures, and how did you overcome them?

SL: “Yes, a lot of problems were there during my first posting at Kolhapur. I was trying to see that there should not be any unauthorized mining in forest areas. So a very big company was against me. They tried to influence our minister, they harassed me like anything. But I did not budge and I could fight with them with the help of the local people and of course with the higher judiciary. I always see that the higher judiciary always helps the forest department when the question of wildlife conservation comes. So that was my big experience. So I understood when I have to fight with big people, I have to be very street smart, I have to be good with the local people. Even during the Sanjay Gandhi National Park tenure, when my first job was to remove the encroachment, I took local people with me. I started telling them, why should encroachment be removed? And that helped me a lot because removing the encroachment from the border of Sanjay Gandhi is a very difficult job. Honorable Mumbai High Court has given an order in 1997 that within the next 18 months, the encroachment should be removed. For the first 25 years, we are fighting tooth and nail with all these people. It is pretty difficult to remove the encroachment. So removing the encroachment from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, that was a big task. And I could do it because of my staff’s cooperation, my good relation with other people and of course with the help of the higher judiciary. And that has left an indelible mark in my mind. Because if you want to do some good work, many people will be against you. But if you are clear in your thoughts, if you are clear what you want to do, if you are clear that you have to do it for the forest and future generations, I think most of the people will help you”.

Q. Since your last posting as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), what have been your engagements or contributions to wildlife conservation, and do you have ongoing projects or initiatives?

SL: “The best part I think when I was PCC for life was that we decided we came with a 10 years plan for our state, Maharashtra state. My predecessor, Mr. Kakodkar, who is a very good wildlife expert, who is my friend, decided we should have a 10 years perspective plan for the Maharashtra state that what we are to do in the next 10 years for wildlife management. And that has come up very nicely. It is in the implementation stage. Also, we had decided to have at least one transit treatment centre in every district of Maharashtra. We started that way and the biggest problem was the man-animal conflict. Mainly the conflict with the tigers in Chandrapur, Nagpur area. And all over Maharashtra, it is the conflict with labor. Another new conflict has started in Gadichuruli and part of Kolhapur Sindhu, that is the elephant problem with the elephants. So we started doing a lot of work, awareness programs, people support and we have come up with a very nice standard operating procedure on how to deal with man-animal conflict. Another great thing we started is the translocation of a good population of tigers from one place to another. We started with Nagjira and hopefully within the next few months or a year, we will translocate some tigers from Nagpur, Chandrapur area to Sainadi tiger research that is in western Maharashtra. Great. For young individuals who are aspiring to contribute to wildlife conservation”.

Q. For young individuals aspiring to contribute to wildlife conservation, what advice would you offer based on your extensive experience?

SL: “The best advice I can give to the people, if you are really interested in wildlife or the forest, if you have got a passion for the forest, please come join the forest service. You can do the research also, that is the best part. But we need good administrators also because when you have research with you and the good people there in the administration, we are required to save our forest. It is only 21% forest that is there in India, same in Maharashtra. At least we have to conserve that forest. We are increasing the forest and it is a pretty difficult job. It is next to impossible. But courts are there with us, higher judiciary is always with us. So when we have to conserve our forest, that means we have to preserve the forest. At the same time, we have to try to increase the forest. If not possible, at least we can increase the tree cover. And for that purpose, we require intelligent officers and at the same time passionate officers. Because if you have got intelligence but if you don’t have the passion, then you cannot be a good forest officer. You need to have the passion. So all the people interested in research, interested in studies, if you have got the passion, join the forest service. Forest service is one of the noble services that one can say, just like doctors, teachers. But I will request all the passionate nature lovers to come and join the forest service”.