Wildlife

Rescue, Rehabilitation, Human-Wildlife Conflict Management, Capacity Building & Training

Maharashtra is home to a rich biodiversity, with key species whose populations are globally declining. The landscapes in which these animals thrive have greatly changed over the last decade. Growth in urban development, shifts in agricultural patterns and climatic changes have led to an increasing number of wildlife coming into conflict. Wildlife in need of help is reported to our headquarters based out of Pune, either to our 24 hour helplines by public citizens, or we are alerted about them by officers of the Maharashtra Forest Department or other governmental departments. RESQ is authorised by the Government of Maharashtra to conduct state-wide wild animal rescues in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department. When wildlife is rescued, they are admitted into our Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre in Pune, for veterinary care and rehabilitation, which is recognised by the Maharashtra Forest Department, where our primary goal is to aim for a complete recovery and give them a second chance to get reintroduced into their natural habitat.

Wildlife Rescue

Technical wildlife rescue (aerial, confined space, underground and water rescue), emergency veterinary ambulance support, disaster response and relief

Sometimes wildlife ends up getting trapped in extreme or difficult situations - over and underground spaces or ends up getting adversely affected by natural and manmade disasters - rescuing them from such situations requires fast response, clear strategy, good equipment, and most importantly, a well-trained team. Composed of technically strong professional climbers, veterinarians and rescuers who are experienced in wildlife handling, behaviour and safety for humans and animals both - our team is dynamic, responsive and ready to go the extra mile when a rescue demands it. No two rescues are the same as several factors keep changing with each rescue. In situations where large carnivores or mega herbivores stray into human dominated areas and require emergency rescue, our teams work in tandem with the forest department, police, fire department and local communities to ensure a swift and coordinated response is delivered to make sure the animal is rescued safely and no human lives are negatively affected. While revisiting strategy, improvisation, proper equipment, and a lot of patience results in an animal's final rescue, these animals are generally released as soon as possible after ensuring they are in good health.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (TTC)

Veterinary treatment, surgery and post-operative care for injured or sick wildlife, rehabilitation and reintroduction programs for wild orphans or trafficked and illegal captive wildlife

Rehabilitation is a wildlife management tool that when used effectively can not only help support the efforts toward conservation of biodiversity but also provide the much-needed support to injured, sick, orphan and trafficked wildlife with the goal of restoring them to their natural habitats. The RESQ Wildlife TTC is nested on a hilltop just on the outskirts of Pune city. Our line of action begins from the moment an animal enters the rehabilitation centre - key information about the animal is recorded on an online system and is regularly updated for the duration the animal is in our care, this system is monitored by the Maharashtra Forest Department officials. Each admitted animal receives a preliminary examination by experienced wildlife veterinarians and rehabilitators to assess its condition, type of intervention required, after which a medical rehabilitation plan is charted with key milestones, timelines and rehabilitation goals which are specific to the species and condition of the animal. Our team of rehabilitators and wildlife veterinarians is composed of resourceful and intuitive individuals who understand species-specific wild animal behaviour and wildlife handling. We have dedicated rehabilitation units for 250+ animals of different species who are critical and require intensive care, orphaned animals and others who are admitted for minor injuries or extensive rehabilitation. Enclosures are built in a way that they can be enriched according to the species that is being housed in them. A rehabilitation process is deemed complete, and animal fit for reintroduction when it is free of suffering and is exhibiting natural behaviour. Through the entire rehabilitation process our efforts are driven towards minimising suffering, captive stress to the animal, providing it a safe space to exhibit natural behaviour and revert human imprinting in case of captive/ trafficked animals. Wildlife rehabilitation is important to not only help support the efforts toward conservation of India’s biodiversity but to also provide the much-needed support to wild animals who find themselves in life-threatening situations in human-dominated landscapes due to some form of land-use change or development, done to meet the needs of our rapidly growing human population. RESQ runs its Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre in Pune which is authorised by the Maharashtra Forest Department.

Human-Wildlife Conflict Management

Wildlife tracking and monitoring, community engagement and awareness

When humans and wildlife end up in the same space and their interactions pose actual or perceived, direct or recurring threats to people’s lives or livelihoods, these interactions end up having a negative impact on the lives of people or wildlife. Our role during emerging or established human-wildlife conflict situations is to assist the forest department in mitigating the situation by monitoring the animal/s in question, interact with the community as non-governmental wildlife experts to make the community aware, explain the animal’s presence and behaviour, and convince them to take preventive measures to ensure human and animal safety for all. We believe that our outreach and education efforts allow us to connect with communities, urban and rural, and our proactive efforts of preventing humans and animals coming into conflict protects thousands of animals in their habitats, in human-dominated landscapes. Our HWI management teams are experienced in managing challenging human-wildlife (leopard, tiger, elephant, gaur) conflict situations. Human-wildlife conflict in urban and semi-rural areas also include snakes, monkeys, civet cats and some birds which are generally resolved by community education and rescue, only when necessary.

Capacity Building & Training

For governmental departments or NGOs in HWC response management, rescue and rehabilitation, animal laws and case related jurisprudence

Animals live in close quarters with humans in different landscapes almost everywhere outside protected forest areas. As an NGO that believes in collaboratively working with governments to add to the overall conservation capacity by providing our expertise and services gratis, we engage in conducting training programs and workshops with different government departments and local groups to foster teamwork, faster response time, and to stay updated about best practices in the field of wildlife treatment and rescue. We have trained several officers and guards from Maharashtra Forest Department, Police Department, State Level Training Centre (Animal Husbandry), Fire Departments and others including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Railway Police Force (RPF) Pune District and District SPCAs. Additionally, to strengthen our own network and build capacity internally, we identify, train to empower and employ individuals from different biodiverse rich locales to form RESQ remote squads (RRS) who operate from their locations (smaller towns and villages) to provide response during wildlife emergencies and conduct community outreach initiatives proactively, to protect animals in their natural habitat.