The roots of tea plants are visible at a tea estate in Nilgiris district, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

An Indian giant squirrel rests on a tree branch in the tribal village of Banagudi in Nilgiris district, India, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

A worker arranges native tree saplings at a nursery run by a restoration practitioner in Udhagamandalam in Nilgiris district, India, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

E. Shekhar, left, and N Krishnan, who work for a restoration practitioner, water the native tree saplings and grasses after planting them at a site surrounded by tea estates, in Nilgiris district, India, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Workers harvest cabbage from a strip of land surrounded by large tea estates in Nilgiris district, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Godwin Vasanth Bosco, a naturalist and restoration practitioner, passes through native trees planted by him 10 years ago in Nilgiris district, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

A strip of land where native grass species were replanted by a restoration practitioner is surrounded by large tea estates in Nilgiris district, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Workers pluck tea leaves using cutters at a tea estate in Nilgiris district, India, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)