Every year, July 31 is celebrated as World Ranger Day to honor the guardians of our natural and cultural heritage. Rangers are faced with the challenging task of protecting forests from poaching and habitat destruction on the field, and World Ranger Day seeks to acknowledge and express gratitude to them for their service.
In this spirit, we spoke to Bhaniklal, Range Officer, Kodanad, Kerala Forest Department about his support system, and why he enjoys being a forest officer.
Bhaniklal, Range Officer, Kodanad with his wife ﹘ also a forest officer
What do you enjoy most about your job?
We have a multitude of tasks. So we enjoy the multiplicity of the tasks, we enjoy serving nature, we enjoy being in a calm and cool environment with our fellow beings. It’s a little bit risky, but we enjoy that also.
What is your biggest motivation?
Actually, my family is a forest family -- my wife is also a forest officer. So from the family we get very good support.
Tell us about your achievements. What are the biggest challenges in this job?
The most important problem we are facing now is human-animal conflict. Whichever areas I have worked in, the major problem is the same. It is the biggest challenge for forest officers, especially those working in territorial regions. That’s the biggest task most officers have.
We cannot solve it alone, it’s only through team work that we can ﹘ with the help of our fellow staff, and the support of our superior officers. Together we run as a family, and we share all our achievements.
We applaud rangers for their bravery in the face of the numerous challenges they face everyday.