The Couple Who Transformed a Barren Land Into A 300 Acre Wildlife Sanctuary!

The Couple Who Transformed a Barren Land Into A 300 Acre Wildlife Sanctuary!

Pamela and Anil Malhotra, passionate about wildlife and nature conservation, bought 55 acres of land 23 years ago, and today they have converted it into a beautiful forest of over 300 acres. SAI Sanctuary, the only private wildlife sanctuary in India, came to host animals like Bengal Tiger, Sambhar and Asian Elephants.

The passion to expand the green cover grew stronger and they kept buying idle lands from farmers. This way the land was used and also farmers got money to repay their debts.

“The problem is, we expect the government to do everything. Like-minded people, NGOs and other agencies should purchase land and do their own bit to conserve the wildlife,” says Pamela.

There were a lot of native trees that already existed there. The couple decided to retain those and follow three important rules: no chopping down of any tree, no human interference and no poachers. The sanctuary also has a beautiful river in the middle that is home to several aquatic species like fishes and snakes, including the King Cobra.

The huge trees and thick forest has also helped several birds like hornbill find their homes. There are over 305 species of birds that visit this sanctuary regularly.

Several cameras are installed across the sanctuary to identify new animals and keep a track on poachers. “People think that animals need the forest. But the truth is, the forest needs the animals equally - they are both inter-dependent and we should make efforts to preserve both,” says Dr. Anil.

“A few days ago, I saw in the camera recording that a family of wild dogs and seven small puppies from that family were trying to attack a Sambhar just in front of my house gate. They were born a few days back and now had grown up. So, the fact that each puppy survived is commendable. That means the sanctuary is a good host to all these wild animals,” says Pamela.

The couple has grown 10-12 acres of coffee and around 15 acres of cardamom on the land. The sanctuary also runs completely on solar and alternate energy. For days of heavy rainfall in the monsoon, the three small windmills meet the needs of providing enough electricity to the sanctuary.

When Malhotra couple started this sanctuary, they invested their own money and it now runs on donations which get tax exemptions.

The sanctuary also won the “Wildlife and Tourism Initiative Of The Year” award by Sanctuary Asia in conjunction with Tour Operators for Tigers in 2014.