Archives for January 2008

The Chinese Giant Salamader (Andrias davidianus) is an amphibian that has seen it all happen. Pre dating even the Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest living amphibian known to man is finding it quite difficult to escape extinction. Commonly found in aquatic habitats in the United States, China and Japan, it is quite uncommon nowadays to spot them, a sad testimony to man’s mindless destruction of eco habitat.

One is every three amphibian species is under threat. 80% of the Chinese Giant Salamander’s has been destroyed since the early 60’s. It’s sad, but true..

Nocturnal with poor eyesight, the salamander banks on sensory nodes on its head and body to detect minute water pressure changes that allows them to hunt their manna. Known for hunting as a group, they find themselves almost on the edge of extinction. It is heartening that a recent project EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) promises to lend more support to the amphibian plight. Check out their voice for conservation that fights for a better future for these endangered species.

With most eco conservation efforts are presently focussed on other species, the neglected amphibians are having a tough ask, their legendary resilience no match for habitat degradation, human consumption and the impact of global warming on their environs.

If we dont act now, the final curtain will be drawn on the last act of these incredible creatures who boast of a lineage that evolved 170 million years ago.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the modest beekeeper who conquered Mt Everest on 29 May 1953 is no more today. 1919 – 2008 – An era has come to an end. Knighted for his achievement on the big brother of all mountains (approximately 8,882 meters), the likeable Aucklander has done his bit and more for the sprit of adventure and the cause of conservation.

In his own words

“The whole world around us lay spread out like a giant relief map, I am a lucky man. I have had a dream and it has come true, and that is not a thing that happens often to men.”

Yes he had a dream and he made it happen. He had bigger dreams too – environmental conservation. Synonymous with Everest to the average layman, not many people know that he was a vocal advocate and strident driver of anti pollution and eco-conservation efforts not just in his homeland but also in Nepal, so much so the Nepalese Government conferred honorary citizenship in 2003.

He did yeoman service to the conservation cause educating people on the need for preserving nature’s choicest treasures. The Everest region suffered on a major scale from the rubbish and waste left behind by the numerous trekkers and climbers. Cutting of trees for fuel angered him so much that he suggested closing down Everest for five years to give it enough breathing space.

He was president of the New Zealand Peace Corps and his high profile helped him leverage media to aid the conservation efforts. The humanist in him drove him to start the Sir Edmund Hillary Himalayan Trust, an endeavor responsible for close to 30 schools, more than a dozen clinics, two hospitals, a couple of airfields, and numerous foot bridges, water pipelines and other facilities, all aimed at providing a better quality of life for the resilient Sherpas without whom an Everest expedition would be a mirage in reality.

For someone who said about climbing mountains “It’s the intense effort, the giving of everything you’ve got.”, he had nothing more to give as he left no stones unturned to ensure his conservation campaigns shook the delusional cobwebs from people’s mind and inspired a whole generation in Nepal and elsewhere to put their hands up for the well being of the planet.

In simple words, Sir Edmund Hillary’s life represents the ascent of man.May his tribe and ilk increase.

False dawn. Light hues married to waking shadows. The early birds and jungle fowls kept their tryst. Heralding the march of time and the message of daylight. Almost second nature. The light lit itself for a minute or two before the darkness melted in. Confusion reigns. It happens every day in the mighty jungle. Time in pause before the real dawn breaks free.

Filtered rays from a nascent sun seeks succor among the green tendrils that betray no emotion as they play the perfect parasite on an aged orchid. The langur monkeys seem to shred itself of sleep induced lethargy as they awaken. The tired eyes of the sentinel langur watchmen reflect no emotion. Just cold concentration. The slight rustle of the dried leaves was not just a faded dream. Striped contours pad below in tired preamble. All hell breaks loose. The watchman shrieks in throated calls. Jungle fowls cackle as they crash into the thickets. The langurs climb higher in haste, a cacophony in tremulous haste.

The king of the jungle is on the move. Feline grace merged into the lightened shadows, tired pugs shorn of purpose. The night hunt was an abject failure. Maybe the deer had wings on their feet. Maybe the lone sambar in the thickets had a premonition of danger that allowed it time to pre-empt the final spring. Causes many, excuses none. The tiger is searching for a cool landscape to rest. Recharge. And start the hunt in the late afternoon. This time it won’t fail. Nay. It cannot afford to fail. Hunger pangs need to be sated. As soon as possible.

Some lantana bushes pricked the glossy skin. Shrugging off painful scratches, the majestic animal picked up pace. Memory cells jogged. Close to the fire lines on the north, maybe a couple of miles skirting damp game paths lay some inviting grasslands affording perfect cover and patented shade. That would be an ideal place to rest. Powerful paws etched perfect pugmarks in wake as the tiger picked pace.

It was time to rest. Rest. Welcome Rest. Rest of its reverie never did complete. A frightening painful roar echoed in its depths. Wrenching pain hit its gut and hammered its lungs. A crude man made wench snapped shut on its forepaw. The tiger bellowed and roared in pulsating pain. Man made traps don’t break free as easily. The animal’s legendary strength pulled the trap from its cleverly attached fixtures. The tiger lashed out, rolled furiously, dug chunks of earth and roared in agony, yet it would not give way.

The jungle became deathly still, all animals hidden in fear. A strong wind in haunted howl rose in the early morning heralding a flash storm common to these parts. Yet, the tiger’s roars continued. Hideous in pain. Thunderous in the rain. Thrashing through the outgrowths, the tiger hobbled, racked in agony throes that echoed with the distant thunder. Blood flowed on the damp earth merging into the little rivulets. Ebbed in strength, the king of the jungle laid himself in the hollows of a banyan tree in limp defeat. The rain bore and tore through the canopy of the thick forest. Finally spent after a little while, the skies cleared, yet pock mocked in anger with ashen clouds that seethed in anger.

What happens next needs no words to be wasted. Still I might. The poachers make their entry. An impassive bullet speaks no language of mercy on the trapped tiger except that it puts it out of its misery. Patient hands clean the majestic creature’s mortal hide and other parts that come in handy for misplaced mythical use.

Well, history has a habit of repeating itself in this jungle’s geography. And when it does, a Sariska happens. It keeps happening everywhere.

The tiger didn’t live to tell its story. I do. In the fond hope that it brings an awakening inside. In the deep trust that it kick starts people to seek accountability for the nameless tiger. In the blind faith that it makes the Government cringe in shame that the most important entity in the food pyramid of nature is so easily put away.

I still dream that the tiger will still rule the jungles of India. I simply believe. Do you?

We need to back the Indian tiger in its desperate fight for survival. Only a few thousands remain, shorn of support and threatened by man’s selfish pursuits. You and I can do our wee bit to help the magnificent animal walk with unalloyed pride. Let’s make a start by spreading awareness about tiger conservation. Let’s help restore its natural habitat by backing afforestation and eco conservation measures. It is still not too late…

Central Park, New York. Stanley Park, Vancouver. Hyde Park, London. KBR Park, Hyderabad. Hyderabad??

The reader may be a little nonplussed here. What is this park in Hyderabad and how does it figure with the three best urban parks in the world!

[Read more…] about KBR National Park – An Oasis of green

A recent comment by Ganesh apropos the article Forest Rights Act, 2007 has much food for thought that i deemed it fit to be addressed in a separate post than continue the conversation in the comment spacedom.

“it is not the tribals who are to be feared but those who come behind them..the business men, traders, poachers etc who will use these tribals as their front for their own nefarious activities. the job of the conservationists, the protectos just got tougher.”

Yes, tribals have always been used by the poaching mafia, the morally bankrupt trading community and the higher ups to achieve their own selfish demeaning objectives. But i feel like its time for some rugged measures vis a vis tribal resettlement as also wildlife conservation. Elephants need to forage large tracts for food and have their own corridors for migration. Tigers need large beats. When habitats decrease, the scope of human animal conflict is never greater than now. There is no saner way than tribal resettlement today. Tough choice yes, but we got to live with that. Yet in the same breadth, we have to ensure that tribals are resettled in a humane way that overly compensates what they lost in terms of their land and traditions.

The smart way forward is to use the tribal’s varied jungle expertise to set up herbal medicine centers, use their knowledge of the terrain by making them part of anti poaching squads, treasure their tracking and animal behaviour knowhow by employing them as trekking guides and staff. This will definitely break the tribal-poacher nexus. The Government can be more proactive and ensure better education, alternative employment, health care and sanitation facilities for the resettled tribals.

To be honest, we don’t have much alternatives if India’s flora and fauna has to be protected. A concerted effort that involves all stakeholders, the tribals, forest authorities, protectos would be the way to go.. Obstacles do persist. There are many factors that impede forest and wildlife conservation efforts. A few that cross my mind on the fly are

• Pitiable working conditions for forest guards. ( I know of a few uninhabitable checkposts in the Western Ghats which serve as punishment postings for those who fall out with their superiors.)
• Lack of proper arms to protect from poachers ( poachers have better ammo).
• The department is understaffed to stay the least ( In Muhurthi for instance one guard and a couple of watchers are supposed to cover almost 40-50 kms. Impossible).
• IFS top officals like the Sanctuary Warden dont get to spend enough time on postings. People from the north get posted in the south and vice versa. By the time they get a grip on the diverse realities, communication pitfalls, they get transferred. Intercine feuds, serving political masters and agendas make the issue even more complex.

Yet all hope is not lost. I have a lot of faith in the resilience of the Indian fauna. Yet they need all support in their fight for survival. We need to raise our voices more. The tiger’s roar is still heard in a few places. We need to add to that..