Includes bibliographical references and index.

All over India 1,75,000 men and women serve the forests of India day and night, striving to protect the amazing natural world that abounds within. Several lose their lives battling poachers of both wood and animals, many are seriously injured in animal attacks, but they go on with a courage and valour that is inspirational. They have learnt the the ways of the forest, the sounds, the animal tracks, the secrets and a sense of fearlessness, always bumping into the wild and that too, dangerous ones, when on foot.

This book is a collection of pictures and stories during my work with them, and hence my tribute to these frontline forest protectors, always at the frontiers of wildlife protection in our country. The story of India’s wildlife success is incomplete, unless its frontline warriors are part of it. The first line of defence in protecting India’s precious natural heritage and safeguarding its ecosystems. According to me, they are the most important, unsung heroes in India’s conservation success story. They are the real reasons that the tiger today survives.