Herp Report: Near death experience changes hunter to conservationist

While out stalking deer, Sitesh Ranjan Deb was attacked by a Himalayan Black Bear. Nearly loosing his life gave him a different perspective on the native species, and changed his path forever. From the AFP:

"Many of the species I grew up with -- wild boars, leopards -- are hardly ever seen now. These animals are in their last days. "Illegal logging has damaged the forest so much there is no food for the animals. Unless we act now, they'll be gone forever in a few years." Sitesh, 62, nurses injured wild animals brought to him by villagers back to health and also appears regularly on television shows campaigning for better public attitudes towards wild animals. If possible, he releases the animals back into the jungle, while others he keeps in his small zoo -- including two hand-raised Himalayan black bears after the mother was killed, a 5.5 metre (18 foot) python and a rare albino fishing cat. Even Sitesh's family home is filled with animals, the more "difficult cases" which need 24-hour care. Two jungle cat cubs, a baby python and a badly-injured Slow Loris (a primate species) are currently in residence. "So far, I've freed more than 1,000 animals and that's not counting 2,000 birds," he said, displaying photographs of many former patients.

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