Hunter-Habib
AH legend
I wanted to be a forest officer ever since childhood due to my passion for hunting (which itself arose partially from my childhood duck hunts with my father & partially due to watching Stewart Granger’s version of “King Solomon’s Mines”). So I did my undergraduate in “Environmental Science” in University Of London and then did my postgraduate in “Principles Of Forestry” at the University Of Peshawar.
I graduated just as the Indo-Pak War of 1971 began. There, I got conscripted into the East Bengal Regiment and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant during the war. After the war, I was given the option to pursue a career in the army. But I instead opted to pursue my dream of forestry. I still have a photo of my first day on the job in 1972.
Until April 1989, I was posted as a DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) in various forests across the nation. In April 1989, I was appointed Director of the National Botanical Gardens. In 1991, I had to return to active forest service as a DFO in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for a year… so that I could stop the timber theft which was destroying a Sample Forest there as nobody was willing to do what needed to be done (the crooks were using domesticated elephants to uproot entire trees). In 1993, I became CCF (Chief Conservator Of Forests) for the entire country. In 2000, I ran for MP (Member Of Parliament) and successfully served two terms in Parliament before retiring from politics in 2005.
From August 2024 to February 2026, I was appointed as IGF (Inspector General Of Forests) by the interim government during a time of political turmoil. I fortunately retired three weeks ago. I own a few businesses and lecture at a local University twice a week now.
To answer @Rare Breed ’s interesting question: I firmly believe that BOTH experiences AND assets are critical for a life well lived. Balance is key.
You don’t live to work. You work to live. Never lose sight of that. I know many people who spent their entire youth chasing money in the hopes that they could live a luxurious life in their twilight years. But they all either died or became too feeble by the time they made enough money to “Live the good life”. We all think that we have forever, but life is shorter than you think.
On the other side of the spectrum, it is vital to accumulate money & assets at every possible opportunity that avails itself. And it’s definitely easier to do this when you’re young rather than old. I know many people who died in great poverty because they blew all their money when they were young. For example, the grandfather of the young fellow who co-authored my autobiography. He was a billionaire and used to go hunting in Africa every year. He also was a massive spendthrift. He died without having enough pay to pay for his kidney dialysis; leaving his family in great debt.
I had one very unique set of circumstances which allowed me to start hunting in Africa so regularly even during my twenties. During the 1970s (when I was posted to oversee the Chittagong Hill Tracts), we were fighting off members of the BCP (Bangladesh Communist Party) and the government basically allowed the DFO to keep half the assets confiscated from any BCP members whom we either arrested or killed. During the 1980s (when I was posted in the Sundarban mangrove forests), the government gave me a similar deal for contending with Islamic terrorists in the region. So I was able to combine business with pleasure.
I graduated just as the Indo-Pak War of 1971 began. There, I got conscripted into the East Bengal Regiment and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant during the war. After the war, I was given the option to pursue a career in the army. But I instead opted to pursue my dream of forestry. I still have a photo of my first day on the job in 1972.
Until April 1989, I was posted as a DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) in various forests across the nation. In April 1989, I was appointed Director of the National Botanical Gardens. In 1991, I had to return to active forest service as a DFO in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for a year… so that I could stop the timber theft which was destroying a Sample Forest there as nobody was willing to do what needed to be done (the crooks were using domesticated elephants to uproot entire trees). In 1993, I became CCF (Chief Conservator Of Forests) for the entire country. In 2000, I ran for MP (Member Of Parliament) and successfully served two terms in Parliament before retiring from politics in 2005.
From August 2024 to February 2026, I was appointed as IGF (Inspector General Of Forests) by the interim government during a time of political turmoil. I fortunately retired three weeks ago. I own a few businesses and lecture at a local University twice a week now.
To answer @Rare Breed ’s interesting question: I firmly believe that BOTH experiences AND assets are critical for a life well lived. Balance is key.
You don’t live to work. You work to live. Never lose sight of that. I know many people who spent their entire youth chasing money in the hopes that they could live a luxurious life in their twilight years. But they all either died or became too feeble by the time they made enough money to “Live the good life”. We all think that we have forever, but life is shorter than you think.
On the other side of the spectrum, it is vital to accumulate money & assets at every possible opportunity that avails itself. And it’s definitely easier to do this when you’re young rather than old. I know many people who died in great poverty because they blew all their money when they were young. For example, the grandfather of the young fellow who co-authored my autobiography. He was a billionaire and used to go hunting in Africa every year. He also was a massive spendthrift. He died without having enough pay to pay for his kidney dialysis; leaving his family in great debt.
I had one very unique set of circumstances which allowed me to start hunting in Africa so regularly even during my twenties. During the 1970s (when I was posted to oversee the Chittagong Hill Tracts), we were fighting off members of the BCP (Bangladesh Communist Party) and the government basically allowed the DFO to keep half the assets confiscated from any BCP members whom we either arrested or killed. During the 1980s (when I was posted in the Sundarban mangrove forests), the government gave me a similar deal for contending with Islamic terrorists in the region. So I was able to combine business with pleasure.
