How a team of female park rangers is protecting the last remaining Asiatic lions
Based on real people and events
Learning Objective: Students will read a play based on real events about Rasila Vadher, the first woman park ranger at Gir National Park in India. They will identify the traits and actions that helped her and other women rangers achieve their dreams of protecting animals.
Prologue
N1: This is a story about lions—
N2: The Lion King!
N3: Close . . . the lion queen!
N1: Actually, the lion queens—female park rangers who protect lions in India.
N2: I thought lions lived in Africa.
N3: They do, but they also live in India. They’re called Asiatic lions, and they’re smaller than African lions.
N1: They once roamed across Asia, but people hunted them almost to extinction in the 1800s.
N2: By the early 1900s, there were only about 20 Asiatic lions left in the wild.
N3: That’s terrible.
N1: In 1965, a sanctuary called Gir National Park in India started a program to protect the lions.
N2: But for decades, only men could work as park rangers.
N3: People thought women were too weak for that job.
N1: Until Rasila Vadher came along . . .
ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/Reuters
Scene 1
Bhanduri Village, India, 1998
Rasila Vadher: Peanuts! Hot, spicy peanuts for sale!
Bhai: Peanuts! Yummy peanuts!
N2: Twelve-year-old Rasila and her younger brother stand near the street, surrounded by sacks full of peanuts.
N3: Beeping cars, rickshaws, and bikes crowd the road.
N1: Ever since their father died, Rasila and Bhai have to work to help support their family.
Rasila: Bhai! Less eating, more selling.
Bhai: But they’re deeeliiiicccioousss!
N2: A village woman opens her door.
Villager 1: Here, children, I’ll buy some.
N3: Suddenly, her cat darts outside, running toward the street.
Villager 1: Oh no!
N1: A car speeds around the corner.
N2: Just in time, Rasila races to the cat . . .
N3: . . . and scoops it up!
Villager 1: You saved him! I’ve never seen anyone move so quickly.
Bhai: Rasila is as fast as a lion.
Rasila: Lions are my favorite! But I love all animals. I could never watch one get hurt.
Villager 1 (smiling): I’ll take two bags of peanuts. And here’s something extra for your help.
N1: The woman holds out a hand overflowing with coins.
Bhai: Thanks! We can go home early now.
Jim McMahon/Mapman ®
Scene 2
Rasila’s house, later that day
N3: Rasila and Bhai hurry toward them.
Bhai: Ma! We sold 10 bags today!
Ma: I’m so proud of you.
Neighbor 1: It’s good your mother can rely
on you.
Rasila: How was your day on the farm, Ma?
Ma (sighing): Hard. And it will be even harder once Bhai starts school next month.
Bhai: I’d rather work than sit in school all day.
Rasila: I wish I could go to school. There’s so much I want to learn.
Neighbor 2: School? That’s no place for a young girl.
Neighbor 1: You should be home, helping your mother cook and clean.
Rasila: But . . .
Ma: Kids, you must be thirsty. Come inside.
N1: The children follow Ma into the house.
Ma: School is not something to discuss with our neighbors. They don’t understand.
Rasila: Please, Ma . . . can’t I go to school? I want to study animals so I can help them.
Ma (smiling): I know you do, darling. I want that for you too.
Rasila: Then I can go?
Ma (thinking): Yes. You’ll go to school with Bhai.
Rasila: Hooray!
Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary
Since Rasila Vadher was hired to work for Gir National Park in 2007, more than 50 other women have joined her team. Here, Rasila gives milk to a cub.
Scene 3
Gir National Park, 2007
N2: Rasila and Bhai have worked hard in school and graduated.
N3: But the family still needs money.
N1: One morning, Ma has an idea.
Ma: Bhai, Gir National Park is hiring park rangers, and the test is today. The pay is good. You should try out.
Rasila: I wish I could try out too. I’d love to help the lions.
Ma: And you’d do well, Rasila. But the park doesn’t hire women.
Rasila (sighing): I’ll go with Bhai to keep him company.
N2: At Gir, dozens of young men are competing for the park ranger jobs.
N3: The test involves physical challenges like climbing, running, and jumping.
N1: Bhai tries his best . . .
N2: . . . but can’t pass the exam.
N3: The park manager and a ranger approach.
Dr. Patel: I’m sorry, young man. Better luck next time.
Rasila: Sir? Do you think . . . I could try?
Dr. Patel (surprised): You?
Park Ranger (laughing): It’s no job for a girl.
Rasila: If I can pass the test, I can do the job.
Dr. Patel: Let her try.
N1: Everyone watches as Rasila runs and jumps and climbs—faster than most of the men.
Bhai: Go, Rasila!
Park Ranger: Who is this person?
Dr. Patel: Amazing! Rasila, you’re hired.
Rasila: You won’t be sorry, sir!
ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/Reuters
A ranger speaks to a group of children as part of her work raising awareness about wildlife with local people.
Scene 4
Rangers’ office at Gir National Park,
a few weeks later
N2: It’s Rasila’s first day at her new job. She can’t wait to see a lion.
Rasila: Sir, I am ready to go out and protect
the animals.
Dr. Patel: What do you mean?
Rasila: To do my job, as a park ranger.
Dr. Patel: Rasila, your job is at the desk. Answering calls and completing paperwork are important work.
N3: Rasila goes back to her desk, feeling disappointed.
N1: Day after day, Rasila answers calls and types up notes.
Rasila (picking up the phone): Gir National Park, Rasila speaking.
N2: The calls involve a leopard hit by a car.
N3: Or a python inside the house of a villager.
N1: Or starving lion cubs that have lost their mother.
Rasila: Sir, please let me help with these lion cubs.
Dr. Patel (sighing): I’m sorry, Rasila, but you know how it is. Lions are a man’s job.
N2: Defeated, Rasila watches the other park rangers head off to rescue the animals.
Scene 5
Gir National Park, 2009
N3: Rasila is staying late to finish paperwork when Dr. Patel rushes in.
Dr. Patel: Where is everyone?
Rasila: All the other rangers are out on calls.
Dr. Patel: There’s an emergency. A lion was injured by a porcupine. A quill is stuck in his mouth.
Rasila: Let me help!
N1: Dr. Patel wavers.
Rasila: I’ll bring everything we need.
Dr. Patel: OK, but stay close to me.
N2: Rasila packs a bag with supplies. She rides with Dr. Patel on a motorcycle, deep into the park.
N3: In a grassy clearing, the park vet is waiting for them next to a large cage.
N1: Beyond the shadows, they can see a lion pacing.
N2: He is angry and in pain.
N3: Rasila catches her breath.
Dr. Patel: You’re afraid.
Rasila: No. He’s beautiful. I’ve never seen a lion so close.
Vet: I’ve tried to tranquilize him. It’s not working. We need to get him into the cage to treat him.
Rasila: I brought fresh meat.
N1: Just then, Rasila hears a rustling noise in the bushes.
N2: And . . .
N3: ROARRRRR!
N1: A lioness pounces toward the meat Rasila is holding.
Dr. Patel: Watch out!
N2: Rasila stands firm, using a stick to thump the ground.
Rasila: Away!
N3: The lioness turns and runs back into the forest.
Dr. Patel: Well done!
N1: Rasila throws the meat into the far corner of the cage.
N2: Finally, the injured lion walks inside.
Vet: Now I can get that quill out.
Dr. Patel (to Rasila): Great work!
N3: Rasila smiles proudly.
Scene 6
Jalondar Village, 2014
N1: Dr. Patel is so impressed with Rasila’s skills that he gives her more and more responsibility.
N2: Then one day . . .
Dr. Patel: Rasila, come to my office.
Rasila: I’m heading to Jalondar. The villagers have been complaining about animals there. Is everything OK?
Dr. Patel: More than OK.
N3: In Dr. Patel’s office, two women rangers jump to their feet.
Dr. Patel: Rasila, you’re going to lead our first all-women rescue team. Meet your two new team members: Manisha and Darshana.
Manisha: You’re amazing! Everyone in our village used to say women should stay home cooking and cleaning.
Darshana: But you showed people that women are as strong as men.
Rasila: We are! And I’m glad to have your help. You can start now—come to Jalondar.
N1: The three women ride their motorcycles to the village.
Villager 2: Rasila is here!
Rasila: Tell us, are you still having problems with animals coming around your homes?
Villager 3: Not since the leopard got trapped in the well.
Villager 2: You were very brave, going down into the well to rescue the leopard and remove it from the village.
Rasila: That’s my job.
Villager 3: You’ve shown us the animals don’t come here to hurt us. So we shouldn’t hurt them.
Rasila: The animals want the same things we do.
Manisha: Food. Water.
Darshana: A safe place to live.
Villager 2: This is why your work at Gir is so important. It keeps people and animals safe.
Felis Images/NaturePL.com
About 600 Asiatic lions live in and around Gir National Park, the only place in the world where the big cats are found.
Shutterstock.com ( Leopard);Axel Gomille/NaturePL.com (Crocodile)
The area is home to countless other animals, including more than 300 leopards (like the one above, left) and a type of crocodile called the mugger crocodile.
Scene 7
Gir National Park, later that year
N2: Rasila’s team is in the office one morning when Darshana answers an urgent call.
Darshana: Rasila, someone just spotted a gang of poachers in the park, to the north.
Rasila: I wonder if it’s the gang that’s been hunting the lions for their bones and claws.
Manisha: Let’s go!
Darshana: Do we need backup?
Rasila: We’ll call for help on our way.
N3: Rasila and her team race off on their motorcycles.
N1: Soon they see signs of the poachers’ camp.
N2: In the distance, a pride of lions is lounging in the sun.
Manisha: Oh no, look!
N3: A group of men crouches in the tall grass, silently moving closer to the pride.
Darshana: They’re hunting those lions!
N1: Rasila revs her engine and roars toward the poachers, with Manisha and Darshana close behind her.
Rasila: STOP!
N2: The poachers start to run, but the women quickly surround them.
Poacher 1: Ha! It’s just a bunch of women.
Poacher 2: Nothing for us to worry about.
Manisha: A bunch of women RANGERS. Put down your weapons.
Darshana: These lions are protected. It’s illegal to hurt them.
Poacher 1: Who’s going to stop us?
Rasila: We are—the women park rangers of Gir!
Manisha: You’re all under arrest.
Darshana: Backup is already on its way!
N3: The poachers lower their weapons and put their hands in the air.
Rasila: Look, the lions are already safe.
N1: They all turn to the spot where the lions had been and see nothing but waving grasses.
Epilogue
N2: So that’s the incredible story of the lion queens!
N3: Over the years, Rasila has received many honors and awards for her hard work rescuing more than 300 lions.
N1: And not just lions!
N2: She’s helped hundreds of leopards, crocodiles, and pythons.
N3: In 2019, she became head of the rescue department. There are now more than 50 women working with her.
N1: Today, about 600 Asiatic lions are thriving in Gir National Park because of the strength, bravery, and determination of the lion queens . . .
N2: . . . who showed us all how to ROAR!
Write Now
Write an imaginary conversation between Rasila and a girl who wants to become a park ranger. What advice would Rasila give her?
This article was originally published in the March/April 2025 issue.
1. Preparing to Read
Build Background, Preview Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading
Build background knowledge about Asiatic lions and Gir National Park in India by showing the Background Builder Slideshow.
Preview challenging vocabulary with our Vocabulary Slideshow, then let students play our new online vocabulary game, Know the Words. Follow up before or after reading with our Vocabulary Skill Builder. Highlighted words: Asiatic, determination, extinction, poachers, pride, rickshaws, sanctuary, tranquilize, wavers.
Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 21.
2. Reading and Discussing
Author’s Note From Rekha S. Rajan:
The play is based on the life of a real person, park ranger Rasila Vadher. It describes events that really happened or, in some instances, are closely based on actual events. There’s no record of what the characters actually said, so I made up the dialogue based on what is known about Vadher and her experiences
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class.
Click here for great ideas for reading as a whole class, in small groups, or independently! Students can also listen to our Author Read-Aloud with Rekha S. Rajan.
Close-Reading Questions
1. Read the prologue. What are Asiatic lions? Why do they need to be protected? (key idea) Asiatic lions are lions that once lived throughout Asia. Today the animals need to be protected because they were hunted almost to extinction in the 1800s.
2. Read Scene 1. How do Rasila’s actions foreshadow, or hint at, the career she'll have as an adult? (foreshadowing) In Scene 1, we learn that Rasila loves all animals, especially lions. When a woman’s cat escapes into the street and nearly gets hit by a car, Rasila springs into action, running to the cat to bring it back to safety. As an adult, she will probably continue protecting animals of all kinds—including lions—with skill and bravery.
3. Compare and contrast Rasila and Bhai’s goals in Scene 2. (compare and contrast) Bhai and Rasila both want to do things that help others. Bhai wants to keep working to support their family, and Rasila wants to go to school so she can learn how to help animals.
4. Read Scene 3. Describe how the men at Gir National Park treat Rasila and Bhai differently. Why does this happen? (how characters interact) The men at Gir National Park treat Bhai with kindness even after he fails his test to become a park ranger. When they learn that Rasila would like to try out to be a ranger, they laugh and discourage her. This happens because many people believed women weren’t strong enough to work with wild animals, and that they should stay home to cook and clean.
5. Explain why Rasila is disappointed after becoming a park ranger in Scene 4. (plot) Rasila is disappointed after she becomes a park ranger because she is assigned office work and isn’t allowed to work in the field with the animals—even though she has proven that she is physically capable of doing so.
6. Read Scene 5. Why is Rasila given an opportunity to work with lions? How does she surprise Dr. Patel while doing the job? (plot, character) Rasila is given her first opportunity to work with lions because none of the male rangers are available for a new assignment. Rasila surprises Dr. Patel because he expects her to be scared. Instead, Rasila is in awe of the lion and takes care of it without his help.
7. Explain how Rasila solves the problem with the hurt lion in Scene 5. (problem and solution) Rasila uses fresh meat to get the lion to go into a cage to receive treatment. When a healthy lioness pounces to get the meat, Rasila stands firm and commands the lioness to go away. Then she continues her job with the hurt lion, throwing the meat into the far corner of its cage so the injured animal goes to where the veterinarian can take care of it.
8. Read Scene 6. Why is Rasila an excellent choice to lead the first all-women rescue team at Gir National Park? (theme) Answers will vary. Sample answer: Rasila is an excellent choice to lead this team because she understands the obstacles that the new women rangers probably faced to get to where they are. Rasila knows that women are as capable as men of doing a great job, and she will likely help the new women rangers to become skilled and feel appreciated.
9. What lesson does Rasila and the all-women rescue team teach villagers about wild animals in Scene 6? (key detail) Rasila and her all-women rescue team teach the villagers that wild animals don’t come into human spaces in order to hurt people. They just need the same things humans do: food, water, and a safe place to live.
10. Read Scene 7. What are poachers? Why are there poachers in Gir National Park? (vocabulary) Poachers are people who illegally hunt animals for their body parts. The poachers in Gir National Park want the lions for their bones and claws, which they plan to sell.
Critical-Thinking Questions
11. The last line in the play says the lion queens of Gir National Park “ . . . showed us all how to ROAR!” Explain what this line means and how it relates to the message of the play. (figurative language, theme) The last line means that the lion queens showed us how to be fierce and brave as we pursue our dreams and care for others. This is important to the message of the play because it teaches us that perseverance and courage help us achieve our dreams and overcome the obstacles we might face along the way.
12. In your opinion, why is it important to tell stories about the lives of people like Rasila Vadher? Use examples from the play. (making connections) Answers will vary. Sample answer: I think it’s important to tell stories about the lives of people like Rasila Vadher because they give people who are facing similar challenges hope and show how we can face obstacles to our goals. For example, Rasila showed from an early age that she was passionate about animals and had the skills needed to become a great park ranger. However, it took more time and effort to reach her goal because people believed that women couldn’t do that job. If other girls or women are currently experiencing similar obstacles to their dreams, they can look to Rasila’s success for inspiration.
3. Skill Building and Writing
Distribute or digitally assign the Character Skill Builder (available on two levels), which will guide students to respond to the writing prompt on page 27.
Differentiate and Customize
Before reading or listening to the play, have students look at the setting descriptions at the beginning of each scene. Work with them to create a timeline of the play to support comprehension of time jumps in the story. Encourage students to add details to their timelines as they read or listen to the play.
After reading the play, have students reread the play’s Up Close Box on page 23. In groups or pairs, have students discuss the traits and actions that helped Rasila—and other women—achieve their dream of protecting wild animals. Ask students to reflect on how their partner’s or group members’ points of view helped them better understand the play or think about the play differently.
Before reading the play, use our Vocabulary Slideshow to prepare multilingual learners to encounter words about wildlife conservation. As students read or listen along to the play, pause at the end of each scene and ask them to highlight other unfamiliar words. After reading, have students create slides or flashcards with images for their highlighted words.
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Read other amazing stories about protecting wildlife: “The Amazing Life of Flora the Elephant,” “Stolen From the Wild,” “Saving America’s Eagle,” “The Woman Who Swam With Sharks,” and “The Vanishing Beast.”
Visit the BBC’s website to read “In the lion's den: The Indian women who answer cat calls.” This article introduces Rasila Vadher, Darshana Kagada, and Geeta Ratadiya, three of the women park rangers at Gir National Park.. (Note: This website has ads.)
Head to the Asiatic Lions webpage at Big Cats Wild Cats to find out more about these magnificent creatures.
“Asiatic Lion: A Once Dying Breed on the Rise” is a 4-minute video introducing the Asiatic lion, along with other key animals and plants found in Gir National Forest. For a sweeping view of the forest and its wildlife, watch the first 3 minutes of “Gir: Under the Monsoon Clouds.” The rest of this 11-minute video is also stunning but contains images of wildlife attacking and eating prey (between the 3:11 and 6:07 time stamps). (Note: Videos begin after short ads.)
Literature Connection
The Lion Queen by Rana Singh
Asiastic Lion vs. Bengal Tiger by Kieran Downs
A Wild Child’s Guide to Endangered Animals by Millie Marrota
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
