Anuradha Rao, The ‘Deer Woman’ Of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. | Screengrab: (@the.untravel.show), (@ANI)
Port Blair: Anuradha Rao, a fourth-generation inhabitant of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has gained the title of ‘Deer Woman’ due to her extraordinary bond with the native deer community lasting more than 25 years.
Anuradha Rao, who works as a tourist guide on the Islands, was raised on the Ross Islands, has taken on the role of a mother to both Deers and Peacocks in the area. Her ancestors from both sides were taken to the Andamans as prisoners prior to India’s independence, making her a fourth-generation inhabitant of the islands.
Rao has spent more than 25 years of her life cultivating a bond with the island’s deer population and ensuring their well-being.
“I am a fourth-generation resident of this island. My paternal and maternal ancestors were brought to the Andamans as prisoners before independence. I came here as a young child, I saw deer here and used to provide them with food. I had a great bond with the deer of this island. Two of my deer are 17 years old weighing 70 and 75 kgs each,” Anuradha Rao said when speaking to ANI reporters.
“For over 25 years, I patiently worked to gain the trust of the deer, spending time with them, feeding them, and understanding their behaviours. Today, the deer of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands no longer fear humans as they once did,” she adds.
The Tsunami of 2004 struck the Island, causing Rao to lose several family members, but she shifted her focus to managing the Deer population on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. She has affectionately named the deer and cares for them just as any mother does for her children. She feeds the deer from her hands, converses with them, and occasionally even reprimands them.
Under Rao’s supervision, the deer population has significantly grown on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The population that previously had deers in the endangered category with merely 17 individuals has now surged to over 500.
