Pune Set To Host 3rd Edition Of Wildlife Festival For Kids On January 10Â
Pune Set To Host 3rd Edition Of Wildlife Festival For Kids On January 10
Pune, January 5, 2026 : City based Jungle Belles, Nature Walk Charitable Trust and Bougainvillea Farms have come together to organize the 3rd edition of Wildlife Festival for Kids. Being organized with an intention of sensitizing young minds about the conservation of forests and the wildlife, the upcoming edition of this wildlife fest for Kids will take place on Saturday, January 10th 2026 from 4:00pm to 9:00pm at the Bougainvillea Farms on DP Road near Mhatre Bridge. This edition is the Tadoba Special one. Where, the children will get to hear all the interesting stories of Tigers of Tadoba. Entry to this festival is free. Parents are also welcome to join their children at this wildlife festival, informed Hemangi Vartak, Founder, Jungle Belles.
The Wildlife Festival for Kids is supported by the Pune Forest Division and MTDC. It will feature Nalla Muthu’s introductory film on Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve and will have special experience sharing by Kushagra Pathak, Deputy Director (Buffer Zones) of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve about the success story of creation and management of Tadoba’s buffer zones. Creation and management of buffer zones is a challenging task as it is about the coexistence of man and wild animals. Tadoba Buffers have an estimated population of over 2 Lakh people and about 200 Tigers. Thus, support and participation of natives is crucial in the conservation effort.
Subsequently, Anant Sonwane, the author of ‘Ek Hoti Maya’, a popular Marathi book on ‘Maya’, Tadoba’s iconic Tigress, will engage in a story telling session about ‘Maya’. Dr Ravikant Khobragade, from the Rapid Rescue Team of Tadoba will share interesting stories and experiences about the rescue operations carried out Tadoba during one of the sessions at the fest. Dr Khobragade has been involved in rescue and capturing of over 60 tigers. Sumesh Lekhi of the Tiger Legacy Film Series will have a session about the lineage of some famous tigers from Tadoba, said Anuj Khare, Founder of Nature Walk.
Performance of Sumedh Waghmare, who is popularly known as the birdman of Tadoba and is capable of creating voices of about 200 plus birds and animals will be one of the major attractions at the fest. Sumedh’s rise to fame was due to appreciation that he received from Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar.
The Wildlife Festival for Kids will be inaugurated in the presence of Ashish Thackeray, Conservator of Forest, Pune Forest Division, Nilesh Gatane Managing Director of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Kushagra Pathak, Deputy Director (Buffer) Tadoba, Pavneet Kaur, Additional Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation, Tushar Chavan, Field Director of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and wildlife enthusiast Sanjay Deshpande.
