Man's Best Friend

They live on the street, they have to fend for themselves, they may not be able to talk, but they make more people happy in their lifetime than any average human.

Dogs are common to households, in fact dogs have lived alongside humans for more than 40.000 years. Urban stray dogs generally are omnivorous, hence they hunt for small mammals like rodents or feed off the garbage humans throw out.

May it be street dogs or pet dogs, some people love them and some people don't. The dislike for dogs stems from fear and/or lack of knowledge about how to behave with a dog. Dogs are generally docile until you intentionally cause them harm, a dog doesn't bite for no reason. While we humans may never need a reason to hurt or hunt animals, animals never do so without an explanation for the same.

Pet dogs live in protected environments, shielded away from the negatives of the society, but the street dogs have to face it all. A female street dog if pregnant has to search for food, shelter, a whelping place, and care for her newborns even in her weakest state. In spite of this, they smartly search for hiding spots where their puppies could be safe from their natural predators.

These females will tend to trust humans that feed them or approach gently, hence they hardly consider humans as threat.

One such female of the many dogs I feed had given birth to 5 puppies close to the M.S. University exit gate. She dug a den in a mud pile, deep enough to prevent the puppies from climbing out, and dedicatedly nursed and cared for them. I feed her biscuits, dog food and milk daily apart from which a few kind individuals from the society like the watchmen and the dhobis would often feed her. She was a healthy dog with healthy growing puppies. The bliss lasted hardly a month though. When puppies are about 25 days old, their senses become keener, they sleep lesser, and start to venture out to explore. At this stage more people come to know of their hiding place.

It had probably been their 2nd day of exploring around the cave, some hate-filled human must have spotted them the day before. That grim day, early in the morning they were poisoned and left for dead. I found their bodies scattered across the entrance of their den, all seeming to be asleep but on a closer look one could see their faces wet from all the licking, their mother had tried to wake them up but in vain.

All the puppies, inches away from each other, had had their last playtime. The mother hadn't allowed anyone close, she kept licking and nudging them to wake up. I had to hold her back as she struggled and howled while her once healthy, now poisoned 5 puppies were buried close to their den.

The mother roamed around looking for her puppies, full of milk to feed them. She would howl all night, calling out to them. Her health deteriorated due to the trauma. She lost weight, her fur became dull, she was visibly sad. Nothing could comfort her. They may be animals, but losing young ones is major trauma.

Slowly she healed, it's almost 6 weeks since that incident, even today as she passes by that den she pauses, sniffs for a familiar smell, goes to it and still comes back with a confused look. She doesn't understand what caused her puppies to fall over while playing, doesn't understand why puppies with no wounds stopped responding to her calls.

I don’t know who did it, or what was the reason behind it, if any. Later on talking to the people in the society I have realised that this has been happening for a while. Two other females in her pack were pregnant but I never saw their puppies, another female in the adjoining lane had given birth to puppies which were soon poisoned.

No reason can justify killing innocent life. These are mute creatures, they express their pain through their eyes. I am now worried for the new puppies that have been born, will they survive? Can they remain hidden from that Monster?

We are ‘human’, we are civilised, we don’t behave like ‘animals’. I wonder if we got the meaning of these words reversed.

The Indian Palm Squirrel

The Indian palm squirrel is a little rodent that Hindus consider to be sacred. The legend narrates that during the construction of the Rama Setu at Rameswaram by the Vanara Sena, a little squirrel also contributed in its own little way. Lord Rama, pleased by the creature's dedication, caressed the squirrel's back and ever since, the Indian squirrel carried white stripes on its back, which are believed to be the mark of Lord Rama's fingers.

It's intriguing how these little creatures have adapted to to increasing urbanisation. They now build nests in air-conditioner boxes, electric meters, broken pipes and even old abandoned attics!

If you have a tree near your house it is likely that you are woken up by a daily alarm of ‘clicking’ as the squirrels bathe in the sun to warm themselves and to keep a watch on any approaching danger.

The Indian palm squirrel is not as helpless as it seems, they are vehement rodents with a dislike for cats and snakes, which climb into their nests and prey on their pups. Such predators are chased away with awe inspiring vigour.

Although generally known to favour fruits, seeds, and even cooked human food, Indian Palm Squirrels supplement their diets with eggs and young of sparrows, mynas and parakeets.

While they have adapted to climbing slippery pipes, running across wires and braving their way through our windows to steal an occasional ripe fruit, these rodents required the presence of trees for their survival.

Trees mean shelter and food for them, adaptions to changes can take one only so far, if you completely remove the original habitat there is a little chance of these mythologically recognised rodents to continue to survive amongst us.

While we may not take notice of their presence as often as required, we definitely cannot take it for granted. We once considered house sparrows to be a part of the household, they vanished without us realising, soon so may be the case with squirrels. While we continue with our fast paced development we must stop and think about all the collateral damage it creates.

Systematic destruction of well planned spots in the city.

On 5th October 2015, The Times of India commemorated Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad by summarising his life as “The Last Ruler”. During his ten year rule from 1939 to 1949, he established The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU) as well as the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) and a lot more.

To honour Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad’s memory, his bust was installed in a small public garden in Pratapgunj, a society named after him. This garden though small was an island of greenery and served as a spot for kids to play and senior citizens to relax. On 6th October 2015, this garden was razed down by the Municipal Corporation of Vadodara.

The road connecting Kamatibaug with Nataraj passes between Residential and Institutional (MSU) area was aesthetically laid out with a road-island, where the bust of the first mayor of Baroda is installed, and this small garden dedicated in Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad’s memory.

These two well thought out features made the driving on this road interesting as well as regulated the speed of vehicles automatically, thus making it safe.

With the removal of the garden the road is now straight making it dangerous as vehicles will speed. I am afraid the decades old trees (circled) surrounding the original garden might be chopped off because they are now in the middle of the new straight road that is being built.

Tomorrow the road island might also face similar fate and someone might remove it stating hindrance to traffic. This needs to stop, heritage spots such as these need to be maintained and preserved instead.

This ill thought out step has removed the garden and though the bust of Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad still stands in its original spot it is no longer surrounded by the beautiful garden but is instead left to stand alone by the roadside!

The Urban Ancient!!

Crocodiles are one of the oldest living creatures on earth, they have existed for centuries, even lived along dinosaurs! Amazing adaptations like their bulletproof skin or enormous jaws give them a formidable appearance.

The Vishwamitri river flowing through the Vadodara city is home to Marsh crocodiles that are locally called ‘mugger’. Muggers have lived in synchrony with localites of the city for as long as the river has flown through it.

Instances of human-crocodile encounters that turned fatal have also occurred but this is mainly during the breeding season of the crocodiles, at this time the otherwise calm reptiles are highly territorial. Crocodiles do not purposely enter human settlement, the confrontations are either due to human negligence and encroachment or due to flooding which causes the wild to get pushed into the city by water currents.

After media reports of human-crocodile conflict there is a lot of  hue and cry about the dangers of crocodiles which leads to false assumptions amongst the general public.The attack is reported but several times crucial information like the fact that the victim had invaded the crocodile territory is omitted.

There are several places in the world where crocodiles live very close to human settlement, yet they are not feared. It was reported that Colombia’s wildlife conservation efforts have led to the discovery of the largest population of the species of American crocodiles, in the region.

In 2009 Houston chronicle reported that the residents of Mexico city coexist with crocodiles.“They've gone from being just one more inhabitant of the lagoon to being icons of the city,”  said Mario Castellanos, a municipal biologist.“What we are trying to do, is provide them with security” he said.

Closer to home, in the Malataj village of Anand, it's not unusual to see women going about their usual chores and children playing by the pond that is full of crocodiles. "We are aware that the crocodiles are shy creatures. Like other reptiles, they are also harmless if not disturbed," said Malataj sarpanch, Durgesh Patel. Patel, 38, even doubles up as crocodile rescuer in this village.Wildlife experts suggest that in last thirty years, there have been only four instances of human-crocodile conflict in Charotar region comprising of Anand and Kheda districts. Of these four incidents, only one had turned fatal.

Taking inspiration from these examples we must start respecting the reptiles that chosen our city as their home. These crocodiles are a part of a self sustaining river system and the absence of them can lead to disastrous consequences. Building crocodile parks or shifting them out of the city cannot be the answer. But instead, educating the localites about their nature, forbidding construction on reclaimed land along the river basin and encroachment on the river and reducing waste disposal along river sides, these are certain steps needed for the protection of localites as well as the crocodiles. These crocodiles should be made the pride of the city as they are as much deserving citizens of Vadodara as we are. I propose that we make these crocodiles the mascot of our city, leading to its protection and pride amongst people.

The Bee Next Door!

Regardless of the awareness on the ecological importance of bees, letting a bee into your house might seem like a threatening prospect. Apparently, not so to the residents of Angadh. As a part of Summer Internship I chose to survey the presence of Asian Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea) in Vadodara District and learnt how the people of Angadh do what we wouldn't dare to. This bee prefers warmer climates and is native to south and south-east Asia. 

My team and I were welcomed by Parbatsinh, a village resident, who then led us to his hut. Picture this: a common village hut where a wife or a mother is cooking for the family and is completely oblivious of the presence of a 2-feet long Apis florea hive in her kitchen. That is how comfortable the people in Angadh are with these bees.

I have documented 22 Apis florea hives in 12 villages within 10 kms from the heart of the city. Angadh residents respect honeybees and so do not harm them. Apis florea hives have been spotted within the city limits on trees as well as buildings, but these were less accessible than those in villages.

And why are bees important? Bees live on nectar and pollen. Without bees, pollination would be difficult. The locals are well aware of the role played by bees in pollination responsible for increase in crop production. Bee products are used as food as well as in the cosmetic industry. Honey is the most important bee product and often has religious as well as cultural significance. Since Vedic period, honey is one of nature's most remarkable gifts to mankind. Apis florea honey is considered to have medicinal qualities and is highly prized. It has been estimated to fetch more than 800 Rs. per Kilo.

Bees can act as effective biodiversity indicators of an area since they are the most susceptible organisms to diversity changes. This less known bee species has a much smaller flight range of around 500 m and the presence of flowering plants is crucial for its survival.

Though the people of Angadh showed compassion, a stark opposite scenario was noted in several other villages where people would burn or smoke the hives or even destroy the entire hive for honey instead of adapting a more sustainable honey extraction technique.

In the recent years efforts are being made globally. Honey bees are threatened by several factors like rapid deforestation and loss of biodiversity, Varroa Mites and other diseases. Extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers also effect honeybees and residues of which can be found in honey.

Apis florea are known as 'desi' locally and have a smaller sting size compared to Apis Dorsata 'bhamri' which is the biggest and the most aggresive honeybee. Apis florea rarely stings, unless disturbed. Unlike Apis dorsata stings, Apis florea stings are less painful and do not lead to compications. If stung the locals here will pull out the stinger immediately and rub metallic object at the site to neutralize the effect.

Pollinator (bees) loss is becoming a very serious problem worldwide and we should be doing everything possible towards saving these bees. It has been estimated that up to one-third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination. So, if not for bio-diversity conservation, for our own survival, we need to protect bees and let them build their hives even within our homes! If we do not disturb them, they go about their lives without harming us as has been amply seen by presence of hives within the homes of village residents. Something to learn from those in Angadh?

Introduction

I am fascinated by life-forms: their sizes, shapes, sounds, smells and the range of colours, some ineffable, and so many that one can't fit them into a box.

Looking outside my window, I see a bird swooping down towards its prey, but someone else might simply see a city or an endless expanse of buildings; what really changed, is the perspective!

During high school years I learnt the extent of damage done by us and about small efforts being made towards remedying it.

We treat the earth as if it's ours, as if everything on it belongs to us.  We have created a world that revolves only around us and our needs. Such a world cannot exist for long.  We need to look around and realise that we share the earth with many other species; so many, that we are still discovering them. These species are our neighbours, this earth belongs to them as much as it belongs to us.  

Today these species are so vulnerable that they are directly dependent on us to make the right choices, to stop unnecessary expansion and deforestation, to stop intruding onto their share of this planet. Imagine if your neighbour started using your yard or put up a fence in your garden, one would be appalled, angry and would take immediate and serious action. Now imagine wouldn't the other species, the animals, plants and trees be facing a similar situation?

I grew up knowing Sparrows and Indian Palm squirrels in my backyard but today barely a decade and half later, I see no sparrows in my neighbourhood, and now posters are needed to urge people to stop felling trees as its driving the squirrels out.

Even after watching countless hours of National Geographic, Discovery and other informational channels, today I am intrigued and continue to spend my evenings watching new shows and learning something new every day. These shows have taught me to notice my surroundings and seek information about them, what lives around me and how I can help it. I would often wonder about how I can involve more people in my purpose? The answer to my question might be this blog, it is a small step towards trying to make more people aware of their surrounding and the issues faced by species other than humans.

I wish people to notice and know which bird sings outside their window every morning, which tree provides us shade, what animal might have lived on this land prior to us, why are certain species in immediate need of our help.

I wish to compel people towards living a more sustainable life, to enjoy the green area and teach children about the beautiful butterflies fluttering on the flowers or the small bird chirping the bush. I wish people to be more compassionate toward the whimpering puppy outside your backyard or the helpless fledgling that fell out of its nest. And this blog shall be a small effort towards changing peoples’ perspective of nature.