Leopards Clubbed to Death

Not too long ago I blogged about man-animal conflict, but it had not prepared me for what I saw on the news telecast today. NDTV reported the killing of two leopards in separate incidents today. A video shot of one of the incidents was available, it showed a group of men clubbing a leopard (apparently to death). Here is what happened.

Technorati tags: animal-human conflict, leopards

Human Display at a Zoo

This bit of news is brilliant. The latest from Reuters science news - Humans put on display at an Australian zoo

A month long stay in an orangutan enclosure at a zoo in Australia doesn't really sound like a dream vacation, but apparently there are people who jumped at the chance to be Australia's latest zoo exhibit.

Considering this is the most novel idea I have come across to raise conservation awareness, I am at a loss of words to comment on this. The idea, though it might sound preposterous to some, unethical perharps, seems to me to be a brilliant way to catch the attention of people who look at a display in a museum or a zoo and walk away without so much as a second glance, a thought or any turning of the mind's wheels. The larger part of the population that visit zoos do so as a way to keep the kids happy, but now with this is one initiative, not only with the children question the adults more, its bound to be a thought-provoking display. The way I see it, this display should be a permanent one, and not just in one zoo, but at most of them.

If one wants the world to know more about primate conservation, what better way to do so than to put the one primate on display who's been responsible for the disappearance of the other primate species.

Technorati tags: primate conservation, human display, conservation awareness

Of Wild Horses and Black Bucks

The heat is blistering, rising up from the ground creating a mirage, the image reflecting off the salt encrusted ground. It's in the middle of February 2005, and the heat is searing. I'm there as a part of a group from an NGO based in Pondicherry to teach field techniques to a group of marin biology students from the US.

The place - Point Calimere.
Location - East coast of southern Tamil Nadu where the coastline takes a sharp turn to the west, with Sri Lanka about 43km to the south, across the Palk Strait.

An introduction to any place is exciting, its new and there's a sense of adventure in the air. But that soon evaporates due to the heat. Armed with dollops of sunblock and lots of bottles of drinking water, we set out to conquer the seaside sanctuary.

Its a beautiful place, as any place in its natural, pristine self is. Its also very small for a sanctuary, barely 30sq.km. The beauty of the place lies in its vegetation. One half of the sanctuary is open grassland (with loads of Prosopis, an invasive plant) and the other half is the largest section of tropical dry-evergreen forest in South Asia (and the thickest that I have ever seen). Making this unusual place a home are spotted deer (which, by the way, do not belong there....they were introduced into the area years ago), black buck, the only population of wild horses in the Subcontinent, wild boar, jackals, a myriad of birdlife (migratory as well as residential), and of course, the almost feral cattle blissfully grazing on the salt encrusted grass.

We visited Point Calimere a couple of months after the tsunami. The entire grassland area was covered with a thick layer of algae and salt, rendering the surface extremely slippery. Along the beach lay a few scattered bones of the unfortunate casualties of the tsunami, washed ashore from other places in South Asia. The local authorities had cleaned up as much as was possible by them, burying most of the bodies. The animals found higher ground (the highest being barely 4msl), but human life suffered.

The forest section was....wow! To get to some of the places we needed to, we had to do the army crawl, and not one of us were left without torn clothes or torn skin....its a miracle that our measuring tape (used to measure girth of vegetation) suffered no damage from the deadly thorns! Crawling along on all fours also meant that some of us had to deal with fire ants too....not a very pleasant experience. But the forest was our only respite from the incessant heat.

And then there were the tidal swamps to deal with. Accessability to certain parts of the sanctuary meant having to wade through slimy, algal pools. Our sneakers weren't really enjoying the experience....whoever thought about inventing the water-shoe is a genius (but they don't come in my size). But it sure was a whole load of fun.

Walk northward to the shore and there stands the perfect little lighthouse. Its a scene straight out of Enid Blyton! Red and white, completely made of iron. It was set up by the British, but lies unused now. Climb up to the top and the view is breath-taking. Thats when you realize why the place is called a "Point". The triangular piece of land jutting out into the sea (look up a map, if you need clarification!). The narrow stretch of beach visible for miles and the beginning of the Palk Strait, the mirky, narrow and shallow body of water that separates Sri Lanka from the Indian mainland.

A century old lighthouse erected by the Chola dynasty, now stands as a stump....made smaller by the force of the tsunami.

Wait a while and you might be lucky enough to see dolphins, and maybe even turtles during the nesting season. The local forest department has set up a small artificial hatchery for the turtle eggs, as feral dogs and jackals posed a constant threat.

Flamigoes, pelicans, herons, terns and a variety of ducks can be seen across the road where the salt marches provide excellent habitat for them. The beach along the lenght of the sanctuary though narrow, boasts of some of the most beautiful shells that I've ever seen. A quaint fishing village (rendered not so quaint by smuggling across borders) provides an almsot perfect backdrop to the scene. Ignore the effects of the tsunami and its the perfect seaside sanctuary for anyone, human or animal.

Technorati tags: Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, tsunami, wild horses, black bucks, tropical dry evergreen forest

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

Situated where the Aravalli and the Vindhya hill ranges meet, Ranthambore was one of the most celebrated hunting grounds of the Rajputs, the maharajas of Mewar and then the Mughals. With the backdrop of the the Ranthambore Fort, this wildlife sanctuary makes an impressive setting. Dotted with a few natural springs that sustain the wildlife through the year, it is home to some of India's most famous tigers. Filmed for a multitude of documentaries, the tigers here were the some of the most well-documented and studied.

Though Ranthambore lies in one of the drier parts of the country with some of the most severe summers, the animals here have learnt to survive through the long dry months. The permanent natural springs provide succor for the tiger and their prey, boars wallow in the drying pools to cool off, while the deer collect at the waterholes despite the threat from the few crocodiles that call some of these pools home. The park boasts of a large population of spotted deer or chital, hanuman langurs, rhesus macaques, sambar and a myriad of bird life.

Ranthambore is a land of contrasts. Summer brings in the heat that leaves the land parched. Trees shed their leaves and the yellowing grass provides ample camouflage for the tiger to stalk its prey. The sight that meets the eye during the summer months is that of parched desperation. But once the monsoons set in, the park is a splendid green.

For a land that is dry, Ranthambore is a haven for all living things. I have seen it in the dry weather and I have seen it right after the monsoons. For the life that it sustains (should I now say "sustained"?) it is no suprise that it became one of India's most famous tiger reserves. Of course, the sighting of a tiger there is always a matter of chance. But not any more. The sighting of a tiger is a matter of history. It was Sariska first. Reports started pouring in that tigers were disappearing. Noone seemed to know why. But it seemed evident. Large cats like that don't disappear into thin air. Common sense said they were poached. Every single one of them. The lucky ones are somewhere in the vicinity. Only time and indirect evidence will tell if there are any "lucky ones". Its almost the same story in Ranthambore. I have had friends who participated in the tiger census in 1999-2000 in the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. The numbers that were shared with me then by my friends did not tally with the numbers the Forest Department released, the official reports always had about 10-12 extra tigers. And then the tigers began to disappear last year. A handful remain, a population that may not sustain itself without human intervention. Animals have been poached ever since hunting was banned all over the world. The authorities in every country know about this and yet it cannot be stopped. The mafia is too strong and the authorities too few. The forest department is never on the priority list of any government, so money does not flow to support anti-poaching units. Salaries are so low that some officials would rather help than prevent. Money has always been more important. But what about the conservationists? Valmik Thapar always had a lot to say. For that matter Fateh Singh Rathore always claimed to be a hard-working field director of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Then why is it that the places where either had a role to play are the ones that seem to be losing tigers? I could be wrong, then am I one of the few that sees a connection? Rathore was accused of illegally occupying land around the sanctuary. The last time that I visited Ranthambore, he was still showing tourists around, running a private eco-tourism company. A little more than a week ago, the government passed an order to demolish the hotel that his son ran just outside the park. The reason? It was within 500m of the park boundry, a strip of land kept as a buffer. By the time the stay order was obtained from Jaipur, the 5 year old building was a pile of rubble. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had ordered independent probes into the disappearing tigers case. Soon we shall have concrete reasons as to what happened, or so I hope. But cannot the government do more? A lot more? That remains to be seen, after all our wildlife makes only a very small part of our economy.

Technorati tags: Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, spotted deer, hanuman langurs, sambar, poaching, tiger census