Disregard everything you know about bats. In the serene village of Amritpur, they are neither pests nor bad omens; they are family. For 35 long years, Pegu family lives in the heart of a 20-bigha bamboo jungle that they created for themselves – towering trees that they planted. The family now cohabits with a colony of over 18,000 bats. While the forests of Assam are disappearing, the Pegus have shown that you don’t need a government grant to save a species, you just need to stop felling the trees.
The Pegu family from Amritpur village, while the world was busy talking about climate change and deforestation, was planting trees. “The Barman family of Jonai is synonymous with bats thanks to their growing business of rearing the flying mammals. Today, their 20-bigha ancestral land in Jonai is not just a farm it is a thriving, screeching, living “Kingdom of Bats.”
In a place where the forest are disappearing due to encroachment, brothers Lakshikanta, Narayan and Bolen Pegu along with their four other brothers achieved a great feat. They’ve made their house a home to thousands of bats a creature that people are scared of.
An Inheritance that Began with Elephants
The basis of the narrative is not the conservation plan; it is a father’s love for animals.
Narayan Pegu recalls, ‘“Our father owned elephants that needed forests. He preserved this patch of jungle for them. Over time, as forests elsewhere disappeared, bats began taking shelter here. For the last 30 to 35 years, this bamboo grove has become their permanent home.”
Thirty years ago, as the forests around the area started getting cleared, the bats found a place to live in the caves. They took the refuge in bamboo groves of Pegus. A few dozens have turned into thousands at the bat roost; it is incredible! The family who watches this “bat kingdom” grow for the past 35 years has never cut down a single tree that the bat will become affected.
Profitable Conservation Is the New ‘Green’ Economy.
One remarkable aspects of the Pegu family story is that it did not jeopardise their earning for nature. Their “forest-farm” model is actually more valuable than many of today’s monoculture farms.
The family earns a nice income by practicing sustainable agroforestry.
Areca nuts cost ₹2 to 3 lakh.
Betel leaves and fish farming: ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
Price of coconut approx Rs 60,000.
Furthermore, there are oranges, lemons, vegetables, and animals.
None of the brothers, even those with government jobs, stay back wherever they are settled. They make a strong statement: when you take care of trees, they take care of you in return.
Nature’s Living Museum
The Pegu homestead is a repository of local biodiversity and a ‘who’s who’ of species. The land next to the bamboo is thick with.
Some important timber species of the region are Elephant Apple, Black Myrobalan and Dubanga.
Wildlife: Not only bats are at risk. The regular residents include hornbills, owls, vultures and woodpeckers.
To use the grove as a living classroom, students from Jonai and Pasighat now visit the place. Thousands of bats take to the skies every evening for food, and return to the relative peace and law and order of the Pegu grove at dawn. Visitors say it is “surreal”.
A Request for Assistance
Although they are successful their family feels worried. Securing 20 bighas of unclaimed forest from encroachment is a full-time job. They are seeking basic government support for fencing to ensure that the Bat Kingdom stays a sanctuary for future generations.
Bolen Pegu says a bird or animal also needs a home just like a human does. We survive only when the trees survive.