Dec. 14, 2005 — Former poachers and rebels who once hunted endangered animals in a northeast Indian wildlife reserve welcomed hundreds of tourists Monday to celebrate the sanctuary's 100th anniversary.

For poacher-turned-gamekeeper Brindaban Boro it was a moment of pride to lead a group of foreign visitors through Manas National Park, which borders the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

"I am proud to be actively involved in the centenary celebrations," he said. "I never thought I would be able to give up killing animals. I regret my past."

For 13 years the jungle park, 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Guwahati, the main city of Assam state, was in the grip of militants who slaughtered animals for food, while gangs of poachers hunted tigers, rhinos and elephants.

In 1992 Manas was listed as a U.N. World Heritage Site in Danger. In the mid-1990s the heavily armed militants there killed 15 park rangers. But as fighting gradually eased over coming years, the park was reopened in 2002.

The true turnaround came last year when the Bodo Liberation Tigers, a key separatist rebel army, signed a peace accord with New Delhi.

Now some 80 former poachers and rebels patrol the park with forest rangers helping safeguard the animals — and India's Bengal tiger is beginning to roar once again, accompanied, to visitors' delight, by the trumpeting of elephants.

"I remember killing several deer and wild pigs for food," said a former Bodo tribal militant who identified himself as Milan. "But things have changed, and I simply loathe myself when I think of my past."

The park's four-day celebrations began with scores of reformed poachers and one-time militants pledging to protect the wildlife at Manas, which, according to the latest state wildlife census, is home to some 65 tigers.

The reserve in the Himalayan foothills has 22 more of India's 41 endangered wildlife species, including the rare pygmy hog, golden langur, one-horned rhinoceros and wild Asian elephant.

"It is a miracle of sorts that we are being able to celebrate the centenary year of Manas with the wildlife here on the brink of extinction," said park warden Abhijit Rabha.

Some threats remain, said Assam's chief wildlife warden M.C. Malakar, with "a handful of locals" still hunting the animals. But former poachers, he said, were now "doing wonders in making the animals breathe easy."

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Name: Bengal Tiger, aka Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
Primary Classification: Felidae (Cats)
Location: India and Southeast Asia.
Habitat: Tropical forest and grassland.
Diet: Deer, antelope, wild pig and water buffalo.
Size: Up to 10 feet in length and 575 lbs in weight.
Description: Reddish-orange coat with black, vertical stripes; white underside, cheeks and eye areas; broad, muscular body; long, sensitive whiskers; long legs with sharp, retractable claws; long tail
Cool Facts: It has been known to kill and eat crocodiles. It can leap more than 30 feet in a single bound, climb trees and swim for miles. Its roar can be heard almost two miles away.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Poaching and habitat loss.
What Can I Do?: Visit the The Tiger Foundation, Tiger Link and Global Tiger Patrol for further information on how you can help.

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