Saluting the Noah of ‘Animal Ark’
Dr. Prakash Amte’s family lives in complete harmony with the wild animals at their home in Hemalkasa, Maharashtra. So much so that his grandson playing with a python is not even a shocking sight for their neighbours.
Their animal exploits began when the couple spotted a group of tribal people coming back from hunting with two monkeys tied to a bamboo stick.
A baby monkey was attached to his dead mother’s breast and was drinking her milk.
Prakash said: “We had never heard of people eating monkeys in India. But, here, people were killing them. We told them to hand us over the baby. But they were not ready to hand over the baby as they were without food. So we offered them rice and vegetables and exchanged it with a monkey. This was our first bargain.”
For the Madia-Gond tribal community, hunting was not recreational — they survived on it. At the time of the encounter, Dr. Prakash requested the tribals to give him the baby monkey in return for rice and clothes. They reluctantly agreed.
The red-faced baby monkey arrived at the couple’s home in the village of Hemalkasa and soon became a member of the household. Prakash named it Babli after the tribal god worshipped by the Madias.
The orphanage, known as Animal Ark, which started with a rescued baby monkey, has been a house to several jackals, jungle cats, leopards, deers, snakes, giant squirrels, Indian pythons, sloth bears, hyenas, crocodiles, birds and owls, over the last forty years.
There was a time when the number of animals living as family among the Amte clan and the villagers totaled to 300. It was only later that cages were erected to house the animals in the orphanage as a regulatory procedure. The cages have in no way hindered the ease and freedom of the animals nor the unbound love showered by the Amte family on them.
Handling animals has also put him at risk. In 2006, Amte was bitten by a Russell’s viper and underwent treatment for over a month at a Nagpur hospital.
Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini are not veterinarians; they are both doctors who went to medical school. Animal Ark was not a part of the plan they had for their lives but they went beyond conventions to create an animal haven within their own courtyard. Additionally, Amte is the son of respected social worker Baba Amte who dedicated his life to rehabilitating and empowering people suffering from leprosy.
The family’s efforts have been rewarded with numerous awards, including the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice in 2014, and they were the subjects of a movie biopic released in 2014 called Dr Prakash Baba Amte: The Real Hero.
Prakash and his wife Mandakini Amte have cemented their celebrity status by recently appearing on the latest season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. They actually played really well, winning Rs 25 lakh, which will be used for a watershed management programme. This scheme works towards resolving the water woes of the tribals.
Now Prakash is turning his thoughts to conservation.
He said: ‘In the future we hope to help breed endangered species, animals from other sanctuaries, and release them into the wild when they’re ready.’
At the same time, Animal Ark’s methods have also led to repeated run-ins with the same authorities. Last October, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice asking Amte why permission for the centre should not be cancelled. This was after a film broadcast by History Channel showed Amte’s granddaughter, 21-month-old Rumani, handling animals including a banded krait and a Russell’s viper. In a letter, the CZA stated handling the animals violated the Wildlife Protection Act.
The issue was settled with Amte agreeing not to handle the animals or allow visitors to photograph or videograph his rounds in the zoo. He told the CZA that he will also complete the plan to expand the zoo.
And now the orphanage might lose its status of being a rescue center soon.
The licence, which was given in 1991, expired in November last year and is yet to be renewed. According to the zoo officials, Prakash does not have the permission to house wild animals, and that’s a violation of wildlife protection laws.
Animal Ark is one of a kind and here’s hoping the wildlife welfare authorities do what’s best for the animals.
Ketto & Animal Welfare
Since its inception, Ketto has been a strong proponent of animal welfare in this country. Click on the links below to view crowdfunding projects Ketto has been involved with for saving and helping animals. If you feel inspired, you can perhaps start your own animal rescue project with Ketto as well.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
