Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the expansive Vantara facility in Jamnagar, where he saw the state-of-the-art veterinary treatment offered and shared
some touching moments with the resident animals.A rare Clouded Leopard cub, a White Lion cub that was born at Vantara after its mother was rescued, and Asiatic Lion cubs were all played with and fed by the prime minister. The center’s Caracal breeding program, which is essential to the survival of this dwindling species, was also explained to him.AdvertisementHe also spent time with rescued chimps, an orangutan, and a submerged hippopotamus and crocodiles, as well as patting an Okapi, walking among zebras, feeding a giraffe, and a rhino calf who had been orphaned when her mother died at the facility.Vantara’s origin story:In February 2024, a passion project became one of the largest projects to rescue, treat, care for, and rehabilitate wounded, neglected, and threatened animals in India and throughout the world.With the announcement of the Vantara (Star of the Forest) program by Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation, attention turned to Anant Ambani, who conceived and brought the project to life under his fervent direction.Vantara, which occupies 3,000 acres in Gujarat’s Green Belt of Reliance’s Jamnagar Refinery Complex, strives to be one of the world’s top contributors to conservation initiatives.Working with top animal care and welfare specialists, Vantara transformed a vast 3,000-acre area into a jungle-like setting that replicates the rescued animals’ natural, nourishing, lush, and verdant home.Modern healthcare facilities, hospitals, research facilities, and academic institutions are all part of Vantara’s commitment to developing best-in-class methods for animal conservation and care. Vantara also emphasises incorporating cutting-edge research and working with reputable international institutions and organisations, such the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), into its programs.AdvertisementMore than 200 elephants and thousands of other species, including birds and reptiles, have been saved from risky situations by the initiative in recent years. It has carried out programs for important species, such as the rehabilitation of crocodiles, rhinos, and leopards.Anant Ambani told CNN-News18 that his mother, philanthropist Nita Ambani, had played a significant role in the initiative.“So, my mother has always been a great inspiration to me. My mother, when I was a young boy and we were going, I was, I think, 12 years old, we were travelling from Jaipur to Ranthambore. In the middle, on the road, we saw a young elephant with a ‘mahavat’ in the peak heat, and the elephant was walking a little weirdly,” he said.Advertisement“I told my mom, we want to rescue it. So that was the first elephant. And we had no idea how to take care of elephants. So we got the elephant, we kept it. And then we said, we’ll build slowly, slowly. Boond, boond se sagar banta hai. At that time we did not even know what to feed the elephant. We would do what the ‘mahavat’ says. We had no scientific knowledge. We built scientific knowledge over a period of, I think, a decade and more. Today we have a highly professional team, more than 300-400 professionals, taking care of the elephants.”AdvertisementSharing the idea behind Vantara, Anant Ambani had said: “Something that drives my cause is animal welfare. There are a lot of people working [for human welfare] but in animal welfare, there are few people working. I think I was the chosen one and I was fortunate enough that God’s blessings… that I could do Seva of animals. For me, in today’s life, you can’t see God but I see God within every animal. They say in our dharm that in a cow, there are 64 crore ‘devtas’. But for me, not only in a cow, but I see in every animal. So it’s my giving back to society.”AdvertisementThe hospital and medical research facility occupy one lakh square feet of space at the site. With an ICU, MRI, CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopy, dental scalar, lithotripsy, dialysis, OR1 technology that allows live videoconferences for operations, and a blood plasma separator, the hospital and research centre are equipped with the cutting-edge equipment.The Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre is responsible for more than 2,000 animals of 43 different kinds. With the goal of creating a healthy reserve population to repopulate endangered species’ populations in their native habitats and prevent extinction, the Centre has initiated conservation breeding projects for around seven endangered species of both Indian and foreign animals.More than 200 elephants, more than 300 big cats, including tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards, more than 300 herbivores, including deer, and more than 1,200 reptiles, including crocodiles, snakes, and turtles, have found new life and hope in the Vantara ecosystem today.More from India
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PM Modi visits Vantara wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre in GujaratEnd of Article
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