My name is Ash Wicker.

And I'm a natural history filmmaker.

I want to tell you a story from my home in West Bengal.

It's an experience that deeply affected me in a way that I can't fully describe.

But first, a little bit of context.

I grew up in Kolkata surrounded by commotion.

But just hours from the city, we are lucky to have a world of amazing habitat and a huge variety of wildlife.

But it wasn't until I started working as a wildlife filmmaker did I fully understand the conservation challenges in these habitats.

I first learned about this story while volunteering with a local nonprofit.

Who Drew and Meghna are conservationists, and it is from the that I learned about a wildlife hunting festiva in the forests of South Bengal.

Let's jus think about that for a second.

A hunting festival.

What does that even mean?

Wildlife hunting is 100% illegal in India.

Of course, we have remote communities that engage in some form of backyard hunting, which sort of flies under the radar.

But an organized wildlife hunting festival in my own state.

I had to see this to believe it.

Aged eight day.

I was warned not to take my camera.

It would invite trouble.

So the photographs we have are discretely taken on phones by volunteers.

Okay, so let's go to how?

This one looks.

Said.

At first, there were a few dozen men with traditional weapons.

But then more and more arrived.

The men began entering the forests in hordes.

And when they emerged, thousands had gathered on a field.

And it is there that we witnessed the shocking extent of the massacre.

Nothing was spared.

Birds.

Mammals.

Reptiles.

It became very quickly evident that this hunting festival was not about food.

It wasn't just a big game that was being hunted.

Hundreds of tiny birds were taken from their nests.

They were just feathers and bones.

That's not food.

This was a blood sport.

These were our own people.

Where had we gone so terribly wrong?

But apart from the gruesome scenes of dead animals, what was equally alarming to me personally was that amongst these men, for little children, boys as young as seven and eight were brought along to participate in the massacre.

Personally I found that really hard to see.

So in the past, on specific days of the year, tribal communities in Bengal used to perform ritualistic hunts mostly in their own backyards.

Back then, it was a ritual.

Now it no longer is.

With better access to technology.

The scale of these hunts have totally exploded.

Younger men, mostly between the ages of 16 and 30, are all on WhatsApp.

They coordinate these festival scal hunts, hire trucks, and travel as far as 100km from home to kill more wildlife.

In 2018, hunters even managed to find and kill a tiger.

It was all over the news.

But the root of the problem was never addressed.

So it was clear that it was the youth that was driving the festival to this scale.

These were the young people of our own state.

There had to be somethin that we could do to reach out.

So we headed to one of these hunting villages to see how we could help.

But we sighted at first sigh this village was just so normal.

Paddy fields, farm animals.

And then you notice for science.

Every house has weapons.

Every other child has a catapult.

It's the first weapon they learn to use a gun.

This one.

But catapults are common in India.

But here there is an end goal.

This childhood practice is exactly what feeds into the larger hunting festival.

They are taught from childhood to view animals as targets.

But to achieve should.

Have.

But of course, these were just little kids.

And if they were taught one thing, they could be taught a different thing.

That's when the idea came to us.

We thought what if, just as an experiment, sort of a pilot project.

We chose a group of boys and replaced their catapults with cameras.

Would it change the way they viewed wildlife?

Could the right kind of education change the narrative here?

We wanted to find a group of boy who were already into hunting, but just about to enter their teenage years.

Before they go for those big hunts, I flew to Helena.

We didn't think it was going to be easy.

But fate had other plans.

We had barely begun our search when we stumbled upon a group of five boys hanging out on a bridge as if just waiting to be discovered.

Full of beans.

Full of trouble, and thickly bonded by their shared passion for hunting.

They.

Bought.

One now riding a school one day.

I want it to be a mother with a girl on welfare.

I wanted to buy them.

Got a tin of DHEA in the kitchen.

See, I have difficulty putting that on a girl who was going cause board.

I got to seeing what I can think of.

So.

Got it.

So I, I am for the labor and so do one rigorous object around.

You know what I mean?

Get along for the day.

I'm not a mean.

You're going to talk about the war.

I mean, what do you think?

But I don't wanna do it lying, did I?

But what about what?

Only the whole time I thought I would be the one.

I don't methodology the Duke.

No.

Good.

Memories.

I was looking for the icon for.

How they should see the value.

Of the gamma favorite subject?

Parking.

Ma ma ma ma ma ma.

Don't go.

Because you know, puny.

T. The boys were obviously fence sitters.

They liked animals, but they also hunted.

And they were on the verge of joining those big hunts.

We honestly didn't know how far this experiment would work, but we had to try.

On the first day of our week long project, the boys were going to get their cameras because they had never seen a real camera before.

Just the ones on smartphones.

I'll never forget the look on their faces.

I'm the.

Two legged.

We gave them a lesson or two in photography.

The second initial angle I wanted to get to.

They seemed to understand concep Of course, the idea wasn' to turn them into photographers, but to use the camera as a tool to change the way they viewed wildlife.

Not as targets, but as subjects.

I don't know what it was.

But first I needed to practice.

If I could go back in time.

But I never.

Only I'm going to do.

I'm kind of a mother.

I don't even explain it.

It all started quite normally.

Then very quickly.

The session turned into a circus.

The big.

Oh.

You.

At one point, Tara hijacked the sound equipment.

Or joy, the tripod.

And that's when we really had to call it a day.

Besides all the mucking about, it was actually amazing to watch.

Because even though this was the first time these kids were holding real cameras, they couldn't even read the English on the manual.

But like any kid their age, they instinctively took to technology.

It was very cool.

But this wasn't about technology.

It was about wildlife.

So it was time to get them to start engaging with animals.

We decided to start with the farm animals.

Rules were set.

What are they now?

They're quite, I don't know.

I see, I see.

Why not?

Of course.

It was easier said than done.

Everything escaped.

Yeah, I. But they eventually got the hang of it.

Then, without encouragement, just instinctively, they started taking photo of the wildlife in the bushes.

Garden lizards, which would appear as children exposed to hunting.

They're experts at finding animals.

And then we are taught them to choose unusual angles.

They took that very seriously.

Hunt.

At the end of the day, they got some really cool pictures.

The following day, we took the boys a little further from the village.

We wanted to take them to a bird nesting site.

Birds are the most common targets for children, with catapults especially nesting fledglings.

And this was a species of migratory storks that they hunted regularly.

We wanted to see how they would respond with a camera in the hunt.

For.

The best view was from a terrace.

To the.

Light.

That's what it.

Their response was exactly what we had hoped for.

But the best bit came a little later.

Roger spotted a next shell on the ground, and for some reason, assumed it had accidentally fallen out of the nest.

The empathy just came to him so naturally.

I came back down for the.

Speech.

And this was just three days after he was telling us about hunting birds with a scatterplot.

That we study back to the weekday.

The following day, we headed to the local zoo.

The West Bengal Zoo Authority had organized a surprise in their office.

They quickly.

I know it's a key channel, although you bet I won't be.

The boys had seen many wild cat killed during hunting festivals.

The director too the opportunity to talk to them about conservation and compassion.

Adrina Mitchener.

It's an honor.

I then we didn't know what to say.

But the zoo or the Kenya?

She asked us to show my children.

Over the next few days, we went on many adventures.

Each place had a significance.

Landscapes taught them about habitats.

Habitats about the animals that live there.

And slowly we began to change the way they saw the natural world.

We.

Knew.

And then.

Use the weight of my tripod.

Oh!

My trip!

Oh, God.

He's busy.

He's purposely making himself with you.

Yeah, he gave me.

We were out and about as usual, and I got nothing.

I'm not.

No.

I'm not.

Well.

There was absolutely nothing constructive being discussed.

Yeah, I yeah I do, I did, I did something no.

Oh I'm, I don't, I'm not really you know little debris.

No no Linda Molly everybody.

Oh.

Then out of nowhere a situation sprang up on us.

Oh no no no I oh do I, I'm on here.

Fire!

I'm taking a. Gun I. This economy.

I don't think the fire here and I'm not here.

Right.

I'm you know I'm go.

Come on.

I mean, I'm not that I'm not.

I mean, I go to shop, I, I don't even, you know, I like that's like.

Yeah, I mean, I shop, but if I go.

I have to.

Or a single elephant was feeding across a village pond.

I think I have it.

Or not, I would.

You.

I think southern Bengal is notorious for human elephant conflict.

Depleted forests drive elephants into villages to raid crops and it can lead to dangerous situations.

But this one was at a safe distance, so there was no trouble that just lots of excitement.

Yeah, I did look at that.

Was a foreign.

Glad I might have yet to deal with it.

It going.

I'm liking what the carnival for whatever of that would that would have gone.

All right.

So let's see.

And I like I whe I, when I come think about it.

You said how do you you know what I mean.

Is anybody.

Yeah I like it faster.

But after sunset the situation took a violent turn.

No more elephants emerged and the villagers turned hostile.

Oh, why why, why?

Oh, no.

Oh, I said.

000, why, why did you let them do what they had to do to get into this step?

Stop dodging.

Yeah.

Oh, God.

Oh, God.

So low budget.

And the India and Ukraine and government demanded to have.

That the.

I knew they.

In all the fun of the last few days, we had forgotten what a difficult landscape we were in.

People and wildlife were always in conflict.

You these were the influences these boys had grown up with would turn out, look, Diana did it.

That, there were moments, it seemed they were almost enjoyin the adrenaline of the conflict.

Oh, going to.

We'll be sailing in a mission to change them.

For.

Whole.

Morning brought new hope.

Which I think back in the village.

The boys and I were busy planning the day when Subaru interrupted to put on the clock.

Listen, maybe I think it's a jungle.

I actually, I have to know all about it.

Thankfully, it wasn't elephants who is a trained herpetologist, so he often gets called for snake rescues.

This was one of those situations.

It couldn't get somebody to get finished.

Does anybody did?

That we're all watching.

I didn't anybody Hoover thought it would be an interesting experience for the boys.

I wasn' so sure they hated snakes.

Let Ivy we go a little girl.

This was literally the least favorite animal.

I honestly didn't think the boys would care about the snake rescue.

Let's go check if it's safe for them to go.

Then we'll go with the kids, okay?

Yeah.

So I'm taking them out for two seconds.

You check first and come back.

Okay.

Actually, let me find out.

It turned out to be a harmless rattlesnake.

So the boys were called in.

I think that are all quite a bit.

You got to do a. I mean, I was thinking, how many do you choose?

I think you heard that.

We have to be careful.

I don't know, about five.

They seeme oddly invested in the mission.

I was being proved wrong.

There's some.

Actually, I'm sure you feel like when you go up a little bit.

Further will ever fix it to do the motorcycle, of course.

We took full advantage of their enthusiasm and involved them in the release.

Everybody ready?

Happy.

Oh.

I. Well, that, Bye bye bye bye.

Okay.

I'm going to better known.

No no no.

Very good.

Wow.

Nice angle on us.

They've got very lovely photographs, you know, it's beautiful.

It was the last day of our workshop.

And time to say our goodbyes.

Well, not really, because we were planning to come bac with their printed photographs.

Even then the boys were not too pleased.

Oh, I'm not the one that looked down.

Dr.

Mojo logged in.

Or Mojo.

A lot of journal or mojo.

I'm.

Watch it again.

Yeah, I want to.

I want to come over.

Do you guys show him that?

Well done.

Oh, very cool.

Cool.

Thank you.

Wave.

Come.

Thank you.

Oh, and thank you thank you, thank you, thank you.

They had clearly had a lot of fun.

But if there was any doubt that this week had really changed them, then that was soon settled.

Yes.

It's time to be Thank you.

Give me has got to say, it's been.

You give me started.

Yeah.

Best present.

Thank you, thank you.

Next time.

Okay.

One moment.

Said it all.

With a hearts full of hope, we left for Calcutta.

But that feeling wasn't the last.

A trip back to Kolkata coincided with another hunting festival in a different part of Bangalore.

Our phones were flooded with images.

It was a sobering reminder of why we had set out on this project in the first place.

There was a desperate need for education.

Back in the village, we couldn't wait to show the boys their photographs.

But what you read is what happened back to back.

You guys.

You talked too good to me.

Too little.

But you got me.

And you give me.

You tell me about me.

I'm really happy and I'm really nice.

We'll be back with an action flashback.

Careful in that time.

Now me.

Me doing it for you.

I'm.

After they had calmed down, they decided to organize a spontaneous pop up exhibition and sprang right into action.

Yeah.

Here you go.

Gonna go over to the left and I'm playing karate.

And the other kids joined from all over the village.

They came from in the valley up.

To.

And then the picture started catching the attention of other villagers.

And by lunchtime, the whole village had turned u to see the wildlife photographs taken by our boys.

At back there, all these people were from hunting families.

Nearly all hunters themselves.

Raja, his father, a lifelong hunter, couldn't be prouder.

The project had achieved what none of us could have imagined.

We're happy that we're.

You.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

We're.

Ready?

To.

Look, I'm in the middle of the.

I'm government with casualties coming.

Looking back, all it took was one small initiative to show us what a difference education can make.

If it worked on these five boys, it would work on so many more.

A project has come to an end but we hope it's the beginning.

If only the children of these communities can be exposed to the right kin of influences in whatever way, through photography, nature, field trips, documentaries, then perhaps all it'll take is one generation to change the story of Bengal.