Wildlife SOS | Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary | World Wildlife Day | Agra

Wish what is unconventional now, was conventional. Do give this blog a read if you are an animal lover and exploring nature is your cup of tea. 

The picture above is from a resort in Agra. Morning walks are my thing, thus this. The morning madness around these exciting creatures who were chatting among themselves was quite a wake-up call. 

Post breakfast I decided to ditch sightseeing and went to visit Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary instead and that turned out to be one of the best decisions of the day. 

Upon reaching, the first area I visited was what I would like to call as the 'snakes and thorns' area. All my excitement to see a python was being pricked by fallen branches with thorns that were sticking to my shoes. 

Thereafter, with no luck at witnessing a python, the next thing to do was to go for a boat ride in Keetham lake. There were various species of birds including Siberian birds. I didn't get a chance to see the big turtle the District Forest Officer was talking about. 

During the boat ride, the only thing I had my eyes on were these birds walking on the bank, taking a flight, or wading in the lake waters. The water was reddish-brown and I don't exactly know why that was but occasionally doing kiddish things like putting my hand to feel the water was intelligible to me. Nonetheless, I wasn't judged by anyone for what I was doing.

Post the boat ride I was finally going to visit the area I was most looking forward to, Wildlife SOS's Bear Rescue Centre, where they had kept sloth bears that were earlier conditioned into dancing for the public. 

The centre was divided into two major parts; one, where the newly rescued sloth bears had been kept for adapting into natural surroundings, and the other was where the bears were being brought back to their normal self. 

There was one bear who was dancing and I can't seem to forget that dance. Somehow, it made me feel that the bear wasn't happy, but who is to know. 

Apparently, sloth bears who are habitual of dancing for a human audience start repeating old behavioural patterns when they see humans and that was why the Education Officer told us to not pry.

Besides, being nocturnal animals, most of them were sleeping but I happened to get permission to click this one. I had to look twice or thrice to realize it was a bear, sleeping. 


Post that I got immersed in the conversation discussing what the bears were being fed. I was told that sloth bears are insectivorous and like to feed on honey. That's when I was also shown honeycombs on the top of the trees. 

Having no memory of seeing bears, I was elated to see them and was happier to see that they weren't held captive in cages, apart from a few whose excreta samples had to be taken as part of a regular check-up. 


Moving on, I walked for 45 minutes soaking in the energy of the place and meeting monkeys and deer off and on. 

What was to come next was not planned, but again was a decision I am glad I took. I had time at hand and there was an elephant rescue centre nearby and I had to go. I have an affinity for elephants.

Upon reaching this guy was painting. It was more beautiful than it is looking in the picture. There were many such works of art by various artists. 

The Education Officer at this place seemed quite connected to the cause and gave insightful data points on cruelty that elephants face in the name of culture, tradition, and tourism. Was shown a documentary depicting how they are exploited. 

After a quick round, I was finally at the place where I spent most of my time that day. I was intrigued by these twelve or so elephants. Literally watched them have their greens and play with wet mud for about two hours. 

My Two Attempts at Going Vegan

“I know of a few foreigners who have gone vegan, but you’re the first Indian I have come across in person who is following a vegan diet”, said a colleague of mine when she noticed I had gone vegan for around a month.

Personally, having known a college friend who promoted being vegan, it wasn’t as much a new concept for me. Additionally, maybe because I had studied nutrition, it didn’t intimidate me as much either.

In my first attempt, I could sustain for two months comfortably. I lost a little weight too. My rigorous work schedule and exercise regimen were contributing factors. However, after two months, I started feeling I needed to plan better to maintain optimum energy levels. Finding it difficult to maintain my health satisfactorily, I went back to being vegetarian. 

After 3 years, in January 2020, I attempted going vegan again. I was better prepped, my family was acquainted with my weird food experiments, and I was more determined. I had a stronger sense of purpose this time. 

Wanting to do my bit to raise awareness regarding animal cruelty, environment-friendly lifestyle, and impact of veganism on health, I decided to opt for a low-key way of going about advocating what I stood for, and this time it was easier. 

In my experience, just changing the cooking medium enabled me to eat just about everything that I used to. Developing a taste for certain foods and quitting others was slightly tricky but was too small a price to pay in comparison to my bigger goal of standing for the causes I felt for.

Entering March 2020, I am happy to share that I’ll be continuing to stay vegan for another month (I’m taking it month by month so that I don’t get overwhelmed).