My colleagues who grew up on Rutland Island kept us enthralled with stories of their experiences. They belong to the Ranchi tribal community, who were originally from Jharkhand near Bihar, but had settled on Rutland Island for the past 60-70 odd years. The British had brought them to the islands to log timber and carry out other manual labour tasks. After Independence, these communities settled in many villages in the Andamans, including Rutland Island. According to the 2011 census, they number around 65,000. Being forest dwellers, they have a good knowledge of the forest. In fact, most field assistants from the region working with NCBS belong to the Ranchi community. Jahaji is one of the few beaches where the giant Leatherback Turtle is known to nest. That night, we stayed up late, walking the entire length of the 2km beach hoping to sight nesting turtles. Unfortunately, we did not see any, but gigantic tractor-size tracks gave us an opportunity to imagine their size.

Camping On Jahaji Beach

by Vardhan Patankar

My colleagues who grew up on Rutland Island kept us enthralled with stories of their experiences. They belong to the Ranchi tribal community, who were originally from Jharkhand near Bihar, but had settled on Rutland Island for the past 60-70 odd years. The British had brought them to the islands to log timber and carry out other manual labour tasks. After Independence, these communities settled in many villages in the Andamans, including Rutland Island. According to the 2011 census, they number around 65,000. Being forest dwellers, they have a good knowledge of the forest. 

In fact, most field assistants from the region working with NCBS belong to the Ranchi community. Jahaji is one of the few beaches where the giant Leatherback Turtle is known to nest. That night, we stayed up late, walking the entire length of the 2km beach hoping to sight nesting turtles. Unfortunately, we did not see any, but gigantic tractor-size tracks gave us an opportunity to imagine their size.