Environmental Conservation Organisation (ECO), Daund

“In Kalewadi in Pune, an adult porcupine fell into a well and volunteers of ECO received a call to rescue it. The topography of the well was bumpy and dangerous for climbing and we
were concerned for the safety of our team. Without any safety equipment like helmet, gloves, jackets, harness, safe ropes, our team got into the well with nothing but a rope given by the local people. Frightened animals in distress situations tend to attack as a form of defense. The porcupine had many places to hide in the well and the rescue volunteers had to watch out for attacks from its sharp spines. After struggling for 2.5 hours, the team managed to trap the porcupine in a net and luckily the animal came out of the well without any physical injuries. It was the porcupine’s lucky day and it was released by us into the wild.”
- As narrated by Nachiket of ECO

Due to changing land use patterns and many developmental activities, more and more animals wander into human settlements in search of water and food and get trapped in distress situations like falling into a well. The helpline of Environmental Conservation
Organisation received around 400 calls in 2020-21 and we rescued more than 85 birds, 60 mammals, and 250 snakes. And the number of calls keeps increasing every day. The team even built waterholes in the vicinity of Kalewadi for animals and birds, mainly for the
summer season, to reduce the number of such incidents.
Environmental Conservation Organisation (ECO) works for wild animal rescue and rehabilitation. We are available 24/7 and we get calls for rescue of snakes, birds, wild animals, and strays. ECO also works for building awareness and spreading information
about conflict with snakes and on how to avoid harm to both human and reptile. Educating young and old minds on animal behavior and spreading the word on responsible tourism are other branches of our work.
We have always worked only with volunteers who invest not just their time but also their money to ensure animals in dire situations get a lifeline. Our 24-hour emergency helpline receives calls from locals as well as the Forest Department and the number of such calls has
shot up in the last one year due to increase in human-wildlife conflict.
The difficult situations that these animals, birds and snakes need to be rescued from include great heights, gaping depths, tough terrains, challenging topography, which need technical and safety equipment to navigate. But our volunteers step into such situations with nothing
but a measured length of rope and immeasurable lengths of courage, commitment and will power. They place the well being of the wild creature well above their own personal safety
while they face the risk of grave or life threatening injuries.
Our need of the hour is safety equipment like helmets, gloves, jackets, harnesses, safe ropes for the volunteers and safe cages for the rescued animals, birds and reptiles. The safety of volunteers in rescue work will mean that they can reach out to double or triple the
number of wild creatures that they rescued last year.

The amount required to buy the safety equipment required by our team of 20 volunteers is Rs.1.5 lakhs. Your contribution will make sure that one more snake or bird or peacock or monkey does not die in distress after suffering pain and anguish. It will also ensure that the
human beings who are extending themselves to rescue a creature are safe to continue their valuable and life-saving work.

“What you do makes a difference,
and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make….”
-Jane Goodall