From tea boy to wildlife rescuer: A passionate boy saves 10,000 venomous

BAHAWALPUR: Passionate affection towards animals mold a young boy who serves tea to customers at his stall in a rural settlement within the vicinity of the Cholistan desert to also become an amazing nature survivalist and wildlife rescuer, saving around 10,000 venomous species within a decade.

“During the last one decade, starting from 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.

He wants to protect and promote the wildlife of Pakistan where a lot of work needs to be done for conservation through awareness

He informed that most of these species were rescued from populated settlements and later released into natural habitats. Most of these rescue operations are documented with names of the species, place of occurrence, and site of release, says Rehman to substantiate his claim.

In three months of the current year 2022, around 33 snakes, the majority of black cobras, are rescued and rehabilitated, he claims. Rehman said that he has set up a network of rescuers who are approached by locals about the presence of a snake or scorpion and team members get hold of the species after visiting and shift it to safer places.

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

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

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 me 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 since 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. Rehman said that 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 10 days training trip with Chad Keel in Gilgit-Baltistan helped Abdul Rehman to become a nature survivalist who now travels to different areas, observes the behavior of selected wild species, and makes recordings which is later uploaded on his YouTube channel.

Rehman’s skill in handling venomous species is also very surprising like professional charmers.

On the Wild Rush YouTube channel, Abdul Rehman is sharing informative videos on different species including birds, insects and reptiles. Rehman is not educated in his field and does a lot of hard work for getting information from the internet on different species found in his area. “I wake up early in the morning and start my research work at around 5am till 12pm,” he apprises.

At around 3pm, he arrives at his stall and serves tea till late at night to eke out a living. For a better understanding of the habits of different species, he also contacts wildlife experts and holds discussions with them for learning.

“I hardly earn around Rs.300 to Rs400 on a daily basis and make a saving from meager earnings to hire a camera, cameraman and for meeting the travel expenses of visiting the desert area for the recording of video about different species, Reham informed.

He said that he wants to protect and promote the wildlife of Pakistan where a lot of work needs to be done for conservation through awareness.

Highlighting the importance of biodiversity, he quoted a report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warning that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. For the protection of nature, everyone has to play his role to maintain balance in the ecosystem, he stressed.

Rehman’s skill in handling venomous species is also very surprising like professional charmers.

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

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 wishes to stay within close proximity of dens of hyenas and to make a film documentary on the species to highlight its status and threats. Rehman’s skill in handling 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 a snake charmer by people of his locality while some call him a black magician.

“I have made it my life to save wildlife and wanted to convey to people that anyone who loves animals and realizes the importance of biodiversity can play his role in the protection of different birds and animals by getting very little training,” Rehman suggests. APP