Guwahati, July 9: More than two centuries ago, poet William Blake wondered, “Tyger Tyger, burning bright…” Today, in the rain-drenched forests of Assam’s Manas landscape, that metaphor has found a living expression.
The tiger is indeed burning bright once again in Manas.
A decade ago, the future of the iconic big cat in this UNESCO World Heritage landscape appeared uncertain. Years of insurgency, poaching and habitat degradation had reduced tiger numbers to barely 14 individuals in 2015. Today, nearly 60 tigers roam the forests of Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve—a remarkable conservation turnaround that has drawn attention from wildlife scientists across the country.
Yet those working closest to the landscape insist that the real story is not just about the tiger.
It is about people. “Long-term collaboration with fringe-area communities for protecting and restoring wildlife populations while simultaneously improving community wellbeing has contributed substantially to the recovery of tigers in Manas,” says noted conservation scientist Dr M. Firoz Ahmed, Director of the Tiger Research and Conservation Division of biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak.
According to Dr Ahmed, safeguarding habitats while steadily reducing villagers’ dependence on forest resources has created conditions where both wildlife and local communities can flourish together.
That philosophy came alive during Aaranyak’s three-day Monsoon Nature Camp, held from July 4 to 6 in the Manas landscape.
Rather than functioning as a conventional wildlife camp, the programme immersed young participants in an evolving conservation story where forests, rivers, indigenous wisdom and rural livelihoods form an inseparable whole.
“People and nature can thrive together only when we understand the relationships that bind them,” Dr Ahmed told participants as they explored one of India’s richest biodiversity landscapes.
The camp unfolded across forests, rivers and villages surrounding the Manas World Heritage Site, offering experiential learning that went far beyond wildlife sightings.
Participants explored the concept of “river thinking”—understanding rivers as living ecosystems rather than merely channels of flowing water. They walked along riparian habitats, observed monsoon birds and butterflies, studied amphibians and nocturnal insects, and learned how seasonal changes influence the rhythms of life across the landscape.
One morning was devoted to traditional homestead agroforestry, where farms double as reservoirs of biodiversity. Another introduced participants to vernacular meteorology, revealing how indigenous Bodo communities continue to interpret clouds, winds, insects and seasonal cues to anticipate rainfall long before modern forecasts arrive.
Jayanta Kumar Sarma, the camp’s Academic Coordinator and one of the principal architects of the initiative, says the objective is to reconnect young people with ecological knowledge that has sustained communities for generations.
The programme also encouraged reflection through discussions on the “Image and Imprint of Nature I Carry,” conversations on river ecology, indigenous weather knowledge, and Manas’ unique position along the India-Bhutan border where ecological and cultural connections transcend political boundaries.
The conservation movement that transformed Manas has itself been rooted in community participation.
Inaugurating the camp, Mrinal Daimari, Assistant Field Director of Manas Tiger Reserve, stressed the importance of blending traditional knowledge with local resources to strengthen sustainable livelihoods. He urged wider recognition of conservation success stories emerging from Manas and the greater Bodoland region.
Participants also learned about the historic Maozigendri Movement of the early 2000s from Chandrakanta Basumatary, Range Officer of Bhuyanpara Range. The community-led initiative mobilised local residents to protect forests and wildlife at a time when Manas was struggling to recover from years of conflict and ecological decline.
Throughout the camp, participants interacted with village elders, documented local biodiversity, and learned how cultural traditions continue to reinforce ecological stewardship. They sampled authentic Bodo cuisine prepared by the Dwisa Sher Bodo Cuisine Women’s Group and discovered how local food traditions remain closely linked with seasonal biodiversity.
A walk through Hatijan village revealed homestead agroforestry systems where fruit trees, medicinal plants, crops and native vegetation coexist, demonstrating that productive agriculture and biodiversity conservation need not be competing pursuits.
Perhaps the most memorable experience came after sunset. Walking quietly along the boundary of Manas National Park under the guidance of Dr Ahmed, participants encountered frogs emerging with the monsoon, listened to their ecological significance, and watched thousands of fireflies transform the forest edge into a living constellation.
For many of the young participants, it was their first encounter with such nocturnal abundance in more than a decade.
The next day brought another lesson in coexistence. Local women demonstrated sustainable harvesting of wild edible plants while community members introduced traditional fishing techniques in the Sewali River using indigenous tools such as Jekhai and Khada. These practices, refined over generations, illustrated how natural resources can be harvested without undermining the ecosystems that sustain them.
The experiences reinforced a simple but powerful message: conservation is not achieved through exclusion but through partnership.
The resurgence of tigers in Manas stands as visible proof of that philosophy. Behind every camera-trap image of a tiger lies years of habitat restoration, community engagement, indigenous stewardship and sustained collaboration among forest officials, conservation organisations and local residents.
In Manas today, the return of the tiger is not merely a wildlife success story.
It is a story of a landscape rediscovering its ecological heartbeat—where forests are healing, rivers continue to nourish life, indigenous knowledge remains relevant, and communities have become custodians of one of Asia’s richest natural heritage sites.
Here, the tiger burns bright because the people who share its landscape are thriving too.
By Bijay Sankar Bora
