The Bengal Poacher Who Chose to Protect - GetBengal Story
Once feared as a ruthless poacher who knew every hidden trail of the Sundarbans, Anil Mistry was the kind of man wildlife dreaded. He could slip into the mangroves with ease, his gun slung over his shoulder, and return with the spoils of the hunt. But life, as it often does, turned a page. Somewhere along the way, the hunter’s heart began to soften. The same hands that once laid traps now build shelters, the same eyes that once tracked prey now watch over them with care. Today, his story is not just about redemption—it is about rewriting one’s role in nature, from destroyer to savior.
Anil, now 52, grew up on the muddy banks near Bali Island in the Sundarbans. For him, the forest and the river were both playground and provider. Hunting, for his family and friends, was never about cruelty; it was a means of survival. The forest gave them food, income, and a way to make ends meet in a place where opportunities were scarce. Guns and traps were as much a part of daily life as fishing nets or farming tools. For years, this was the only way Anil knew how to live.
The world didn’t change much after graduation. Anil spent all day playing football with friends and venturing back into the mangroves to hunt occasionally. Why? Sometimes necessity, sometimes just for fun. But one particular afternoon turned everything upside down. While hunting with friends, they shot a doe and only afterwards noticed a little fawn at her side. Seeing the mother thrashing around in pain and the little fawn crying out for her mother hit Anil’s heart in a way he had never felt. That night he could not sleep. Then morning came and the guilt turned into a certain kind of purposeful resolve. He walked into the office of Pradeep Shukla, at the time the forest department’s field director, and confessed everything, which happened to be the beginning of living a life in which he decided to protect the animals he had hunted.
But he was not done yet. A few years later, Anil's life took another momentous turn after meeting Belinda Wright, the founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). By this time, he began formulating the Bali Nature and Conservation Society (BNCS) and attempting to restore and protect the forests that he previously extracted to appreciate their beauty. When he met Wright at a workshop, the spark ignited a life-changing experience for him. Wright recognised the honesty and dedication that motivated Anil, and she offered him a full-time position with WPSI to be the head of their Sundarbans area. His responsibilities included going undercover to capture poachers, promote anti-poaching initiatives, and in some cases, securing employment for local residents who extracted resources unsustainably. A former jungle hunter turned its greatest protector.
The transformation Anil ignited is not only being seen in the forest, but also in the lives of the people living beside it. Families that risked their lives fishing far into crocodile-filled rivers, or hunting in the mangroves for animals in traps, now have the ability to raise fish in small ponds in their back yards. Their livelihood that once twisted the destruction of the jungle changed to sustainable, dignified ways of making a living. For Anil this is the true success; not only saving the tigers and deer, but helping the people of the Sundarbans to flourish without taking from the forest.
There is a wonderful sense of reclamation in the twists and turns taken by Anil Mistry. His story reminds us that change is possible in anyone's life, no matter how unlikely. The transition from a boy with a gun in the forest to a man now strolling its tranquil paths as a steward is incredible. Even more than his own reconstruction, Anil's story has promoted reconceptualization about how a community engages with nature. The Sundarbans is a little safer today because, once, one man decided compassion would trump survivorship in a case of necessity. By making that choice, Anil did not only save the jungle—he saved himself as well.
Cover image courtesy: https://roundglasssustain.com/heroes/anil-mistry-ex-poacher-rescues-tigers/ https://roundglasssustain.com/
