Photo: Anindita Bhadra | Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
They prepared for months to become the first women guards in the forests of India's second highest mountain, Nanda Devi -- over 25,000 feet high. Before now, women guards did not go above 11,150 feet, but Durga Sati, 32, Roshni Negi, 25, and Mamta Kanwasi, 33, said they joined the service to protect nature and serve their country. The range officer of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Chetna Kandpal, agreed to train them. The high altitude patrols protect rare animals such as snow leopards, blue sheep and Himalayan bears, as well as thousands of medicinal herbs, and ensure the area is safe. The women travelled more than 60 kilometers after starting their first patrol June 1.
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