A travel agency, the Kerala Travels Interserve, and the International Development Agency (IDA) are making a concerted attempt to mend the ways of these tribal poachers and help them earn a living, too. Tigers, bisons and snakes still remain the tribals' bread-and-butter, but now, they're showing tourists-mostly foreign-a thing or two about the hideaways of the kings of the jungle. ``Who but these veterans of the jungles can be more competent to provide the nature lover a safe, ringside peek at tuskers and hungry macaques?'' asks Jaya Chandrahasan, director, Kerala Travels Interserve (KTI).

For KTI's recently launched Thekkady Tiger Trail programme, the Thiruvananthapuram-based travel agency has trained and tutored a string of ex-jungle outlaws as safari guides. For thefirst time in their lives, 23 of these outlaws are finding themselves on the monthly payroll of an organisation, says KTI vice-president P Gopinath. The tribals are no longer dependent on felling and trading of forest trees, or even poaching, for their livelihood. They have been trained in cookery, language and first aid. KTI has taken up the responsibility of sponsoring these guides till 2001. ``Irrespective of the financial profitability of the Tiger Trail, we are committed to the welfare of these ex-outlaws,'' adds Gopinath.

KTI promises a thrill-ridden trek through the Periyar Tiger Reserve, reported to be inhabited by over 35 different species of mammals. Apart from some rare mammal species, Periyar is also rich in birds. It has over 265 documented species, like the Great Indian Hornbill. About 1,800 flowering plants, including 171 grass species, have been identified in the tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests of Thekkady. A survey has identified more than 112 species of butterflies. ``We hadventured into the virgin territory of eco-tourism, since we felt Kerala's tourist attractions-the backwaters and the beaches-were getting a little bit jaded,'' Gopinath says.KTI offers a three-day trek through the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Groups of five are taken on a conducted tour. Each tour is manned by five guides and two forest guards. The guides also double as cooks and tent-pitchers. Priced at $150 per head, the package includes a basic insurance cover. Although visibly eyeing dollars at present, the package is likely to open up on more friendly terms to schools and nature clubs.

KTI's unique adventure programme has the blessings of the state and Central governments. This is the first eco-tourism project to be set up under the master plan envisaged in the India Eco-Development Project. The project has been set up with IDA assistance with the objective of conserving biodiversity in seven select, environmentally sensitive areas in the country. The seven protected areas under the IDA scheme include,besides Thekkady, the Gir forests, which are home to the last of the Asian lions. The total outlay for the project is $62 million for a five-year period ending September 2001. Messianic zeal apart, the foreign tourists appear to be quite elated by KTI's jungle experience. A surprised guide said he had even received compliments from seasoned international travellers for the amateur makeshift camp cuisine they were providing.

Linda Mary Losaro, a US visitor, who had earlier complained about the dearth of tourism information about the tours, said her major fear was that ``a wonderful place would be destroyed''. Do not overdo the visits to the jungle, she pleads.

Under the package, a maximum of 10 tourists are allowed to enter the forest each week, and therefore, says Gopinath, there will be no damage to the jungle's fragile ecology. ``We are bound by forest legislations that there will not be more than two trekking groups per week,'' he adds.