From Tea Boy To An Amazing Wildlife Rescuer, Passionate Animal Lover Saves 10,000 Venomous Species

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Apr, 2022 ) :Passionate affection towards animals mold a young boy who serves tea to customers at his stall in a rural settlement within the vicinity of Cholistan desert to also became an amazing nature survivalist and wildlife rescuer, saving around 10,000 venomous species within a decade.

"During the last one decade, starting from year 2012 to 2021, I along with my team members have rescued around 10,000 venomous species mostly snakes and scorpions," claims Abdul Rehman, a young boy from Bahawalpur district of Southern Punjab.

Talking to APP, Abdul Reham informed that most of these species were rescued from populated settlements and later released in natural habitats.

Most of these rescue operations are documented with Names of the specie, place of occurrence and site of release, says Rehman to substantiate his claim.

In three months of the current year 2022, around 33 snakes, majority of black cobras, are rescued and rehabilitated, he went on to say.

Rehman said he has set up a network of rescuers who are approached by locals about presence of a snake or scorpion and team members gets hold of the specie after visiting and shift it to safer places.

The team members also apprise people about safety measures and use of anti-venom in case of bite because in Cholistan desert range around two dozen cases of snake bites are reported with mortality in majority of the cases because people prefer traditional way of treatment.

Apart from rescuing wild species, Abdul Rehman is also spreading awareness about biodiversity conservation by uploading videos on his YouTube channel `Wild Rush', having a subscription of around 30,000 viewers.

Till the year 2025, I have set a mission of documenting informative videos of almost all the wild species being found in Pakistan on my YouTube channel, Abdul Rehman informs about his goals.

Sharing details of becoming a wildlife rescuer from a tea boy, Abdul Rehman said this is because of his love for animals from childhood.

During childhood, I used to watch tv channels including National Geographic and Discovery which also instilled in me the wish of becoming a nature survivalist, he added.

Abdul Rehman said he got an opportunity of attending a workshop in Rawalpindi and realizing his passion to become a survivalist the organizers decided to sponsor his training trip with "Chad Keel", Instructor at Discovery Channel.

The ten days training trip with Chad Keel in Gilgit Baltistan helped Abdul Rehman to become a nature survivalist who now travels different areas, observes behaviour of selected wild specie and make recording which is later uploaded on his youtube channel.

On Wild Rush Youtube channel, Abdul Rehman is sharing informative videos on different species including birds, insects and reptiles.

Abdul Rehman is not educated on his field and do a lot of hard work for getting information from internet on different species found in his area.

"I wake up early in the morning and starts my research work at around 5:00 a.m till 12:00 p.m," he apprises APP. At around 3:00 p.m, he arrives at his stall and serves tea till late night to eke out living.

For better understanding about habits of different species he also contacts wildlife experts and holds discussion with them for learning.

I hardly earn around Rs. Three to Four hundreds on daily basis and make a saving from meagre earning to hire camera, camera man and for meeting the travel expense of visiting desert area for recording of video about different species, Reham informed.

Rehman said he wants to protect and promote wildlife of Pakistan where a lot of works needs to done for conservation through awareness.

Highlighting importance of biodiversity, he quoted report of Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warning that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history.

For protection of nature, everyone has to play his role to maintain balance in ecosystem, he stressed.

Abdul Rehman plans to get a sponsor for recording a documentary video on blunt nosed viper by staying in its habitat of Chiltan mountainous range in Baluchistan.

There is hardly any work being done on blunt nosed viper being found in Pakistan and I wanted to explore it and make a complete documentary on it, he added.

Similarly, he also wish to stay within close proximity of dens of hyenas and to make a film documentary on the specie to highlight its status and threats.

Abdul Rehman skills of handling of venomous species is also very surprising like professional charmers. He plays with venomous species without showing any fear of being stung or bitten.

Due to his habit of protecting snakes, he was also called as snake charmer by peoples of his locality while some call him as black magician.

"I have made it mission of my life to save wildlife and wanted to convey to people that anyone who loves animals and realize importance of biodiversity, can play his role in protection of different birds and animals by getting very little training," Rehman opined.