Meet Ellis Hubertina, the 69-year-old Dutch woman cleaning Kashmir's Dal Lake on her own for last 5 years
Hubertina first arrived in the valley nearly 25 years ago as a traveller, but the breathtaking beauty of the region convinced her to stay. Over time, she grew deeply connected to Dal Lake, both spiritually and emotionally. But as the lake's condition started to worsen, she felt compelled to act.
'Dal Lake gave me peace when I needed it. Now it's my turn to give back,' she told The Wire.
For the past five years, she has been quietly working to clean the lake, one discarded bottle and plastic bag at a time. A recent clip,widely shared by local journalists and community pages, shows her calmly gliding through the water, picking out trash and loading it onto her small boat. The simplicity of the gesture has sparked an outpouring of admiration.
'Kudos to Dutch national Ellis Hubertina Spaanderman for her selfless efforts in cleaning Srinagar's Dal Lake… This dedication inspires us to preserve Kashmir's natural beauty,' wrote the Kashmir Right Forum on X, as it shared the video.
Kudos to Dutch national Ellis Hubertina Spaanderman for her selfless efforts in cleaning Srinagar's Dal Lake for past 5 years. This dedication serves as an inspiration to preserve Kashmir's natural beauty. Let's join hands to keep our paradise clean & pristine. @ddprsrinagar pic.twitter.com/YINLbm3X1z
— Kashmir Rights Forum🍁 (@kashmir_right) June 29, 2025
But Hubertina's efforts are not limited to the lake. A passionate cyclist and nature enthusiast, she is often seen cycling through the streets of Srinagar, encouraging people to adopt greener, healthier lifestyles. Her Instagram offers a window into her life in Kashmir, featuring not just stunning views and cultural moments but also regular updates on her cleanup missions.
In one of her recent posts, she shared a photo of herself cleaning the lake and wrote: 'Cleaning up Kashmir, please, help me. Never underestimate the power of the smallest actions… Don't point fingers, don't blame either at other people (tourists or locals) or governments… Instead do your own part by not throwing your waste everywhere, even collecting some waste of others as I do.'
A post shared by Ellis Hubertina from Kashmir (@ellishubertina)
She continues to document her cleanup drives around various parts of Kashmir, inspiring others to take initiative.
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The 695 animals that the Alipore Zoo acquired included exotic species, many that the zoo did not house before: such as a single bald eagle (a large bird of prey found only in North America), a red kangaroo, an alpaca, ten yellow-naped Amazon parrots, 13 red lories and more. Many of these acquisitions of exotic species come from confiscations or seizures made by authorities. In March 2024, the Alipore zoo received a Malayan tapir from the North Bengal Wild Animals Park that was 'seized for safe custody'. The annual report for 2023-24 for the Alipore zoo specifies that the zoo received one golden parakeet, two Moluccan cockatoos, one military macaw and one blue-and-gold-macaw in September 2023 from the Wildlife Wing of the Directorate of Forests, Government of West Bengal, from a seizure and for 'safe custody'. These were later returned to the Directorate as part of a court order, the annual report also added. None of these species are found in India. In 2024-25, as per the CZA's annual inventory report of animals in zoos, the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park – which is classified as a mini zoo – received two species of macaws that are native to South America: four individuals of the green-winged macaw, and 11 individuals of the red-bellied macaw. The same year, all 15 of these birds were 'disposed', or transferred. The inventory report does not mention which facility or private collection these birds were transferred to, or why they were transferred out. Such patterns of zoos acting as 'holding centers' where confiscated animals arrive and are then transferred to another facility is very common now, the researcher, who studies illegal wildlife trade but did not want to be named, told The Wire. Sometimes, the animals are transferred to private zoos and animal collections. 'This is not illegal, as per law,' the researcher said. 'Any seizures of live wild animals made on land cannot be sent back to the port of origin so they go to zoos. Is this the modus operandi to legalize illegal wildlife trade? We do not know,' the researcher commented. An important question that needs to be asked in this regard is about the origins of such seizures, the researcher commented. 'How did enforcement authorities become so efficient? How did they know about these animals to confiscate and capture them alive,' the researcher asked. Buying captive-bred exotic wildlife like blue-and-gold macaws – a large parrot that is native to the Amazon in South America – is legal but there are numerous ethical issues even then, the researcher pointed out. One is that many animals, though labelled captive-bred, are in fact captured from the wild and plucked out of their homes to meet the huge demands fuelled by the pet trade. 'People buying them are completely oblivious to the trail of dead animals each imported dead animal leaves in its wake,' the researcher said. Transfers to Vantara and others In an earlier instance, in April 2023, the Alipore zoo transferred 51 animals to Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre or Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat, per its annual report for 2023-24 published on the website of the CZA. Vantara has previously come under the scanner with some news reports alleging that the demand created by the rescue centre for captive wild animals is resulting in individuals being illegally captured from the wild. Vantara, however, had told The Wire that these allegations are 'entirely baseless' and 'misleading'. The animals transferred from Alipore zoo to Vantara in April 2023 included one jungle cat, four fishing cats, two marsh crocodiles, one brow-antlered deer, two Indian muntjac (or barking deer), three water monitor lizards, nine Indian rock pythons, nine painted storks and 20 Indian star tortoises. Of these, all species except the Indian muntjac and painted stork come under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 – that is, they are afforded the highest protection under Indian law, on par with the tiger. What is the logic behind transferring species like the fishing cat to a private entity like Vantara instead of back to the wild, asked Tiasa Adhya, an ecologist who studies the rare and elusive wild cat in West Bengal and other states. 'If other zoos have a genetic line [of fishing cats] which promises more [genetic] diversity upon breeding of introduced individuals, or if the genetics of fishing cats have been studied in the wild and genetically poor populations have been identified, then such transfers [to private entities like Vantara] make sense from a managerial perspective which aims to bridge ex-situ and in-situ conservation,' Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project, said. But unless Vantara has such knowledge of fishing cat genetics already available, it would be 'wrong' from a species perspective to send fishing cats there because it is a new private entity, Adhya remarked. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park transferred several animals to Vantara: a snow leopard, a red panda, six golden pheasants, six silver pheasants and six Lady Amhersts's pheasants. Meanwhile, the data points to several other transfers between zoos. In 2023-24, as per its annual report, Alipore Zoo transferred 27 animals to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park (two Indian crested porcupines, eight blue-and-gold macaws, five barking deer, two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards) in two separate installments (in December 2023 and March 2024). It also transferred six animals (two Indian crested porcupines and four blue-and-gold macaws) to Junglemahal Zoological Park in Jhargram, West Bengal. In 2023-24, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park made 135 transfers, while the Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park made 272 transfers. Name of Zoo Disposals (Transfers to other zoos) 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Alipore Zoo - 54 23 Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park 51 135 65 Bardhaman Zoological Park 6 93 0 Gar Chumuk (Ulughata) Deer Park 15 272 37 Harinalaya At Eco Park 8 13 6 Rasikbeel Mini Zoo 20 - 0 Surulia Mini Zoo 0 0 0 North Bengal Wild Animals Park 1 35 - Table: 'Disposals' or transfers to other zoos for three years, from CZA's annual inventory reports. Blank spaces indicate years for which data is not available for that year. According to the researcher who studies illegal wildlife trade, a lot of transfers of wild animals are occurring between zoos. Why are these transfers being made, the researcher asked. 'Zoos need to provide data on the rationale behind such transfers and make them available in the public domain,' the researcher said. The state zoo authority does not have any say in such transfers as they are internal decisions taken between zoos, chief secretary Panth told The Wire. Numbers that don't tally Meanwhile, the inventory report for the Alipore zoo for the year 2023-24 – also published by the same statutory body, the CZA – says that the Alipore zoo 'disposed' of a total of 54 animals that year. However, transfers to Vantara, the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park alone amount to a total of 84 'disposals', per another CZA document – its annual report for the same year. The inventory report for the year also does not mention the 'disposal' of any marsh crocodiles, Indian rock pythons, Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons or water monitor lizards from the Alipore zoo at all – whereas its annual report for the year mentions the transfer of two marsh crocodiles, nine Indian rock pythons and three water monitor lizards to Vantara; two Indian rock pythons, two Burmese pythons, two reticulated pythons and four water monitor lizards to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park as mentioned above. Ironically, the inventory report claims that Alipore zoo only had eight Indian rock pythons at the opening of the year, and the same number at the close of the year, with no acquisitions or disposals in between. Similarly, the inventory report only specifies the 'disposal' of eight blue-and-gold macaws (while the annual report claims that a total of 12 such birds were transferred from Alipore zoo to the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Junglemahal Zoological Park). In the case of the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park too, the inventory and zoo annual reports for the same year give completely different figures for the same categories. The inventory report lists 464 animals as the opening stock for the year 2023-24, whereas the annual report quotes 210; 40 acquisitions in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; 135 disposals in the inventory versus 21 in the annual report; and a closing stock of 426 in the inventory versus 220 in the annual report for the year. Clearly, the numbers do not tally. This discrepancy in numbers also raises several questions, including the reliability of the CZA data. How many animals were really transferred to other zoological parks including Vantara and the North Bengal Wild Animals Park and other zoos? On what basis were these transfers made? If animals are going missing in hundreds from logs overnight, why should the call to transfer animals between zoos remain an internal decision and not one governed by the government? Data is key, ecologists say. Correct, verifiable data on animal transfers and why certain transfers were made should ideally be placed in the public domain, the wildlife trade researcher told The Wire. Zoos must also ensure that they conduct post-mortems for all animals that die on the premises and make available that data as well for the public, the researcher added. If animals breed successfully in zoos, and space and resources become a constraint, some can be reintroduced back into the wild – which is ultimately what captive breeding programmes aim to do. According to a study by Adhya and other scientists, captive-bred fishing cats can be re-introduced in the wild this way. The study, published in 2024, identified 21 possible reintroduction zones for captive-bred fishing cats in West Bengal, including spots in the Sundarbans, a mangrove ecosystem in the state. Thus, captive-bred fishing cats – once acclimatised in 'soft release centers' within designated habitats marked for their release – can be repatriated to the wild instead of being transferred to other zoos, Adhya remarked. But most importantly, priority should be given to protect the remaining wild habitats of species and authorities should only consider captive breeding programs as a supplementary tool, Adhya commented. In the case of fishing cats for instance, without adequate protection of wetlands which are the most critically threatened ecosystems on the planet, 'captive breeding programs are a farce on the face of the Earth,' she added. With inputs from Aparna Bhattacharya.
