Chandrapur: From tracking tigers to explaining their habitat, Tadoba’s nature guides are now better equipped to bridge the language barrier with foreign visitors. Specialised training programmes conducted by the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in English and basic German have strengthened their ability to welcome international tourists, answer their queries and interpret Tadoba’s wildlife, ecology and its local culture.A spoken-English programme for 14 women nature guides from the core zone was held at Moharli Auditorium from July 2 to Aug 8. Conducted by Vikas Tayde, the training covered visitor interaction, explaining TATR and its wildlife in English, answering tourist queries and communicating information on biodiversity, safari experiences, local culture and tourism.TATR organised basic conversational German training for 42 guides—25 at Moharli and 17 at Madnapur—from Aug 17 to 27. Conducted by Deepali Ambekar, the programme focused on welcoming German-speaking tourists, introductions, safari orientation, basic conversations on wildlife and natural history and handling common queries.The need for multilingual guides is underlined by Tadoba’s growing international footfall. Last year, the reserve recorded 3,89,700 tourist entries, including 20,939 foreign visitors from 91 countries. German-speaking tourists accounted for around 1,500 entries, making basic German communication a useful skill for guides dealing with international visitors.Field director and conservator of forests Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla said the initiatives form part of TATR’s continuing capacity-building efforts to create a more skilled and multilingual cadre of nature guides. The English programme strengthens professional confidence, while German training is aimed at improving interaction with international visitors.“TATR remains committed to further skill-development programmes to improve visitor experience and strengthen community participation in responsible wildlife tourism,” Shukla said.
