With heavy hearts, we bid goodbye to one of our oldest serving animal keepers at the wildlife rescue centre in Kaziranga.

Prasanta Das or Bhinihi as he was popularly known as, lost his life to a prolonged illness but will be remembered for his superb work as an animal keeper at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC). His ever-smiling face reflected his happiness in looking after orphaned animals under rehabilitation, a life’s mission more than a job for him.

He joined Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) as an animal caretaker in 2003. Since then he had seen numerous animals under his care successfully rehabilitated and released back to the wild. Few people knew of his wonderful skills in bamboo art.

Born in 1974 and serving at CWRC since 2003, he was one of our best performers in his heyday and was promoted to Senior Animal Keeper. His illness, however, prevented him from working in the recent past and he breathed his last before dawn at his home this morning. He is survived by his wife Buldoi Das and son Nabajyoti Das.

His demise is a great loss to the wildlife rescue centre. His service to the animals at CWRC will always be remembered with respect.