Whenever there is a need to control an aggressive wild animal trapped in the poacher’s trap there is only one name that comes to our mind, that of Satnam Singh, a wild life Conservator, a Shooter and a Rescuer.

He is the savior to all wildlife in the Udaipur region, and his ability to catch some of the most dangerous beasts is well known. Satnam Singh is known as the “Man with a lion’s heart”.

Satnam Singh joined the Udaipur Forest Department in 1983 as a forest guard and in the late 90s he was appointed to the Flying Squad Team of the Jungle.

Since his joining the Forest department, Singh has rescued a number of wild animals including Leopards, Bears, Hyenas, Crocodiles, Snakes, etc.

Besides rescuing, sometimes the situation also turns upside down when he come across man-eaters.

Satnam Singh caught a Leopard from Chittorgarh District who had killed an old lady in a farm. He also trapped and caught two man-eater Leopards from the Pratapgrah District.

He said that trapping a man-eater is very difficult as these beasts are very intelligent and keep an eye on their threats; they can even smell gun powder from a long distance and move away from the spot.

“Man eaters will only attack and kill a human when they are unable to kill their natural prey, for example they might lose a teeth or get wounded in a fight from another animal protecting their territory or have grown old”, said Satnam Singh.

While sharing some of his most exciting encounters with wild animals, Singh said, “If I come to know that a killer beast is around somewhere in the jungle, then I don’t care how dark and deep the forest is, I will just get inside.”

He said, “some times there is a terrorizing silence in the jungle as a Leopard camouflaged in the shadows of the trees is looking at me and I have no clue of the beats whereabouts. The fact that I have to search for him without making any noise, makes the situation tense.”

Satnam Singh said that there are two unforgettable incidents in his life; once when he was attacked by a Panther in a rescue operation at Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary and another when a wild Bear attacked him at Sanchore (Jalore); in both the attacks Satnam nearly lost his life.

Singh continues “We use pistols that have a range of 60ft to tranquilize the animals, so we have to move very close to the animal which makes the situation very critical as the animal might attack anytime.”

Satnam Singh, along with Udaipur Division looks for 9 Districts of Rajasthan as an Expert Animal Rescuer.

After decades of service, Satnam gets upset sometimes as he rescues animal by putting his life into danger but the lack of medical facilities for animals at the local zoo gives no chance to the animal to recover.

He says, “all the zoo staff is dedicated and put all their efforts to save the animals but we still need full time veterinary compounders and full medical supply, a separate operation theater for animals with hi-tech equipment. Even forest guards need to be fully equipped with latest search and rescue equipment and arms against the poachers.”

Brief History of Satnam Singh’s Wild life Encounters

Satnam Singh told UT that in 1993 he tranquilized and caught a Panther form Kesariya ji. In 1994 he caught a Panther and trapped him in a cage near Chittorgarh. In the same year he rescued a Panther from village “Guda” Nathdwara. In 1998 he tranquilized another Panther near Chirva.

In the year 2000 he rescued two Panthers from a trap set by poachers from the jungles of Bijapur and Bali. In the same year he rescued a Panther from a well in Kurabad and in 2001 trapped a Panther from an open field near Salumber.

In the year 2003, he trapped a Bear near Mt. Abu Mountain Range, while in 2004 he caught a Reticulated Indian Python near Mullatalai. In the year 2005 he captured an Elephant near Lakhangarh. In the year 2006 he trapped an aberrant Elephant near Sirohi and later the same year rescued a Bluebull from a dry open well near Kurabad and caught a crocodile near the village of Kaladwas, caught a Hyena near Charbujha and rescued a Panther near Sanchor.

Not only this, from 1993 to 2012 he tranquilized and brought wounded and sick animals for rescue to the Gulab Bagh Zoo.