An engineering graduate in Electrical and Electronics from JCE College Mysore, Mr. K Manu is a champion of wildlife and nature. With the help of his close friends and supporters, he started an organisation called Mysore Amateur Naturalists or MAN. In Kokkare Bellur, MAN’s dedicated efforts towards the protection of Spot-billed Pelican, their nests and chicks yielded an excellent result. The Pelican Nursery helped feed orphan Pelican chicks with fish and also helped them healthily grow. Kokkare Bellur is now one of the 5 most important Pelican nesting sites in India. He formed an organisation called Hejjarle Balaga (The Pelican Clan) in 1994, involving local youth to take care of conservation of Pelicans. Interestingly, all these efforts are also resulted in higher fish catch for small-scale local fishermen around Kokkare Bellur.