What is Reliance Foundation’s animal rescue programme?
Recently, the Reliance Foundation and Reliance Industries have officially launched the Vantara (Star of the Forest) programme. This programme helps animals that are hurt, treated badly, or in danger in India and other places. It's the first programme like this in India. Anant Ambani oversees this programme.
What more do we know about the Vantara programme?
Under the programme, there's a big facility at Reliance's Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat. It's like a forest for rescued animals. They work with wildlife experts to save and help different types of animals.
The place has animal hospitals and research areas. They want to work with groups like the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) to help save and care for animals in need.
Have any animals been saved under this programme?
This programme has helped save more than 200 elephants and many other animals, like reptiles and birds, from being hunted and treated badly. Vantara has also helped animals like rhinos, leopards, and crocodiles. They've worked with rescue groups in Mexico and Venezuela to protect wildlife.
At the Vantara site, there's an Elephant Centre with a hospital. They also take care of over 2,000 animals of 43 different kinds at the 'Green Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre'.
They have saved tigers from hunting places, pygmy hippos from Sri Lanka, over 1,000 crocodiles from Tamil Nadu, and 200 leopards from across India.
All the animals at Vantara get good care and are treated with modern technology. While the Elephant Centre isn't open for public visits, they plan to let educational institutes visit the Rescue Centre to help people learn about saving animals. They're also building a zoological facility that the public can visit, and they have more plans for the future.
What are some other plans for the future?
Vantara plans to work with the Zoo Authority of India and other government groups to help zoos in India get better. They want to make sure that animals in the wild get proper care and treatment.
So, would you like to visit the Vantara facility to see the animals? Tell us in the comments.
