Aurobindo Samal: Protecting Species with Community Participation

Aurobindo Samal’s first close encounter with wildlife was when he was 13. Fascinated by the snakes in his backyard, he picked up a non-venomous snake, trying to understand how it moved so quickly, despite being “legless”. He would read books on reptiles to study their anatomy and behaviour. At 16, he began volunteering with We Can, a wildlife rescue organisation in Cuttack, Odisha. The organisation worked for the ethical rescue of reptiles, birds, and small mammals from residential spaces and offices, and returning them to the wild. While he was a volunteer, he noticed that though people were happy with the rescue process, they weren’t educated about the species rescued, and post-rescue, a strong sense of fear remained with them. Though Samal started studying engineering, he was drawn to conservation. He wanted to start an NGO. Engaging people in wildlife conservation was at the core of Samal’s vision, so while still a student, he founded Earth Crusaders Organisation (ECO) in 2017 at the age of 19. Much to his family’s horror, once he completed his degree, he decided to focus on his NGO and work towards species conservation and community awareness and participation.

Over chai, I ask him about ECO. From behind Harry Potter glasses, his eyes twinkle, and he says, “I like to believe that ECO is an army of motivated individuals trying to create awareness about and protect Odisha’s wildlife. We have immense biodiversity in Odisha, but the inclination to protect it must be strengthened.” His team’s biggest achievement has been rescuing wild animals while focusing on “Community-based, Species-oriented Conservation Practices” (i.e., conservation practices that involve local people). ECO has helped rescue 3,000 wild animals, including cobras, Russell’s vipers, king cobras, Indian rock pythons, honey badgers, chameleons, civets, black kites, owls, and monkeys. The organisation is also involved in conservation, disaster management, research, capacity building, and spreading awareness in urban and rural spaces in Odisha.

Rescuing wildlife

Samal relates an interesting rescue he was involved in. “On a cold day in January 2022, Rakesh Kumar Mohalik, a research scholar from Anandpur Division of Keonjhar District called. He said the Forest Department was bringing a ratel (honey badger) that had been hit by a vehicle to the OUAT veterinary hospital. He asked me to go there and help. The animal was immediately x-rayed and found to have lower jaw fractures. After a three-hour surgery (which required jaw pinning), my team and the forest department shifted it to Nandankanan Zoological Park for future treatment. Happily, careful monitoring (where the ECO team was most involved) allowed it to survive. This was a rare incident of rescue of an extremely elusive species. Due to the extent of its injuries, we could not release it back into the wild; it is sheltered in the zoo.”    

 

Otters

About 60 km from Balukhund-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, Beladala village has a connection to smooth-coated otters. As I walk into the village with Samal, I admire the beautiful painting of a smooth-coated otter in its pristine habitat on the walls of the community centre. In 2019, while assessing the damage done by cyclone Fani for the Emergency Relief Network of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), Samal visited this village. Interacting with the local community revealed the presence of otters in the nearby river and possible conflict between otters and people due to shared food resources. The fishermen would cast their nets, and the next day they’d find them torn and the fish gone. Earth Crusaders proposed to WTI a project (which WTI funded) that would focus on otter conservation with community engagement to mitigate conflict. The otter wall art was part of that awareness drive.

Heading to the project site, we pass a relief centre made after cyclone Fani destroyed the village school. The children wave, even as the teacher tries to get their attention back to equations. “Partnering with the forest department, I have conducted otter awareness sessions with these children and the elders in the community, so they recognise me,” laughs Samal, waving back. 

Soon we reach the Nuanai backwaters near the village, home to the udho (local name for otters). We see clear pugmarks and spraints (droppings) in the sand. The roar of a motorcycle greets us. With a big smile, Dev Bhaina rushes forward to meet Samal. “Devendra Pradhan has been crucial to mobilising community members,” says Samal, giving him a bone-crushing hug. Some of ECO’s measures and solutions are: compensation for fishing nets damaged by otters, employing locals to create wall paintings, sensitisation programmes, getting them involved in tracking otters, and installing camera traps. During awareness programmes, community members learn about the incredible biodiversity around them and why it is important to protect it. “When you spend so much time with community members and also provide relief in the form of fishing nets or livelihood opportunities, an entire village starts helping,” says Samal.

During the project, the village hasn’t seen a single case of retaliatory killing of otters. Community members also get other financial incentives like renting their boats for anti-snare visits/walks. Once rife with snares, the region is now clean of such contraptions, with villagers actively identifying and removing spots with snares.  

While gliding along the Nuanai backwaters in a fisherman’s boat, we chomp guavas and examine the landscape. Dev Bhaina assures us that as long as awareness sessions with community members continue and their well-being is addressed, the otters are safe.

In 2021, the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF), Scotland, awarded ECO the “Best Community Achievement” award for outstanding work in community-based conservation efforts to protect the udho.

Hyenas

On the boat, a cool breeze lulls us into a half-slumber. Then, Samal’s phone rings. He explains that he needs to visit another area urgently in reference to an ongoing community engagement project for hyenas. The striped hyena (locally gadhia/hetabagha) is an important species. Being the primary scavenger of the terrain, they are cleaners of beaches and keep diseases at bay by feeding on the turtle carcasses that get washed ashore (for instance, at Jahania beach, an important olive ridley turtle nesting site). However, when fishermen removed the carcasses, they unknowingly created food scarcity for hyenas, causing them to move to Sahana village of Astarang, Puri, in search of livestock carcasses.

Improper livestock disposal (scattered across the village instead of at a common dumping ground) has led to negative interactions and some hyenas attacking locals. Hyenas have also lost their habitat and crossed over into human settlements. To address the conflict, ECO, the Odisha Forest Department, and WTI created a model for community participation. Community members are involved in sign surveys (reporting indirect evidence of species presence like scat or pug prints), sensitisation sessions on the importance of hyenas, and creating common carcass dumping grounds. Besides conflict mitigation, ECO is also working to reduce hyena roadkill by creating warning signage, encouraging sensitisation, and explaining “Dos and Don’ts” to communities living near wild animals. So far, adults in six villages and over 200 students have been sensitised through outreach programmes.

“We have a long way to go, but it’s a promising start,” says Samal when we leave. We’re in awe of his organisation’s holistic approach to conservation work. As we watch the setting sun and his lanky frame fade out of sight, we’re hopeful for a better tomorrow.