With discussions under way to revive one of the oldest conservation associations, the Nilgiri Wildlife And Environment Association (NWEA), conservationists have highlighted the group’s contributions to preserving not just the biodiversity of the Nilgiris, but that of India, through its pioneering efforts in maintaining animal populations in the hills. The NWEA came into existence in colonial India, when British colonists discovered a “hunters’ paradise” in the Nilgiris. According to N. Mohanraj, a Nilgiris-based conservationist and one of the NWEA’s longest-serving members, restrictions on hunting existed in England but they were non-existent in India. “The Nilgiris, soon connected by the railways, became a magnet for European hunters from across the region. This influx, combined with the advent of more accurate breech-loading rifles, rapidly led to the decimation of local wildlife populations. Just 65 years after the first Europeans set foot in the Nilgiris, the decline in game numbers became alarming – even among the hunting community,” said Mr. Mohanraj. It was during this distressing observation that General Richard Hamilton, an early advocate for wildlife protection, persistently …