Ex-Poacher Anil Mistry Helps Save 70 Tigers in Sundarbans

Anil Mistry stood in the forest watching a wounded doe struggle to breathe while her fawn refused to leave her side. In that moment, the hunter from West Bengal's Sundarbans realized the animals he'd been killing for survival were mothers and children too.

Mistry grew up on Bali Island, where poverty and flooding made hunting a way of life for many families. He and others in his community would hunt deer and occasionally tigers, viewing the forest as a resource for survival rather than something to protect.

But after watching that doe die, Mistry did something unexpected. He walked straight to the authorities at Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and confessed to poaching.

That conversation changed everything. Instead of just punishing Mistry, officials helped him understand that people hunted because they had no other options. If communities could earn a living without harming wildlife, they might choose protection over poaching.

Mistry founded the Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society to help his neighbors find alternative ways to make money. He worked on mangrove restoration, wildlife protection programs, and community initiatives that gave people economic reasons to care about conservation.

The transformation worked beyond anyone's expectations. His village, once known for poaching, recorded zero poaching incidents for 15 to 20 years by 2019.

Mistry's journey eventually led him to become principal field officer for the Wildlife Protection Society of India in the Sundarbans. Over nearly two decades, he's helped capture and safely release around 70 tigers that wandered into human settlements.

The work has been dangerous. During one rescue, Mistry fell and broke his leg, and the tiger had to be shot to save his life. But he's never blamed the animals for human-wildlife conflict.

"We have occupied their space," Mistry explained, noting that his own ancestors cleared forests to build settlements. Tigers moving between islands searching for food weren't invaders but original residents trying to survive.

The Ripple Effect

Mistry's approach recognizes that saving wildlife means helping people too. The conservation programs he works with now include livelihood support, women's self-help groups, health initiatives, and ecotourism opportunities that give communities financial benefits from protecting forests.

His story shows how someone can move from survival mode to becoming a guardian of nature. Former poachers often make the best conservationists because they understand both the animals and the economic pressures facing rural communities.

From one heartbreaking moment with a dying deer to saving 70 tigers and transforming an entire village, Mistry proves that change is possible when conservation includes the people who live closest to wildlife.