Photos: Step into India’s private forests
In a country with only 5% of its land area protected as forests, and even that shrinking, a few individuals
In a country with only 5% of its land area protected as forests, and even that shrinking, a few individuals are acting on their own. It’s a simple but radical solution. They buy land, uproot invasive plant species, replace them with native ones, and then let nature take over. The result: lush private forests that act as green lungs and, in many cases, as extensions of wildlife sanctuaries and reserves. Tigers stop by. Elephants give birth. Otters play in the streams. Take a look…
Updated on Jun 20, 2021 02:06 PM IST 12 Photos
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A tiger rests in the private forest nurtured by Aditya Singh and Poonam Singh in Bhadlav, Rajasthan. The big cats stay sometimes for four or five days, an indication that they feel safe here.(Photo: Aditya Dicky Singh)
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Aditya, 55, and Poonam, 52, left their lives in Delhi behind to answer the call of the wild. They settled in Sawai Madhopur, the town closest to the Ranthambore tiger reserve, in 1998, and slowly started acquiring farmland abutting the reserve. They then let nature take over.(Photo: Aditya Dicky Singh)
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An aerial view of the result: one of the patches owned by the Singhs stands out amid the farmland in Bhadlav. The patch shows a clear distinction in growth patterns. “The trees on the borders grow first, because that part is usually left uncultivated,” says Aditya. “They form natural borders.”(Photo: Aditya Dicky Singh)
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Camera traps on the privately owned SAI (Save Animals Initiative) Sanctuary in Kodagu, Karnataka, capture all the wildlife that strolls in and out, from the Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary next door. These 255-acres of former coffee and cardamom fields are now an extension of Brahmagiri. Seen here is a sambar fawn with her mother.(Photo courtesy SAI Sancturary)
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