Nature is wild and we are RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife welfare)

RAWW – Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare is a Mulund based NGO that works for the welfare of wildlife. The main aim of the RAWW is to spread awareness to people and include them in supporting and being part of conservation of wildlife of the city. There is a serious need for a new level conservation to be practiced in the city as maximum human activities have only caused destruction of nature and wildlife, the natural habitat of all the wildkinds is almost under great threat.

All the members and volunteers belong to different walks of life and majority of the team consists of the youth – from the age of 18 to 25. At present the team consists of more than 50 active members.

Different tasks undertaken or performed by us and our team members are as follows:

A group of well experienced and ethically trained snake rescuers is the most special feature and service of our NGO , our numbers are registered with the Forest department, Police department , fire brigades , B.M.C , disaster management and so on – we provide the service of rescue of snakes from commercial and residential areas of our suburbs – we then register them with the forest department Mumbai Range and then release them back to wild ( almost keep the release site secret for the protection of the species as disclosing the location may be misused by some individual or groups leading to wildlife crimes etc. )

Whenever we rescue a snake – we try making the locals aware about snakes – inform them basic safety and security tips that can avoid human reptile conflict. Provide with emergency helpline numbers for distress situations.

We also conduct awareness program's in schools, clubs and societies – with power point presentation and not live snakes – as according to the rules laid down by the department it is illegal to conduct snake shows / awareness sessions with live snakes, its only possible if there is a written permission from the concerned forest officer. We make people aware about such things, rules, regulations – dos and don’ts.

Snakes fascinate all of us and many times people feel like keeping them as pets or trying to catch them from the forest – we educate people that all the species of reptiles of our country are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and thus making such attempt can lead one behind the bars other than a fatal snake bite.

We also have a team of independent researchers – who are researching on different areas of science in wildlife like reptiles, birds, mammals their distribution, behavior etc.  Many national and international research papers are published, which can be further used and read by the future generations.

We also volunteer the Mumbai range forest department during human wildlife conflicts – where  wildlife is either in threat or the humans because of its presence – the main reason for this is animals do not understand boundaries like we humans do and thus sometimes cross the wild habitat and enter human habitat. What we try to do is motivate the people to co exist with the animals , by direct or indirect actions like not killing or threatening any wildlife and if a distress situation – approach the rescue team. This usually happens with the leopards – leading to human leopard conflict.  We conduct awareness program's with the rescue teams of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and also volunteer them during emergency rescues – by different strategies during different situations and thus showing people that even common man can be a part of wildlife welfare.

Most common things we come across are,

Common snakes - 

rat snake , checkered keelback water snake , buff striped keelback ,common kukri, common sand boa , wolf snakes , bronzeback tree snake, Indian rock python – all non venomous snakes.

Cobra, krait, russell’s viper, saw scaled viper, bamboo pit viper – all venomous snakes.

Vine snake, cat snakes ( common & foreston’s cat snakes ) – all semi-venomous.

Common Birds-

Kite, owls, pond heron, bats etc.

Common animals –

Monkeys, langurs, leopards.

Our teams make people aware regarding these animals and also helps the forest department in various activities for wildlife conservation and welfare by following all the official protocols which is actually very important.

The difference between rehabilitation and dumping of wildkinds.

As we all know that the city has a very rich wildlife within its limits, there are some serious things that cannot be ignored. It is all about the rehabilitation of the rescued species by various organizations/individuals and the concerned government departments. Today the main reason for the human-animal conflict is because of the miss management of wildlife.We will concentrate on the dumping of species.
There are several organizations and individuals in the city who claim to rescue the wild animals, birds and reptiles in distress. The whole city feels its a job by doing which you get blessed! This is unfortunately not the truth, a very sorry moment to reveal the fact that the rescue of animals in distress or causing distress has increased as compared to the past but the rehabilitation is very poor.
Several animals are rescued every year but they are not released properly, which actually is a major concern for the future. Maximum wild animals are more territorial as compared to the stray or domestic ones and thus the job of rescuing and rehabilitating them is not so easy as it looks.
For instance any reptile rescued from a place is supposed to be rehabilitated within 3 kilo meters according to the international protocols, however this is not possible in a city like ours. But it is very important to relocate the wildkinds to a near distance that where it is done today. Organizations and individuals not all but many - who call it rehabilitation are actually dumping the rescued species which is unethical as well as something which created a negative impact on the habitat where released.
Introducing any species to a new area is a sort of experiment and it has been proved over the years that this practice is actually not kind job. At the same time it is a shame on the part of the concerned authorities that they are not capable of regulating and maintaining the balance. When an animal,bird,reptile is introduced to a new place while rehabilitation many factors are supposed to be checked and rechecked. A rescue cannot be called a rescue unless there is a successful rehabilitation - and a successful rehabilitation in this city is not a joke. Like humans - even animals are facing the shortage of space - all because of human errors on various stages and ignorance towards wildlife unless there is a problem/ distress.
According to the protocols that I had come across when I wear the shoes of a rescuer - any rescued snake is supposed to be rehabilitated in the mangroves , so its amazing to think that how a tree snake or a snake which belongs to a different habitat will survive there.Maximum snakes in the city enter into the open drainage system during the rains from the national park and such green patches. Also if over the years it learns to survive somewhere where it is not supposed to  - how will it affect the existing species today and tomorrow. There are many such dangerous questions that many may come across everyday.
Today in Mumbai we all know the craze of pets and the super craze of pet reptile and other wildlkinds both legal and illegal. Imported as well as native species of wildkinds are kept as pets by the people and one final day many of the owners realize that they can not take further care of them and thus feel to do a task to releasing the animal in the wild thinking that setting the imported foreign animal free in the native wild habitat here is a very noble cause. Today majority of the city's lakes are filled with imported turtles,fishes,crocodiles and so on, and similar is the case with the birds and animals too these days we rescue love birds and imported parrots too. We can call it the failure of the system for what is happening within the city today , the infected roots are located deep but are detected I just wonder when will they be uprooted - something next to impossible.
It is a very sincere request to all the current organizations and individuals in the city to think about it , if this continues - in the future there will be nothing to rescue and not because every thing will be sorted but because everything will be destroyed. Time to unite and move in a similar direction if not same, and thus spread awareness and practice something which is actual and ethical.