An engineering graduate in Electrical & Electronics from JCE College Mysore, Mr. Manu is a champion of wildlife and nature. With the help of 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 the orphaned Pelican chicks with fish and also helped them grow healthily. Kokkare Bellur is now one of the 5 most important Pelican nesting sites in India. He formed an organization called Hejjarle Balaga (The Pelican Clan) in 1994 involving local youth to take care of conservation of Pelicans. Interestingly, all these efforts are also resulting in a higher fish catch for small-scale local fishermen around Kokkare Bellur.