Man VS Wild - Subham Kumar Rout

“On my 16th birthday, my brother and I had been to a temple where we spotted a small snake struggling inside an artificial pond, to find its way out. Without giving any second thoughts I spontaneously went forward and lifted the snake out, with bare hands. The feeling of touching a snake was surreal and that ignited my interest and curiosity to know more about snakes. Back then, due to lack of resources it was quite difficult to gather information hence, I started watching NAT GEO on tv. In my +2, I opted for Zoology only for the reason that I could get access to reptile related books, because access to books in library solely depended on choice of subjects.

My zoology teacher who was a researcher in the field of herpetology, also helped me to a great extent. I had also subscribed to the monthly magazine, called ‘TELL ME WHY?’ that featured different animals each month, and that made me realize that not only reptiles but all animals are special. Due to peer pressure, I gave up on my wish of pursuing BSc-Zoology and took up B.Tech. Due to unwillingness, I had no zeal in the first year until I got a call from Aakash Mishra, head of a NGO, who was looking for volunteers. I was too excited to work and eventually when I discovered that the pace was too slow in there, I got disheartened. One day while randomly going through the friend list of Mr.Aakash Mishra, I came across profiles of rescuers. I sent requests and tried to grab as much information I could.

 In my second year, I got a chance to work in the NGO of lawyer Bibhudatta Jena, where I learnt the art of rescuing snakes in different situations. My first rescue was of a cobra in Puri. My college has supported me immensely when I had to go for rescue missions in between my lectures. I have also done many awareness camps and workshops on snake bites. Throughout my family was unaware, until they caught me rescuing a rat-snake in our neighborhood, so I had to convince them a lot about my passion for reptiles. Thereafter, I was working under Chandaka forest division where I discovered my aim of becoming a Divisional Forest Officer and currently I'm preparing for the same.”- Subham Kumar Rout