Operation Bondomobile

Operation Bondomobile was launched in 2011 with the generous support of David Bonderman to create anti-poaching tiger conservation awareness in the fringe villages of Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves.  Under the program, WPSI deploys audio-visual awareness vans to raise tiger conservation and anti-poaching awareness in the villages that fringe Central India’s key tiger landscapes. Between January to June 2022, the Bondomobile team in Bandhavgarh National Park visited 98 villages and 32 weekly markets, and handed out 6,955 Secret Information Reward Scheme information cards, which give compensation for actionable intelligence on wildlife crimes. Between January to June 2022, they received about 55 calls on their dedicated hotline. Of these, 6 leads from local villagers resulted in the detection of poaching cases that led to the arrest of 32 alleged wildlife criminals. The deterrent factor of the Reward Scheme became apparent a few years ago when WPSI operatives, posing as interested buyers of tiger parts, approached several known poachers near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. “Do not get involved”, they were told, “there are eyes and ears everywhere.”