Vantara: Possibility of Healing Our Relationship with Wildlife

A groundbreaking sanctuary in India, Vantara redefines wildlife care by blending compassion, science, and vision—offering Africa lessons on how to heal its own fragile bond with nature.

Every so often, a project emerges that challenges us to rethink our relationship with the natural world. One such initiative is Vantara, a sanctuary in Jamnagar, India, dedicated to the care and restoration of wildlife. Its name, meaning “star of the forest,” reflects an ambition not just to rescue animals but to reimagine what their well-being can mean.

Conceived by Anant Ambani, executive director at Reliance Industries, it aims to give rescued, abandoned, or injured animals not just survival but dignity. Its core idea is bold: if we can create world-class healthcare for humans, why not for wildlife? My curiosity about Vantara stems from examining how such initiatives can inspire us as Africans to reconnect with the wildlife that shapes our African identity.

Spread over 3500 acres, Vantara is unlike anything seen before that I have researched about. An African expert working at Vantara told me that this philosophy aligns closely with what we value across the continent, although we often leave such work to philanthropists while our wildlife, including rhinos, pangolins, and cheetahs, suffers from poaching, habitat loss, and neglect.

Vantara houses thousands of animals, lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, birds, reptiles, each given tailored care. However, what sets it apart is not only the scale but also the philosophy. Vantara’s facilities include multi-specialty veterinary hospitals equipped with CT scans, MRIs, and intensive care units.

There are labs for disease research and bio banking, surgical theatres that mirror the precision of human medicine, and even nutrition kitchens where animal diets are scientifically designed under the watchful eyes of Dr. Petra Wolf, a renowned German animal nutrition expert, and her team.

Yet, Vantara does not stop at medicine. It recognises that an animal’s recovery is also emotional. Enrichment centres, sensory trails, and naturalistic habitats allow them to express behaviours that captivity often strips away. In doing so, Vantara makes a statement that welfare is not about keeping an animal alive; it is about restoring wholeness.

The project also looks beyond the sanctuary walls. Its conservation breeding and rewilding programmes seek to return endangered species to the wild. Its education and training efforts build capacity among veterinarians and wildlife professionals, not only in its home country but across borders.

In fact, recent training programmes have included participants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a sign that the lessons of Jamnagar are already rippling across continents. Vantara has been regularly hosting training programmes and workshops with veterinarians and people working with wildlife.

Through initiatives like Vantara, our children and those yet unborn have a chance to witness animals that might otherwise vanish. Without such efforts, species like the rhino or cheetah could become mere memories, lost to extinction. Visiting places like Vantara can awaken us to our responsibility to protect the wildlife that forms part of our African identity, reminding us that our connection to nature is not just ecological but deeply personal.

Vantara is at once deeply local and profoundly global. Local, because it is rooted in a cultural respect for nature. Global, because it speaks to a crisis that transcends geography: the steady unraveling of the bond between humans and the natural world. It is an answer to a question many countries, including those in Africa, are struggling with, how do we care for animals that no longer fit neatly into shrinking wild spaces, or that suffer from the wounds of human neglect?

Learning about Vantara has made me reflect on what’s possible when compassion meets resources. What has been created is inspiring, though few can summon such scale. But even if not everyone can build a Vantara, everyone can be inspired by its ethos. It shows that compassion, science, and vision can come together to create something meaningful. For Africans, this is a reminder that reclaiming who we are, people tied to the wild, means taking responsibility for our wildlife, not leaving it to others.

In a world where conservation is too often reduced to crisis management, Vantara dares to dream on a grander scale. It suggests that the future of wildlife is not only about preventing extinction but about healing animals, ecosystems, and perhaps ourselves in the process.

Africa, like India, knows the paradox of abundance and loss, rich biodiversity, yet fragile ecosystems under strain. Maybe what Vantara offers us is not a model to copy, but a reminder that: when we align resources with reverence, imagination with responsibility, we can still create sanctuaries of hope.