For someone who has worked closely with Sunil Limaye, the striking similarities between the senior IFS officer and the Animal Man of the DC Universe are astonishing. Limaye may not be a costumed superhero, but he surely has the abilities to whisper to animals, enter their minds and mitigate their conflicts with man: all of this without donning a cape.

The 57-year-old additional principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife East) Nagpur hails from Kolhapur. He grew up hiking and trekking, traversing through fringe forests between Mahabaleshwar in Satara and his hometown. As his love for nature grew, it wasn't a surprise he would become a forest officer one day. "After graduating, I started pursuing my MSc. Around this time, my first choice was to join the army. But, when that did not happen, I opted to give my forest entrance exams. It isn't like I settled for this profession. The forest was always my pet subject," says Limaye.