While sorting a pile of papers this morning (22 August 2023), two envelopes each with a greeting card from 1993-94 slipped out like a God's gift for me. For many months I was searching for this card and Mr. Bimal Chandra Bhanjdeo for obvious reasons. They have sentimental attachment to the subject and Similipal. With and without help of molecular studies, science has revealed many truths in the past 30 years about colour types in tiger. I fondly continue to remember Mr. Bimal ji and people of Mayurbhanj. In the photo above, Bimal is stooping down to see the method of tracing a tiger pugmark. He participated in tiger census operation in Similipal sometime around 1995 as an unofficial member.
At that time there was an instruction from Director, Project Tiger, Government of India, to involve non-official members in tiger tracking census. When we circulated the news, there were many many letters and applicants, including people from neighbouring states (Bihar/Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh) and even from outside India. An elderly lady from Africa had joined in one year, and had gone happy with the experience the technique gave her.
