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KOKRAJHAR: Dr. Panjit Basumatary, Manager and Head of the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) and actress & WTI’s Ambassador Dia Mirza Rekhi was honoured with the 24th International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) annual ‘Animal Action Awards’ in London, United Kingdom.
The ‘IFAW Animal Action Awards’ celebrate the unsung heroes of animal welfare, honouring individuals who dedicate their lives to the protection and conservation of wildlife. A resident of Kokrajhar of BTR, Assam, Dr. Panjit Basumatary was honoured for his outstanding contributions to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts while actress Dia Mirza Rekhi was honoured for her impactful contributions to wildlife conservation in India.
A senior veterinarian with the Wildlife Trust of India, one of the country’s leading wildlife conservation organizations, Dr. Basumatary has been associated with the WTI for 14 years, working tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate, and release distressed and injured wild animals. He has hand-raised rhinos, elephants, clouded leopards, hoolock gibbon and numerous black bear cubs. Additionally, he has published multiple scientific papers on issues related to the rehabilitation and release of wild animals. Throughout his career, Dr. Basumatary has attended to around 3,000 individual wild animals across more than 250 species, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. At the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga, he and his team successfully hand-raised 26 orphaned greater one-horned rhino calves, with many rehabilitated back into the wild.
Dr. Basumatary currently serves as the Manager and Head of the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. It is India’s only facility dedicated to hand-raising and rehabilitating orphaned Asiatic black bear cubs. Since its establishment in 2002 by the Arunachal Pradesh Forest department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), CBRC has successfully rehabilitated and released over 60 bear cubs back into their natural habitat in Arunachal Pradesh.
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