BANGALORE : Bored of New York's concrete jungle, Paul Rosolie plunged into the Amazon forest. Like an Old World explorer, he travelled without high-end gadgets, just a few packets of noodles, a hammock and a raft. He explored a previously undocumented ecosystem often called the 'floating forest' and has written 'Mother of God', a book which received high praise from the likes of zoologist Jane Goodall and adventurer Bear Grylls. Paul, now in Bangalore for a project related to wildlife conservation, talks about his experiences.
Tell us about the Amazon and anacondas...
Anacondas in the Amazon are like tigers in Indian forests. They're an umbrella species and conserving them is key to conserving the entire habitat. I ventured into a super remote region in the Western Amazon called Madre de Dios (Mother of God). The area was filled with giant anacondas, jaguars, caiman and thousands of butterflies. I happened to fall on a giant anaconda which didn't even to stop moving though I clung to it.
Why don't take gadgets with you?
I wanted to ensure minimum disturbance to the pristine forest. I didn't want to pollute it by taking a motorized boat, GPS device or other hi-tech tools. All I took was a camera and essentials for survival.
* And then you decided to write a book...
I wanted to tell the story of a wildlife which will be lost, just like the East Amazon is being exploited for various reasons. Through Mother of God, I want to take the rich wildlife closer to people through my adventures. The world must understand that we're the last generation to protect wildlife. Future generations may not have an opportunity.
Tell us about your India connection...
When I talked about exploring wildlife, a professor wanted me to visit India as I was interested in tigers and elephants. In 2008, I wandered in the forests of the Kaziranga national park, Western Ghats, etc. I saw a parallel between India and the US as most challenges of conservation like poaching, man-animal conflict and threat from development projects are similar. In India, it's a little complicated as forests are being fragmented due to various reasons. On the positive side, people are passionate about conservation and many good things are happening.
And you found the love of your life too...
During that visit, I happened to visit an ashram on the outskirts of Bangalore. I saw some villagers chasing a cobra to kill it. When I tried to rescue it, a girl lent a helping hand. That's how I met Gowri. We tried to impress each other with stories of anacondas and cobras and we fell in love. We got married two years later and Gowri, who is a good photographer, works with me on projects. We're producing a television show about anacondas.
How is the world responding to conservation?
If people can get together and protect a heritage building in Bangalore (referring to Balabrooie), we can work wonders in conservation. We should make sure that stories of places like the Amazon forest or Western Ghats are accessible to a wider audience, not just biologists and conservationists. The loss of biodiversity and ecosystems affects all of us as a global community.
