Thread by @nisheethsharan

Let me share this interesting story I heard last night. Tucked around a bonfire on a hill top forest guest house, our Forest Personnel host shared this little episode. The backwaters that you see here, dry up at a lot of places to no more than 3-5 feet depth. 1/n

Most shoreline is Tribal villages where no change can happen. Folks are poor and rear cattle. Across the waters is the Satpura National Park with a healthy tiger population. Even yesterday, there was news of 2 ox attacked by tiger. So here is how the story goes.
2/n

In summers, some cattle cross over and get into the reserves of the tiger. Now the poor owner cant afford to lose his cattle.
There is this young tribal boy, who is an expert of finding lost cattle. His skill is informally acknowledged by the Forest Dept too. The cattle owner
3/n

gives the task of finding the cattle to this boy. His takes his own ox, packs salt, green chillies and flour, holds the tail of the ox and crosses the water. The ox leads him to the runaway cattle. The boy criss crosses the tiger reserve, looking for the lost cattle,
4/n

camping there at night, cooking his rotis and having them with salt - green chillies. Leaves the fire on and sleeps next to it and his ox. In 2/4 days he is able to locate the runaway cattle, walking barefeet.
Rounds them up, makes a cattle train led by his ox,
5/n

holds the tail of the last one and crosses the water again.
He gets 500/- per recovered cattle. Thats his bread and butter, he is the saviour of the run aways and the forest officials let him do it.
Because he knows the forest like nobody else.
Hows that for a living?