Observations of Wildlife Wanderers

Bandipura National Park occupies a special place in the hearts of a lot of Wildlife lovers of Karnataka, India. It is simply A great place to be!

Since the time the jungle has been calling to us, it has also been revealing her secrets to us, one at a time. It also shows us what we, the people feel when we are outside our comfort zones, and into the wild........

Praveen Bidare, an active pro-wildlife campaigner, and I often sit and muse for hours on any topic that closely resembles wildlife and our thought train often stops at Bandipura and NaagarahoLe. And it sometimes makes us laugh and sometime pains us to watch the proceedings at these places as an observer and not as a participant.

Praveen, especially has a lot to say on the topic. I have tried to put his views, and a little mine, in the following paragraphs.

Get set for a long and preachy blog-post.

On seeing a video on nagaarahole, my colleague remarked, ” All this is bull-shit man. There are no tigers in NaagarahoLe. My friend went to NaagarahoLe safari and he did not see anything except deer. Everything in this video is staged”.

Sowmyajith, another active wildlife activist narrates one of his experiences. “A couple of my friends and I went to a National Park in North India. One of my friends casually asked the guide as to how many tigers existed there. As usual the guide said the estimate was about 60 tigers whence pat came the reply from my friend that since they had only half a day’s time at their disposal, they did not want to see all the 60 tigers, and that they would return happily if the guard showed them just 5 or 6”.

Another incident I would like to share with you is as follows: This happened when trekking was allowed inside Bandipur National Park. A few of my colleagues wanted to visit the place and they asked me whether I would take them there. I readily obliged, as it was an excellent opportunity to spread some awareness on wildlife. At the start of the trek everybody was very eager to see lot of wild animals, and it so happened that there were no wildllife sightings that day. We however came across a lot of elephant dung on our way. One of my friends finally and dramatically remarked that not even a rat existed there, and to attract tourists, the forest department collects dung from zoos and captive elephants and throws them around everywhere in the park!

These are just a few examples that bring forth the kind of myths and misconceptions that we city dwellers have on our national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

I have seen vehicles zipping about at 80 kmph inside Bandipur National Park. Trucks, which, laden with fresh fruit/vegetables/flowers, ply regularly, speed across the stretch of the park to cover their trip from Ootacamund to Bangalore and back in a day.

And then you have the tourists. On seeing elephant or gaur crossing the road, they stop and start clicking with their numerous cameras. Suddenly there are 16 to 30 hands out of the windows of the vehicles and the whole scene looks like an alien spider in the middle of a jungle. Some over-adventurous tourists get off their vehicle to get a closer shot.

Some people are so passionate about animals that they don’t miss a chance to feed deer, langur or other monkeys.

Ironically, when it gets dark is when people reveal their true colours. The vehicle is slow as it approaches the check-post but once it passes the post and goes about 500 meters forward, it picks up speed. Then enter the rock-stars with loud music and liquor inside the car. Once the bottle of mineral bottle is empty, the window screen is carefully lowered and the bottle is thrown out. There are some of us who are curious to spot wildlife and keep driving inside the park on the highway repeatedly, and on occasional sighting of a big cat crossing the road, steer their vehicle towards the animal with full beam. Normally cars carrying families (please note that the general conception with the police and forest department during checks is that if there are ladies in a vehicle it’s a family) stop at any shady patch and people get down from the vehicle. They wander about collecting Leaves or anything that they think is interesting. Some groups professionally arrange a community food service with 10 to 20 people sitting in a row or a circle and a couple of them serving food to the rest. Some groups even set up a kitchen and cook food while the rest loiter around!

The whole scenario gets worse during the holiday season. Surveys have revealed that there is at least one vehicle passing a point inside the national park every 15 seconds at the peak of holiday season.

The outcome of this entire careless human attitude is that it changes the animal behavior. Its movement inside the park is severely restricted and the prey-predator balance is turned topsy-turvy as our actions benefit one species while the other has to struggle to survive.

And then there is the magnitude of pollution we create inside the sanctum. We fail to realize that it is a natural ecosystem that is totally and entirely different from our urban settings. For example there is no rag picker paid by the government to pick up trash that builds up inside the park.



Monkeys and deer have become habituated to approaching humans for food in the Bandipur tourist reception area and have lost the natural fear of humans, and this in turns aids poachers. In other words, by feeding the wild animals we are actually helping the poachers who will not think twice before killing a friendly animal!

Some animals get holed up in one stretch of the park for long because of the stopping vehicles and people having picnic, and invariably get exposed to predators or other dangerous forces. A lot of animals desperate to cross the road by negotiating the traffic get killed and run over. The situation gets worse when there are calves. The calves find it a lot tougher to cross over and many times get run over or get separated from the herd. The high beam used at night inside the park blind the animals increasing the chances of them getting run over.

I have encountered dead wild boar or deer or langur during most of my visits to the Bandipur National Park.

These beautiful animals that thronged in thousands in our forests have been reduced to mere hundreds now. This is nothing but unnatural behavior! All these human induced behavioral changes will tilt the balance further against these forest dwellers, bearing an adverse effect on these shy and secretive creatures. The direct effect of this is that it aids in the further shrinking of forest cover.


Courtesy : http://happymonkeyplanet.com/WordPress/?m=200809


We have spoken enough about ill effects on animals. Let us consider a little on what humans face inside the national park.

It is extremely dangerous to play music, over-speeding, stopping and getting off the vehicle, and trust me, a lot of lucky people will tell you the same (lucky not to have spotted animals, but lucky to have survived, that is…..). In an urge to get a super-sighting or a picture-perfect photograph, going close to animals means exposing yourself to imminent danger because you nobody can predict how the animal will react to your “advances”.

Anything out of ordinary will arouse animal’s curiosity, irritate or enrage it. Brilliant Blue, Ujala White or Ferrari Red might please your companion, but certainly not an angry matriarch elephant. And the plesant whiff of the strong perfume will do the same too.

Man is far cleverer than any of the inhabitants of the forest, but unlike them, he cannot let them leave them in peace. If you want to see how intolerant, careless and irresponsible a man can be towards himself and the world at large, take him to a forest. Sadly, the prevalent feeling in most of us is that the nature, the forest, and the wild animals are only for our pleasure and entertainment, something, which though nice to have, is not a necessity. This kind of feeling is sad, but it is true that we feel so.

It is a very healthy and wonderful hobby of wanting to know more about wildlife. But to all beginners, here’s a word of caution. Go with realistic expectations lest you lose interest because you did not find what you expected to see! We might have our last zoo visit in our mind when we start off, and this premeditation and curiosity overtakes us when we actually sight an animal. Our immediate reaction reduces the sighting to a nanosecond; a lot of you will vouch for this.

Among many of you who have been on a safari might remember that suddenly your neighbor had shouted, “PEACOCK!!!!!” with dramatic hand gestures. You had whipped around, only to see an innocent Teak tree. The peacock had vanished! You wondered whether there really was a peacock. After more such incidents when the Safari ended, you had vented your ire saying there are no animals in the forest except deer, langur and tame elephants.


A lot of us need to realize that a zoo and a national park are two different worlds all together - a zoo is set up mainly for safe public viewing of animals, with a much smaller area and the animals are caged or extremely tame, and used to humans, where as national parks are natural free open spaces without a cage or fence, there is no tab on animal movement.

And if you really want to see animals in their own habitat and behavior, without being a danger to the animal or yourself, a few small pointers can be kept in mind while visiting a national park.

·Always wear dull or earthly colours – dark green, light brown etc.
·Never use strong smelling cosmetics, soaps or perfumes
·Stay calm if an animal sighting occurs and never shout or make sudden movements.

Remember, everyone else in the jeep is equally vigilant and would have seen the animal too.

Many of us come back from these visits with an idea that not many animals live in the forests. But trained eyes can sights lots of wildlife like mongoose, rare birds, reptile life and the ever-agile animals.

There is no way one will see big cats during every visit to the jungle.
Sighting animals in open forest or in safari is a matter of luck, skill and patience to a certain extent.

These are but a few points for a successful stay in a national park or a wildlife sanctuary. Let us practise them and dive into understanding, as Jim Corbett says, the Book of Nature.

Windmills of The Devils

The Best Windmill

Windmills of the Gods is a 1987 thriller novel by American writer Sidney Sheldon. In the book, the lead character is constantly pursued and plotted against and very nearly killed by the very own forces that look like they can help her save her life. The following story is somewhat similar.

You must have seen the whirring windmills on the hills across the plains of Karnataka. These windmills are being projected as the ideal answer to the current power crisis of the state. These projects are being implemented with a promise of providing electricity to rural areas. The government looks at these projects as environment friendly and green solutions and provides further impetus and support to them.

Agreed, windmills do solve a part of the power crisis, but they have a ‘Mr.Hyde’ face to them too. One that is scarier and that might spell doom to a host of grassland forests in which they are being established. It is highly important we know and understand these aspects of the windmills. You must know that the reserve forests of Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Gulbarga, Haasan and other districts are the primary sources and the fountainheads for the lakes and rivulets in the region. The tragedy is that the windmills are being established by destroying these very forests that are acting as the catchment areas of these lakes. The day is not far when these lakes will cease to provide water for the local industries, cultivation or cattle.

To install the heavy windmills, roads as wide as 15 meter and more are being cut on the mountains. In monsoon loose soil caused by these roads get deposited in the lakes.

Recently there was a proposal to install windmills in the forests of Rangayyanadurga in JagaLooru taluk in Davanagere district. These forests are the sources and catchment areas for lakes such as MaddanaLLi, Maagadi, KeLagOte and others that as spread over more than 77 sq.km. These lakes are the bread givers for hundreds of farmers, shepherds and fishermen. If all the lakes dry up or get filled with silt due to this project, then it will be a death trap for all these people dependent on these lakes.

Lets keep the human side away and look at the humane side for a minute. These windmills are a bane for animals and birds too. Direct impact is that these creatures lose their homes due to forest loss. Hundreds of birds get killed when they hit these huge rotating fans. There are many more problems due to these windmills that escape our attention. Bats are extremely useful creatures for farmers. Bats’s main food is the farmers’ great enemy, the crop-destroying insect. The Bats eat these insects in great numbers and protect the crops directly. The big misfortune is that these windmills are also killing the Bats. Wildlife enthusiast Satish.K.MallaNNa says that if you go to villages like beLLaara, dasooDi, hoysaLakaTTe, huLiyaaru and others in tumkur district, you can see hundreds of Bats lying dead because of getting caught in the windmills.


Check out the Size of the windmill in comparison to the man!


The irony is that the electricity produced by these projects is not reaching the rural folk at all! Think about this – rural land was used, surrounding forests were destroyed, with a promise of cheap and clean and green energy alternative for the rural areas, but that very purpose is not being satisfied! These people face power shortage till date. The builders of these windmills get a lot of grants and other benefits. The power thus generated is bought at a higher price than usual. The owners of these projects who are running industries in the city are getting power at household rates. Thus they make profit both ways! But the biggest loser in this whole bargain is the poor villager who has lost his surrounding forests and lakes.

The installers of windmills give small favours and win over the confidence of the villagers so that they don’t oppose the projects. The permission of Forest Department to use forest land is mandatory for establishing windmills. But the government declares the shrub forest as plain land and gives permission for the windmill owners.

Central government approval is mandatory for use of forest land greater than 5 hectares area for other developmental purposes. But the huge project is shown as many smaller undertakings and illegally given permission.

Before these development activities are taken up, it is mandatory that the “IEA Guidelines and Standards” have to be adhered to. But even these documents are found to be questionable and of suspicious nature in many cases. The “Environmental Advisers” who write these documents have minimal knowledge about the area in contention. There have been accusations that they create documents and records that are helpful for and biased towards the industrialists.

You have to understand that anti-windmill does not mean anti-development. But please think, taking such pains to establish windmills in ecologically sensitive areas by destroying forests and finally ending up with neither electricity nor water – should such a scenario arise? No, definitely not. In Talakaaveri, Coorg, remnants of such a useless windmill can still be seen.

These projects should never sound a death-knell to thousands of agriculture-dependent families and scores of forest-dependent species. Its time to make a choice.

Reference Article : Article titled, "gaaLiyantragalemba peDambhoota" by Mr.Sanjay Gubbi, which appeared in the daily prajaavaaNi on Thursday, 1 October 2009.
I also want to thank the various sources on the Internet from which I take the images and quotes.

A plea for the protection of Blackbucks of KGF

I am honored to say that the Times of India recently recognized our initiative through the following article by Jayashree Nandi : http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2009/09/30&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00600&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T


Salman Khan’s face was the first thing that popped up in my head when Prashant talked about Blackbuck. Then I came back to my senses and asked him in bewilderment – “Blackbucks next to main road? That too in Kolar Gold fields?” This was news to me.

Murli who had informed us about Blackbuck sightings in KGF had dispensed all doubts by attaching to the mail, the pictures of these graceful animals leaping high into the air. He also informed that a few days back there were reports of dogs attacking a few of these fast beauties. We decided to check out the scene ourselves.

On Saturday, 12th September 2009, 5:00 A.M., Murli, Prashant, Anupama and I left for Kolar in Prashant’s car. Kolar is around 100 km from Bangalore. I had never been to this part of Karnataka but for the times when I had visited the sacred abode of Tirupati. Unlike then, I did not know what to expect from this venture.

By the time we had negotiated the roads, broken our fasts, taken toilet-breaks and reached KGF, it was almost 9 30. The place where Murali guided us to was a particular stretch between Bangarpet and Bethmangala, about 4 km from KGF on road. We immediately set out in search of these legendary creatures.

Blackbuck, or Krshnamrga in Kannada is one of the most striking of all antelope species. Mainly native to India and parts of Nepal, these were found in huge numbers throughout the country. Today, these are found only in pockets, and highly endangered, due to a variety of reasons like poaching, habitat fragmentation and gene degradation due to inbreeding.

“Why are Blackbucks endagered?” is the question that you might ask. After all, Chital (Spotted deer) or Axis Axis is also related to Blackbuck, yet they are thriving in our jungles. So why not BB, eh? This is where we, and many times our forest officials fail to get the finer aspects of evolution. Blackbuck is the fastest runner of all land animals in India today. It can run up-to the speed of 80 km/hr with a burst of leaps and gallop. But just imagine, can any large mammal run at such speeds in a dense forest? No! What it needs, and what it is evolved for is vast and uninterrupted grasslands, something that was aplenty throughout India just a few decades back. Then came the cities. Peninsular India and North India became hub of industrial activities. Mining was introduced. Grazing of cattle was necessary. All these led to a rapid and tragic depletion and degradation of open grasslands. And with the grasslands went the grassland dependent wildlife too. After all, a grassland is not a “Forest” is it?

In fact, the only animal that can ever overtake a Blackbuck in a race would have been the Asiatic Cheetah, for which the Blackbuck was a prominent prey species. But the story of the Cheetah is much more tragic than the Blackbuck’s. But that’s another story, and a story that is a subtle motivator for the conservation of Blackbucks too.

These factors were precisely the ones which got us up from bed while the nation slept and made us walk in the Sun on the scorching plain land while a lot others of us were contentedly mulling on which movie to watch that day.

We had walked about 300 meter away from the main road, and my skepticism made me more interested in finding snakes than antelopes. At once Murli remarked, “There!” .As one, 3 of us turned and were face to face with a male Blackbuck. Standing warily, its skin a blackish brown and its horns a signature corkscrew, it considered us. Click, Prashant’s camera exclaimed, and a switched clicked on my thoughts back too. I just turned to Murli who had an expression on his face that said, “There you go”. We took a step forward and away it cantered, into some eucalyptus trees beyond.



Leapin-Doe


That was the catalyst. At every cautious advance we detected more blackbucks, some with real lustrous black coats and long horns and lots of does (females) to go with. We soon lost count, but estimated aroun 70- 100 blackbucks within 45 min of our walk. We settled down a bit and so did the blackbucks.

Within few minutes of cessation of our activities, they resumed theirs. 2 big males sparred at a distance of a few hundred meters while another frolicked with his female fans. We could have sat there for a few hours and the Balckbucks would have relaxed more. That, is a big problem facing their very survival.

1. A Blackbuck pelt will fetch upto a quarter of a lakh, horns a few thousand and meat a few hundred rupees every kg. What will prevent a poor or a greedy man from walking into the grassland, load up a rifle, shoot a blackbuck and carry it away? He could finish the whole task and be gone in 60 seconds!

2. Street dogs are always hungry. And they had already shown their taste for fresh meat when they had attacked a stray blackbuck near the main road. What would stop them from developing particular taste for these black beauties and finish off their old or young ones? They would never be able to tackle the healthy ones for sure, but a generation of fawns gone could spell disaster for the buck’s future.

3. Wolves, the last great predators of our plains, survive on Blackbuck meat as part of their diet that includes cattle and livestock, incuding poultry. Brave wolves have been known to venture into villages and carry away children too. Loss of blackbucks will only worsen the situation and increase Human-Wolf conflict, thus putting a question mark on the already threatened wolf survival itself!


These reasons and more made us sit and think of an imaginary place where blackbucks would roam free without fear of man or other man-made threats, and where they would migrate and breed with other groups or herds, thus maintaining a healthy gene population. The answer which instantly popped into our minds was to make the whole area a protected area for the wildlife, something on the lines of Ranebennur Blackbuck sanctuary, or the more recent Maidenhalli Balckbuck reserve.

But this thought also brought with it important and subtler aspects and problems that could arise by such an action:
1. Do the animals represent resident population of the place?
2. Who owns the land on which they roam?
3. What are the difficulties that humans in the area would face by such a
decision?
4. Can we afford more “Protected” and thus inaccessible lands in the middle of a dense human population?

Clearly, a scietific approach has to be taken which would be in the best interests of both man and wild, with the long-term consquenses firmly rooted in mind.

But a strong and sensible decision to protect these poetry-inspiring wild animals would be a definite boost to the crumbling world of wildlife conservation. It could develop tourism in an area that is yet to cope up wit the closure of the mines that fed the coffers of the British for a century. It would open up avenues for research in grassland eco-systems and related issues. It would enhance the micro-world of eco-systems which support human life by producing fodder, honey etc.

On a personal note, the biggest added advantage of declaring the Blackbuck inhabited areas as protected, would be a step towards the reintroduction of the enigmatic Asiatic Cheetah to India’s wild, which once ruled as the predator in chief over much over India, but is now locally extinct as a result of Indian “royalty’s” over-indulgence. Only sub-species that exists is a small population in the volatile nation of Iran with which the government is holding talks (albeit unsuccessfully) to import a healthy breeding pair. The Cheetah will never be able to survive in pockets of grasslands. They would need huge areas with a large prey base. And protecting these blackbucks and their home would be the first step towards the rebirth of the Indian Cheetah.


Blackbucks being hunted by Asiatic Cheetah, as depicted in a Mughal painting



Garuda Purana mentions that Krshnamrga brings prosperity to the land that they inhabit. This has definitely been the case with Kolar Gold Mines. Is their depletion in accordance with the closing down of the mines?

Scriptures say that Krshnamrga or the Blackbuck is the vahana or the vehicle of the moon god. These Blackbucks are as pleasing to the eye as the full moon on a clear night. Once the full moon wanes to new moon, he shall again wax to full moon in a fortnight’s time.

We might never get that chance with our beautiful blackbucks. Its time to act now, or there might not be another chance.


A picture which makes me proud to be a human - Pic contributed by Anupama Kadam.

Bare-foot Warriors

Mallige is a beautiful name. Mallige is the Kannada word for Jasmine. The word evokes a sense of aroma and well-being. Recently a daily-wage worker of forest department by the name Mallige met a very gruesome end. A Gaur ( The largest species of Wild cattle in the world, sometimes incorrectly called ‘The Indian Bison’) gored him to death in Bannerughatta National Park, Bangalore. His family, which comprises of two very young children and his aged parents, has lost the sole breadwinner. Since Mallige was a temperory daily-wage worker, his family did not get compensation from the government. Neither did he have the luxury of Insurance.

The role of workers at the grassroots of forest department in conserving our forests and wildlife is of great importance. They are the ones who protect our priceless wealth with their patrol and vigil in the unforgiving forests. Among them, the less said the better about the condition of workers in National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. They keep watch and protect against timber thieves, poachers and forestland encroachers in extremely difficult terrain. Sometimes they have take on and fight against these forces. Just like the soldiers who protect our borders do.

Since they mostly work inside forests, they often leave their kids in their friends’ or relatives’ houses so not to cause inconvenience to their education. In case of any emergency in the family, these workers do not even get the news in time. They get the chance to meet their family only once in two or three months, provided they are allowed leave. A daily-wage forest watcher earns about 3400 Rs a month. With this amount he has to take care of all the needs of himself and his family. They do not get these wages every month either, but once every few months or so. But all the other senior offices and other staff of forest department get their salaries promptly on the last day of the month.

The difficulties of a forest watcher do not end here. They do not have proper uniforms. These watchers, who roam in the hilly and difficult terrain with nothing more than torn slippers on their feet, do not have proper training in the methods of protection and conservation of forests. Nor do they have leaders who can motivate them and effectively take them forward. When poachers see uniformed personnel, at least some fear is instilled in them. Who will even give respect to people in torn clothes? The condition of workers in Kuduremukha National Park is deplorable to say the least. Their hard work does not even have the support of insurance. In case of their untimely death there is no provision for compensation for their family members. Many of them are entering the golden period of old age in their lives, and there is an urgent need to recruit young security personnel. Along with the job of securing our forests, there is also an added burden of many rural development activities that these workers are entrusted with.

Today’s situation demands that a forest guard has to man an area as big as 5000 acres. This proportion must be at least halved. If this has to happen then all the vacant posts in the department must be filled, or at least the positions of temporary workers must be made permanent. At last count there were as many as 1300 empty foest guard posts. These must be filled and additionally 3000 forest watchers must be appointed. The selection and appointment of these personnel must be done by the goverment in a rational way. Educational qualification should not be the sole criteria for the hiring of these personnel. They should have a working knowledge of the animals, birds, trees and land that they will protect. Most importantly, they must have a passion for conservation of our forests.

NaagarahoLe National park paints a similar picture. As much as 55% of forest guards’ posts are vacant. There is vacancy for 47% of forest watchers’ posts. One of Karnataka’s most pristine and best forests, the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, which is spread over an expanse of 988 sq.km, has only four posts for watchers to protect the entire forest! And two of these posts are unoccupied! Here too, the number of unfilled positions of forest guards is as high as 64%. The sad part is that in many cases there is no empathy from the higher-ranking officials towards these low-rung workers.

Native hill-folk, termed as Girijana, and those who live in close proximity to the forests are the people who are best equipped to protect the forests. Their skills, if honed and utilized properly, will be an asset in conservation. Staff, who are recruited as employees, are given training in this field at the beginning of their career. But there is no training after the initial course. Provision should be made for training camps for refresher courses every five years so that they can keep themselves up to date in terms of techniques and technologies.

Provision must be made for free medical services and facilities for the Forest Department employees and contract workers just like the Arogya Bhagya scheme that has been implemented for the Police Department. Special status must be given to those who work inside the Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks. High-quality education for their children must be guaranteed. The fifth pay commission has differentiated between forest department and other departments. A forest guard with 2 stars earns Rs 6250 as basic salary, but a worker of animal husbandry or a fire-fighting department earns Rs 6850. This disparity must be eliminated.

These Bare-foot warriors who protect our forests urgently need the support of government. Remember, they are not just protecting our wildlife and forests, but many other vital things like sources for our rivers on which we depend entirely.


Article reference : Kannada Article "Kaadu uLisuva barigaalina yodharu" By Mr. Sanjay Gubbi that appeared in PrajavaaNi, Thursday 4th June 2009.