WWF-India invited its Nature Club of India members to the premier screening of the “The Jungle Gang meets the Rhino.” The ‘Indian Rhino’ is the first ever wildlife film for children in India where live action and 3D animation have come together to explore the life of the Indian Rhino, it’s habitat, threats and conservation efforts. The 16-minute film has been shot in Kaziranga over a period of 2 years, during which the director encountered poachers as well conservationists. His experience has been reflected in the film through the various narratives that are weaved in through the three animated characters – Kuttu, a slender loris, Bhura, the Black buck, and Boo, a bar-headed geese.
The film narrates the story of rhinos in their habitat and the threats that they are presently facing. It encourages children to become ambassadors for conservation by calling for their help in the protection and preservation of their environment.
The screening saw an overwhelming response from the school fraternity with almost 300 children participating and was followed by an interactive Q&A session with the film maker and Mr Khalid Pasha who works with TRAFFIC, wildlife trade monitoring network - a joint programme of WWF and IUCN.
The film received an extremely positive response from the students who were intrigued with the medium of the film and the issues that were raised. The film utilized colloquial words and therefore the students were able to easily relate to it.
The Q&A saw many enthusiastic children ask a variety of questions to the panel such as why is it important to tigers and rhinos, how does their survival impact our lives, what methods do poachers use to kill rhinos and how are the horns used.
During the session, the director shared his experiences while tracking the rhinos for the shooting, their peculiar behavior habits and their relationship with other species in the park. Khalid drew the children’s’ attention to the growing organized mafia behind rhino trading, which is second only to the narcotics trade in the country.
