Dear visitor,
As you read this, an injured monitor lizard with multiple fractures rescued from one of Mumbai's busiest station CSMT is battling for life. At the same time, a two-month-old orphaned baby monkey, laali, found beside a pool of blood in 2018 is being fostered by a human family in Palghar. While, Sultan, the old eagle owl, who may never be able fly again is adjusting his life in urban environment hoping to survive a little longer.
Sultan and laali could survive because everyday several ordinary citizens in Mumbai risk their lives to save the urban wildlife. Traversing through the maximum city- attending rescue calls while juggling their academics and first jobs, the young rescuers in their early 20s throw themselves into the conflicting world of humans and urban wildlife conservation. From resisting an angry mob ready to kill the leopard entering a human habitat to doubling up as sleuths to help the authorities keep a check on the wildlife trafficking trends, a wildlife rescuer's unpaid job rarely gets noticed. Thus, amid this chaos lies the rescuer's challenge to strike a plausible balance to save both the human and wild life, often risking his/her life.
RAWW is a Mumbai based non-governmental organization with a mission to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and work towards urban wildlife conservation. RAWW was started in 2013 with the help of young student volunteers whom we call the real change makers.
The founder of the organization, Pawan Sharma, initiated the leadership by forming a small yet effective group of changemakers. As a result, an entirely volunteer-driven organization rescuing wild animals/birds/reptiles was born.
We are a young organization and most of our volunteers are students juggling academics and part-time jobs or young professionals managing the erratic work schedules of their first jobs. All are our members who provide us legal, financial, medical assistance work on a pro-bono basis with a pure intent towards the cause of wildlife conservation.
We rescue, rehabilitate, provide immediate treatment and temporary foster care to the wild animals, birds, and reptiles in the city and ensure that they are released into the natural habitat. As you read this, an injured monitor lizard with multiple fractures rescued from one of Mumbai's busiest station CSMT is battling for life. At the same time, a two-month-old orphaned baby monkey, laali, found beside a pool of blood in 2018 is being fostered by a human family in Palghar. While, Sultan, the old eagle owl, who may never be able to fly again is adjusting his life in an urban environment hoping to survive a little longer.
Sultan and laali could survive because every day several ordinary citizens in Mumbai risk their lives to save the urban wildlife. Traversing through the maximum city- attending rescue calls while juggling their academics and first jobs, the young rescuers in their early 20s throw themselves into the conflicting world of humans and urban wildlife conservation. From resisting an angry mob ready to kill the leopard entering a human habitat to doubling up as sleuths to help the authorities keep a check on the wildlife trafficking trends, a wildlife rescuer's unpaid job rarely gets noticed. Thus, amid this chaos lies the rescuer's challenge to strike a plausible balance to save both the human and wildlife, often risking his/her life.
Pawan was only 13-years-old when he rescued a snake with the help of a bucket and hook of an aluminum hanger. A Russell's Viper had entered his building premises and gobbled up one of his kittens. While the society members were convinced that the venomous snake was a threat and should be eliminated (read killed), Pawan somehow assured the members that he would rescue and release it in the natural habitat.
He might be only 26-years-old but, Pawan has already rescued over 5000 snakes, actively participated in major leopard rescue operations in Mumbai and assisted forest department in nabbing culprits indulging in wildlife trade. At the age of 24, he was appointed as the honorary Animal Welfare Officer (Appointed by the Committee to Monitor Animal Welfare Laws in Maharashtra by the Bombay High Court and Government of Maharashtra). Today, he is one of the youngest honorary wildlife warden working with the Maharashtra Forest Department (Thane city) and heads the non-governmental organization- Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW).
With every wildlife rescue, we step an inch closer towards its conservation. As humans when our instincts to kill an animal in fear changes to save the animal in distress, we learn how to coexist. That's what we at RAWW believe- Rescue. Conserve. Coexist.