The Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC) is home to a dynamic personality we are more than pleased to introduce. Meet Akash Dolas, a gentleman whose hat has many colourful feathers. He possesses a remarkable perspective towards the wild, having explored multiple facets in the field of conservation. Akash has completed a basic herpetology course from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He also picked up a course in Digital Filmmaking from the Isha Films & Television Academy (IFTA) in Mumbai, while pursuing a diploma course at the Maharashtra Animal & Fishery Sciences University (MAFSU) simultaneously.
Akash has proven his eye for detail and framing for the past 8 years he has worked with Wildlife SOS. Today, he is a Senior Photographer and Videographer of the team. His time at the Manikdoh rescue centre has also given him excellent knowledge of leopard behaviour. This is visibly evident in the two short documentaries Akash has brilliantly worked on — Leopard: Impossible Rescues (2023) and Leopard Rescue (2022) — for Ecoflix, a non-profit streaming platform dedicated entirely to wildlife conservation.
In addition to being an excellent wildlife photographer, he is also a trained paravet! Akash’s profound experiences run as deep as an ocean, and this interview only offers a small dip into the experiences he carries with him.
What brought you into the field of wildlife?
Ever since I was a 5-year-old boy, I had been observing my mother and grandfather studying wildlife as a hobby. My grandfather used to rescue snakes. Of course at that time, ‘rescue’ did not exactly have a definition. But whenever someone got scared of the proximity of snakes in our neighborhood, he would go there and relocate the snake back to the forest. I also learned a lot about various other species by reading books as well.
I also think the Discovery Channel has played a big role in my increased interest in wildlife when I was young. Wildlifers like Jeff Corwin, Austin Stevens, David Attenborough and Steve Irwin – their work encouraged me further to pursue this field.
What inspired you to pursue wildlife photography?
I was getting hands-on experience with snake rescues. Inspired by Austin Stevens, I wanted to document all the species I had come across… for keepsake purposes as well as to understand wild animals better. Photography became a necessity as there was no one else to do this for me, everyone around me were too scared and thought all species of snakes were venomous and all wildlife was to be feared. So, I took the task in my own hands.
Tell us about the cameras you’ve used previously?
In 2010, I started with an old-world camera, a Kodak, the one for which you have to take the film out and get the photos published in order to view them. Unfortunately, I never got them printed from the film reel. Just observing them through the eye-piece of the camera had me soaring through the sky! Speaking of skies, I began birdwatching with that very camera.
The second camera I got was Nikon’s point and shoot. It also had an in-built telephoto lens! With that camera I started understanding photography better. I used to explore the forests of the Western Ghats with that camera, but I soon realised it was not the ideal model for low-light photography.
So I moved on and purchased a second-hand digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR), a Canon 400D. And with it, I was clicking more pictures and learning more about the features a camera has to offer.
When and how did you start working with Wildlife SOS?
I had been in regular coordination with the Junnar Forest Division, helping them rescue injured snakes, jackals and other small animals since the year 2014. Wildlife SOS was in contact with the forest division as well, and I would sometimes volunteer to click pictures for the organisation.
In 2018, I was offered a permanent position as a Documentation Officer at the rescue centre. The rest is history! I have gotten opportunities to work in interesting projects of radio telemetry with various species such as Himalayan brown bear, star tortoise, Levantine vipers and even leopards.
Do you have a favourite leopard at MLRC? If so, what makes the leopard special for you?
It has to be Simba! Three years after I joined Wildlife SOS, this leopard cub was rescued as an orphaned cub of only 2 months old. Simba had an injury on his tail, presumed to have been caused by a pack of feral dogs. It sometimes feels like I’ve grown up with him, which is technically impossible, but I know I share a deep connection with him.
What is the most interesting thing you learned about leopard behaviour?
Everyone thinks leopards are very aggressive big cats, but I have observed a completely different side to them. I enjoy interacting with rescued leopards from a safe distance and have come up with my own little games that keep them alert and engaged. My version of peek-a-boo involves approaching from angles where they cannot immediately spot me. This is the only way I can manage to capture a photograph!
Their reactions to discovering me reveal not only their playful side, but also just how shy yet observant they truly are. In a leopard’s natural habitat, 90% of the time, these big cats will spot humans, but not the other way around. So many go unnoticed. It is only 10% of the time that one gets to see a leopard out in the wild, and even then, chances are that the leopard detected your presence long before you spotted it. Catching a leopard off-guard is extremely rare.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Sometimes when I accompany the team on leopard rescues, I am a little concerned about missing out on important shot opportunities. That’s because human-leopard conflict situations can get a little messy as the crowd is too excited or scared around the presence of a leopard.
To make sure I don’t miss out on anything, I tend to place cameras at different angles. These include my GoPro, camera traps and even my mobile camera. I also have two cards in my camera simultaneously recording to ensure backup.
What leopard story has stayed with you?
I have been a part of 87 leopard cub reunions, all of them have been deeply meaningful to me. For such operations to be successful, we have to camp out all night to monitor leopard movement and if a leopard is picking up on the scent of her cubs. One time, as we were waiting for the leopard to come and claim her cubs, and to my shock, the leopard we were expecting just brushed past me.
Being a part of such reunions gave me an excellent opportunity to learn more about how protective female leopards are and how mischievous leopards cubs can be. I was fascinated to see how the female leopard would first take one of her cubs and find a secure place for them, and in this time, the other cubs would get excited and run around. But as soon as their instinct kicks in, they would patiently come back to the spot where the mother left them, and wait for her to arrive to collect them.
Whatever we’re doing when it comes to helping cubs reunite with mothers is getting us results, and seeing everything happen and being able to capture it makes each moment even more surreal for me.
We’d love to know if you recall an instance, or have a picture that you clicked, that is closest to your heart?
We had once got a call from a village called Chakan in Junnar near the Pune-Nashik highway about a leopard that had attacked a woman. She was injured, but survived. This left us in quite a predicament, because it is not in a leopard’s nature to attack humans for no reason.
The leopard was rescued and brought to our centre. Upon medical examinations it was found that the leopard was already gravely injured due to an automobile accident, and this was why it acted out of character. This leopard was later on named Jay, and underwent bone plating surgery. He still resides at the centre, living a life away from conflict.
Akash’s photographs never fail to leave us in awe, with our mouths wide open – wide enough for a few flies to make their way inside and start building homes! His filmmaking skills have earned him praise from far and wide. A curious observer with countless tales to share makes Akash a valuable resource for wildlife research as well.
Recently, Akash has authored a paper titled “Baseline inventory of herpetofauna from the Naneghat Plateau, a high-elevation lateritic ecosystem of the Northern Western Ghats”, a topic extremely close to his heart, which has been accepted for publication in the e-planet – a multi-disciplinary journal that focuses on ecology, environment and allied sciences. Way to go, Akash!
If you too are passionate about animals and wish to remain a student of the wild, get to know about how you can build a career around wildlife research and conservation!
Feature Image: Wildlife SOS
