Humans Of RESQ- Vaishnavi Bhangare

The daredevil, gutsy, fearless girl with a resolve of a warrior, Vaishnavi Bhangare is a rescuer and a valuable member of the on-site team. To rescue is the only thing she has ever known. Before joining RESQ, Vaishnavi was a full-time human rescuer working with Shivdurg in Lonavals and recalls how she has retrieved people, alive and dead both, from the most difficult and unpleasant situations. On one such occasion she and her team rescued a cow that was injured and fallen in the valley. The rescue took two whole days and at the end of it, the cow had died. In that moment she realized that with animals, just rescuing wasn’t enough and there had to be treatment options available. This is when her organisation started to collaborate with RESQ in Pune to treat rescued animals. As time passed and RESQ started working with wildlife, she realized that’s where her heart was, and so she joined RESQ full time as a rescuer. With a bachelors in zoology and a post graduate as a laboratory technician, Vaishnavi also assists in on-site treatment and first aid.

What she loves the most is that the work is humbling and has made her more compassionate, empathetic, and patient. The more she has grown professionally, the more she has grown as a person. She owes her entire identity to RESQ. Her most memorable moment at RESQ so far has been the time they rescued a bull in Pen. It took them nearly 11 hours and the team were exhausted mentally and physically, but no one gave up and the bull was finally rescued. What she also holds close to her heart is witnessing an animal in its most miserable conditions during rescues and then getting to witness the same animal healthy and fit when being released. The joy is unmatched for her.

When Vaishnavi is not rescuing, she is found trekking, chasing sunsets, and reading novels. The quote she lives by is, “Be real, be confident” and when asked what animal she would love to be born as, “a lioness”, she says with a smile. “Because, a lion may be the king of the jungle, but a lioness is his boss”, she adds with a giggle.