The man who flies in zebras and hippos

When one encounters zebras, giraffes, lions or even rhinoceros at zoos around the country, a question may arise: how did such large animals even make it here?

The answer to that is one man, his determination and being at the right place at the right time.

Sohel Ahmed did not know what he wanted to do in life. He, however, knew exactly what he didn't want to do: be employed in a rod and cement business as per the wish of his father, an engineer of the Public Works Department.

He wanted his own business, where he could earn a living. The Azimpur local used to spend most of his time playing cricket, football, hockey, badminton – whatever the game of the season was.

A student of Ideal College, he says all his childhood friends were prodigies except him. Where his friends went on to become the who's who of Bangladesh, Sohel was, perhaps, biding his time.

It was his two of his friends who would go on the chalk out Sohel's path for him, even though he did not know at the time.

It all started with Fazlul Haque Talukdar, deputy director of the government's Department of Supply and Inspection. His office conducted all the sales and purchases of the government. Then there was MA Noor, an income tax lawyer who also had a textiles business.

Both men were bird lovers.

This is where Sohel's story began. One day, Talukdar asked Sohel to go to Kolkata and bring some birds from there. He said he would be paid with a profit for his troubles.

Kolkata had a number of open bird markets at the time, including the one at Hatibagan market where Sohel went. There, he bought some love birds, budgerigars and cockatoos, which were brought back by air.

Health certificates of the birds, which Sohel was quick to show, meant he faced no problems with airport officials.

The birds he brought were all transported in a cage which was covered with a cloth dotted with ventilation holes.

He made such trips a few times, befriending traders in Kolkata. At the time there were no restrictions on wildlife hunting and exports in India. Large animals were also transported from one province to another by train. In the forested areas, animal catchers made a living by catching and selling wild animals. There were many circus parties in India too, which had tigers, elephants, bears, monkeys, camels, donkeys and horses.

India's rich biodiversity also meant it had a number of zoos. During his travels there, Sohel met Nakul Sarkar, a well-known animal trader in Kolkata.

Sarkar would supply animals and birds all over India. Before Sohel could take advantage of this connection, the Indian government enacted the Wildlife Hunting and Export Prohibition Act. Apart from birds, no other animals were imported from India.

So, Sohel stuck to the feathered friends. He, however, did not have a place to keep his birds, so he turned to using his friends Talukder or Noor's homes, selling them slowly.

It went on like this for a year.

The zoo comes calling

With business yet to pick up steam, lady luck was about to smile on Sohel. His friend Talukder informed him that the Department of Livestock wanted to buy birds for the zoo.

At the first meeting with animal husbandry officers at the Kazi Alauddin Road, Sohel was told that they were expecting someone older.

At the time Sohel was only 23 or 24. Sohel confirmed that he was the one who brought birds for Talukder. He was then asked if he could show his collection of birds.

The dilemma was that Sohel didn't have any such place. He would still keep the birds at his friends' houses.

Sohel, however, went directly to Talukder's office and explained the situation. At 4pm, the animal husbandry officials arrived and saw the birds. They then ordered budgerigars, cockatoos and different types of pheasants, especially the Lady Amherst's pheasants.

As the order was a tender, Sohel had no time to waste. He went to Kolkata and met a trader, Saroj Halder, there. His concern was the Lady Amherst's pheasant, which was rare and expensive.

It was named after British naturalist Sarah Amherst (1762-1838) who lived in India. She was the first to send the bird to London in 1828.

Sohel met Saroj and collected some eggs and two caged birds.

The birds were kept in quarantine for 14 days as per the rule and then brought back.

The Netherlands visits

Birds is where it began but soon Sohel was dealing with different types of animals.

"The first shipment from the Netherlands was in 1988. There was no email or mobile age then. I used to go to embassies and ask for a list of animal traders. I used to send faxes after getting the list. Not everyone answered. I used to bargain with those who did.

"The company from which I got the first shipment in the Netherlands was when I bought emus and mandarin ducks. I also got chimpanzees," Sohel recalled.

Sohel said while the Netherland's biodiversity wasn't rich, they had the best animal farms where the animals were reared with love and freedom.

So, it was a very good place to procure animals from. The animals there roam in an open environment and the workers ensure the creatures are given the best care, he said.

He mentioned purchasing the now extinct Nilgai from there as well as the clouded leopard.

Sohel also bought big animals from South Africa, after the advent of the emails. He usually brings the animals on cargo planes. The maximum height limit for animals in cargo is three metres.

In the case of giraffes, height is a problem while hippos need to be soaked throughout the journey.

The prime minister of Bangladesh also presented two elephants to Cyprus. They were informed of Sohel's expertise in transporting animals, so he was given the task. The animals were in Baghaichari upazila of Rangamati district.

They were taken from there with the help of their mahouts and transferred through an Ettihad cargo charter.

On the risks, Sohel says, "First of all, all the responsibilities during transportation are with the farmer. They are very professional in these matters. When transporting chimpanzees or hippos they are accompanied by trained people. Second, it takes less time to bring by plane. After reaching Dhaka airport, we went straight to the zoo by truck. No such major accident has ever happened."

Sohel also credits Bangladesh's wildlife act for ensuring that animals are not caught from the wild and brought to the zoos.

It is a timely act, especially at a time when the world has begun to question the purpose of zoos themselves and whether the once educational and conservational aspects of the facilities are backdated.

In the current world, zoos are facing more backlash from animal activists than praises, and the Dhaka Zoo is no exception.