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Sariska (Rajasthan), June 27: They grew up with the tigers and then they saw the tigers disappear. And now, between milking their buffaloes, they take breaks to look up at a helicopter in the sky — the one that is expected to bring a pair of tigers from Ranthambore tomorrow in what will be the country’s first tiger relocation exercise. They have more than one reason to be hopeful.

For, deep in the heart of the Sariska tiger reserve’s core area, these women in the tiny village of Haripura have signed up for “gasht,” the daily tiger patrol, more than 20 women in the predominantly Gurjjar village of Haripura, one of the 28 villages which dot the reserve. For the first time, they have come forward to join the patrol, something they say they haven’t done before “simply because they were not asked.” The men, many of whom have also signed up, are preparing themselves to get used to their women becoming “forest karmacharis.”

“After the tigers were exterminated, we started looking for fresh solutions. One of the new things we are doing is creating better enforcement. We now have 62 ex-Army persons involved in anti-poaching, a number which we can scale up to 100. We are also looking at more local co-operation and thus we went from village to village asking villagers to be a part of local patrolling,” says Assistant Conservator of Forests R K Kherwa at Sariska. And the women said yes.

They can’t wait. Today, the chopper ran a mock drill, covering the distance between Ranthambore and Sariska in 45 minutes. All of tonight, a Wildlife Institute of India team will be hard at work at tracking radio-collared tigers in Ranthambore. “We expect the first tiger to land tomorrow,” says Sariska Director R S Somashekhar. After the tigers land, forest officials will stop traffic on the state highway that runs through the park deviating it to a bypass.

“Did the tigers come today?” is the only question that 60-year-old Jumna Devi keeps asking. “I saw the helicopter,” she says. Her excitement has a clear sense of purpose. “I have seen the tiger many times in this forest before but lately there have been no tigers. I want to help protect the king of the forest and I will join the patrol. I go to the jungle everyday, and now I will go to help the tiger.” She’s not scared of the tiger, she says, because she has grown up with it. “Sher to apne aap jungle me dolta hai, hum apne raste jate hai” (the tiger roams the forest, we go our own way)

It’s also the first time the village women will be earning, a daily wage of Rs 100 per day. It takes getting used to. “We can’t have all the women stepping out. But some of them can go,” says village Pradhan Prabhu Dayal, 70.

The help is welcome. “In some ways the Gurjjars are better at guarding the forests than we are. They know animal sounds, tracks and, best of all, they can anticipate where the animal will go and his behaviour. I came here when there were no tigers. Now I hope we can keep our tigers,” says Forest guard Satyanarayan Prajapati, 42, who joined Sariska in 2005.

It was at a June 6 meeting with local residents that officials realized how strongly the villagers wanted the tigers back. While some thought it was a status symbol, villagers from Bhatala had a more practical explanation: tiger kills help their cattle as the tiger picks out the diseased animal and helps prevent epidemics. It was after this meeting that the Haripura women — and some men signed up.

And Jumna Devi and her ilk have some time to help the tiger. Though most of the villages inside the core habitat are slated to be shifted, it will be a slow process. “In the first phase, Umri, Kankwadi and Kayaska will be shifted. The other villages will be shifted later,” Somashekhar says. And if Jumna Devi wants to continue serving the tiger after her relocation, she is welcome to, say officials.