Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries.
On April 9, a farmer named Rupalal heard noises in a well at his field in Dhawadi village in the state of Rajasthan in India. He looked down and saw a leopard 21 meters (70 feet) below.
A Rajasthan Forest Department team arrived at the scene and lowered a cage into the well, but the leopard would not enter. So Pratap Singh Chundawat, a ranger, descended into the shaft by rope. He tranquilized the animal with a dart gun, and the team was able to remove it safely. Before its release, the leopard was given a veterinary examination, which found that it was a healthy, one-and-a-half-year-old male.
For Chundawat, while the event was particularly dramatic, it was in line with his work.
Chundawat was well known for wildlife rescues and his work in tree nurseries, and had won awards at the district and division level. On the eve of this year’s World Environment Day, the Rajasthan Environment and Energy Conservation Centre honored Chundawat in Jaipur, the Rajasthan state capital, for “outstanding contributions to forest and wildlife conservation.”
Suresh Agrawal, deputy conservator of forest in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district, called Chundawat “our best officer.”
On Sept. 22, Chundawat died after he was run down by people allegedly involved in a local soil mining mafia.
According to news accounts, at roughly 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, forest staff were notified that an earthmover and a truck were being used to extract thick gaara soil, used for construction, from forest land. Chundawat and two forest guards went to the scene. When the truck fled, Chundawat pursued it on his motorcycle. The truck struck Chundawat and dragged him and his motorcycle. The driver was allegedly told to “run it over him.”
Chundawat was taken to a hospital and died the following day. He was 40.
Chundawat leaves behind a wife and two children. He was laid to rest in his native village in neighboring Chittorgarh district.
Banner image of Pratap Singh Chundawat via his Facebook page.
