24 Dec, 2019

Hats Off to Kanha’s Forest Guard for Resuming his Duty after Dreadful Bison Attack

Despite a near-fatal Bison attack, the forest guard never lost hope. He fought, recovered and took over again. His bravery and love for wildlife are truly commendable.

So this is a story of Kanha National Park’s forest guard Mahesh Markam who has spent his childhood among wildlife and his love for wildlife can be clearly seen in his responsibility and duty as a forest guard. To this, the forest guard was brutally attacked by Bison when doing his duty in Kanha National Park and even after coming close to death, he never thought of distancing himself from the wildlife. After getting recovered, he got back to his duty and today he is serving as a forest guard in the Kisli range.

Taking a Step Back to Know the History of Bison’s Attack on Mahesh

As per the information, Mahesh Markam has been working in the Kanha National Park since 2003. But it was in the year 2007 that his attachment and love for wildlife took an unfortunate turn and brought him close to death. It was in the month of August when a wild census was going on in the forest and as Mahesh was walking a Bison attacked him from behind. The horn of this wild animal entered straight into the stomach. Besides, other part of the body also got injured during the attack.

During this incident, the camp watcher Mahadev was with Mahesh and with his help, Mahesh somehow managed to inform the senior officials about the incident and his situation on the wireless. Mahesh waited for three long hours for help, kept fighting for life but didn’t lose hope.

The Second Birth of Mahesh

Soon the forest officers arrived and took Mahesh to the district hospital. After looking at his critical condition, the doctors of the district hospital referred Mahesh to the hospital in Jabalpur. It took around 8 hours to travel from Kanha to Jabalpur but God’s grace was with him that he kept breathing.

Upon reaching Jabalpur, Mahesh’s condition was so critical, that the doctors in Jabalpur’s hospital too said that there was no hope for his survival. But he underwent emergency surgery and got saved. It won’t be wrong to say that Mahesh got a new life or this was his second birth.

Recovered and Took Over the Duty Again

After the surgery, Mahesh was in the hospital for about two and a half months and after recovering resumed his duty. If Mahesh wanted, he could have simply started again working in the core area or office after this accident, but it was his love for the wildlife that made him start his duty again in the Kisli range. It has now been 12 years to the incident Mahesh is still not distracted and will continue to work for the wildlife as long as he can.

The Love and Respect for Mahesh

Mahesh has won everyone’s heart after this incident, especially the officers of Kanha National Park and his colleagues. Not only it shows his bravery but also his passion for his duty which is worth praising.

Mahesh struggled between life and death and even after facing such a terrible incident, he is sincerely doing his duty. Hats off to his bravery and courage to overcome such dreadful attack of the wild animal.