A Hunter Lost an Eye. Then He Found a New Reason to Live.

Sitesh Ranjan Deb came from a long line of hunters in Sreemangal, Bangladesh. His father and grandfather were legendary figures, known for taking down leopards and wild boars that dared to eye local livestock or, even worse, the harvest. Deb, naturally, picked up the family business, becoming a crack shot, a gunsmith, and a guide who knew the forest like the back of his hand. He could read tracks and habits like a seasoned detective. You could say hunting was in his blood, literally.

Then, one particularly bad day, a bear decided to have a word with him. That word resulted in Deb losing an eye and spending three months in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. It’s hard to say what goes through a hunter’s mind when he’s the one being hunted, but for Deb, it sparked a rather profound career pivot.

The Unlikely Sanctuary

When he finally emerged from the hospital, Deb hung up his hunting gear for good. His new mission? Rescuing the very creatures he once pursued. He became the guy you called when a snake showed up in your living room, or when an injured bird needed a second chance, or when authorities confiscated animals from traffickers. His goal was always the same: get them healthy, then get them back to the wild.

His family home, once the base for hunting expeditions, transformed into an impromptu wildlife hospital. Jungle cat cubs might share a bedroom with a recovering python. Slow lorises and monkeys recuperated in the courtyard. What started as a solo mission eventually formalized into the Bangladesh Wildlife Service Foundation, now one of the country's most recognized private wildlife rescue operations. Animals needing round-the-clock care often ended up right next to Deb and his family. Because apparently, that's where we are now: the guy who lost an eye to a bear is now inviting its relatives into his living room. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.