India, Sept. 13 -- On any given day in Gurugram, when frightened residents dial for help after spotting a cobra in the bathroom, a python in the backyard, or even a leopard straying into a factory compound, one name inevitably comes up-Anil Gandas. For more than two decades, Gandas has been sprinting from one colony to another, sometimes responding to as many as 20 calls in a single day, capturing snakes, rescuing monitor lizards, and even leopards, often with little more than his bare hands.

"Fear makes people kill animals instantly. My role is to reach before that happens. Rescue is not just about catching -- it is about saving two lives, the animal's and the human's," Gandas said.

A life shaped by wild calls

Born and raised in Gadol...