A New Dawn...

This year, when we raise the toast for a ‘Happy New Year’, I would like to spare a thought for…

*Our wildlife who must battle all odds for survival. May 2012 be an easier year for them. Lord, protect them, and their home.

*Those who protect our wilds. Who will ring in the New Year, away from their family in the remotest of forests, without electricity and other basic comforts that we take for granted--for the sake of the tiger..

*To all those dogs-unwanted,unloved,neglected- residing in homes, but not in hearts. And those who must wander outside, without the security and warmth of home.

I work for wildlife, battle to save the tiger and other animals..it maybe said that there is much i 'do' for them. Maybe, i am not to judge, all I can say, as i ring in the New Year, is what the tiger, the wilds 'do' for me. I am what I am today, thanks to them: My work, and all the goodwill that I am fortunate to have, I owe them.

And as we ring in 2012, a new dawn..I want to thank all of you-who made this year--and my life-special. My family, my friends..and other animals :-)

My mantra...

My mantra (thanks Dr Schaller): "I learned long ago that conservation has no victories, that one must retain connections and remian involved with animals and places that have captured the heart, to prevent their destruction. I am sometimes asked why, given a world that is more wounded and scarred, I do not simply give up, burdenned by pessimism. But conservation is my life, I must retain hope..."

Nature...

"Protected Areas obstruct development. Forests are liabilities. Sanctuaries and National Parks...no, no, we don't want those. They are best not declared.
They will stop 'development.'
Stop mines and super expressways and malls and multiplexes from coming up."
You know, Shining India.
But my friends, India won't shine when the sanctuaries are silent and empty, when the forest vanishes, when the last tree falls.
Our soils nourished by the forests and streams will cease to produce.
The poisoned, sterile land will fail to feed us.
And the rivers, born of the forests, will wither and die.
The foundation of not just development, but life is Nature.
Each one of us should know this truth.
Know and respect Nature, for she nurtures us.
Especially those in whose hands we have entrusted this trust.

need i say more...

From The Hindu. spotted by Paramjit Singh
I am unaware who the cartoonist is, please help, if someone knows, so due credit can be given.

the morning news...

I don't want to read the morning newspaper, To read that Niyamgiri has been thrown open to mines, that children are at the frontline of fire for Posco, as in a 'democracy' they don't want to give up their own land, to read about leopards beaten n burnt to death, or the elephant forests that is going to be ripped apart. I never thought i would say it, but guys: Delhi Times or Ht City with breaking news that Red is lucky for Kat or Ash keeping Karvachauth is is going to go with my morning cuppa!

No place for Ganesha..

This is what the TOI reports today (June 2, 2011) 'Villagers crowd around the carcass of a female elephant near Kalchini tea garden in the Dooars. The jumbo fell into a 20-foot-deep ditch while fleeing from villagers who had burst crackers to chase away a herd of around 15 elephants on Wednesday(June1, 2011).'

Where will the elephants go? we have destroyed the forests, devastated their corridors...mined them, submerged them, pillaged them.
Till the elephants have nowhere to go.
As they scrounge for food and water, struggle for survival and scurry for cover..from fields and villages to slivers and shreds of 'forest'/they are chased by terrified, enraged mobs. they are hit-stoned-burnt.
..Till they meet their death.
Very undignified deaths-for a very dignified, peaceable animal. If we would let them be.
They are poisoned, shot, electrocuted.
Little calves get separated from their mothers-and aunts..
they mostly die. At best, they are doomed to captivity.
And If they are lucky they eke their living a government servant 'department elephant'.



the following is what i wrote about five years back:

Barely five percent of the elephant's original habitat remains, comprising fragmented pockets of forests. Elephants are nomadic creatures dictated by ancient instincts leading them to sources of food and water, especially in times of scarcity. But their forests and migratory paths are swallowed by dams, devastated by mines or taken over by agriculture. Homeless and starved, elephants maraud crops, destroy structures and occasionally kills helpless people protecting their homes. In retaliation, people poison, electrocute or ‘blow up’ elephants, by placing crude bombs in jackfruits or bananas, that unsuspecting pachyderms eat.
Is Ganesha a God? Why, then, don't we have a place for him--in our home, and heart?

for the love of tiger?

I am caught in a traffic jam, amidst about 15 jeeps with passengers in varied stages of impatience. Some mumble, a few curse, others talk languidly about the cricket team’s remarkable victory, while a bored kid yells to anyone who will listen that he wants TV. A few climb up the seat, and onto the hood, one proves his athletic prowess jumping from Gypsy to Gypsy. More jeeps rush in, skidding to a halt, adding to the cacophony. One manages to crawl ahead for a better view…bumping into another in the process, triggering a fresh bout of fury, passengers cuss—dragging in their mother’s and sisters’ good name in the process.

Welcome to Corbett National Park, where all ye have gathered for the love of tiger.

The tiger, actually a young tigress, is on one side of the road, crouched under some bushes. Not unlike some harassed star, genuinely frustrated by the attention of not-so-well-meaning fans. Or should we call them stalkers?
She wants to cross over to the other side. She moves, allowing the gawking public a brief glimpse of tawny gold, but her steps are stalled by the frenzy her sudden visibility creates and she slinks back. Quietly.
And waits.
A few more jeeps come in, more chaos, more noise.
Plus a constant commentary-fever pitched, like the kind you heard in the World Cup as Sachin neared his century.
Give the tiger space to cross, a sensible voice suggests.
Yes, yes, then we can see her, shouts another.
Clamour and confusion ensue as the vehicles rearrange themselves leaving a gap for the tiger to pass by.
We wait...and there is actually a blessed silence for a few minutes.
Except for the langur whose constant cry of alarm at the presence of a predator below had been silenced by the din of his superior cousins.
Then as calm prevails…I sense something...its inexplicable, like a presence, a powerful force.
The langur’s call takes on a frenetic note, and on a branch above my head, a peacock hauls itself through the air, screaming blue murder.
Aaah. The tigress is on the move.
So is somebody else.
A new entrant, bulldozing through the avalanche of gypsies, demanding right of way.
It’s a ‘lal-batti’ gaadi, the kind that carries ‘important’ people or should I say, people full of importance?
Someone forgot to tell them that the tiger (and the elephant, and the deer, and the mongoose and the jungle fowl..) has the right of way here.
Or maybe they did, but the important people were deaf. And dumb.
As they trumpeted their way through, the tigress retreated again.
Emitting a soft growl, then a moan...
She just wanted to cross the road. In her forest.
Perhaps there was water on the other side and she wanted a drink in this hot May day, perhaps she was hungry and this mass of humanity was coming in her way of going on the hunt.
Perhaps she had cubs on the other side. Young cubs, waiting for their mum, vulnerable without their mum.
Perhaps it was none of the above, and all she craved was simply free movement in her domain—‘core critical tiger habitat’ deemed to be inviolate , by humans.
I will not make you go through the details of her third—failed—attempt. Her dash across the road, interrupted, by a Gypsy jostling, bulldozing somehow, anyhow, through the jam.
Mercifully, there wasn’t a hit.
But the Queen of the jungle had had enough. Now truly irate and outraged, she growled. It wasn’t a full-throated roar. Yet, so immensely powerful, so ominous..it chilled me to the bone.
Around us, however, congratulations were in order. They had seen the tigress.
The star in action. It would make a wonderful story, embellished by the hour, to tell back home, over a drink, how they had escaped from the jaws of death when attacked by the Mighty Tiger.
The trip was paisa vassool.
The tigress was still waiting, to cross the road.
I retreated…wanting to bury myself somewhere. Wishing I could jump the species line. Consider the behaviour of the civilised Homo sapien. And that of the 'beast'.
Did anyone of them realise that the tiger could have harmed—grievously, fatally had she wished to. She didn’t.
The tigress is gentlewoman.
How many of us would have stood by—patiently—for hours when our way is blocked by a traffic jam, or a ‘VIP’ passing or whatever?

It’s against the law-the Wildlife Protection Act. Section 27 (4) specifies that no person shall tease or molest any wild animal..”
The law apart..., is it beyond us to have the grace to grant the tigress her dignity? And space and freedom in her sanctuary?

The above incident occurred during my recent visit to the park, but it is a common happenstance across most --and the popular--tiger reserves.
PS: This is not an 'anti-tourism' article, I can anticipate the howls of protest on that score. I would appreciate if we don’t take up that debate, not on this platform.

I would like to thank A Ponnambalam for the use of his picture, and Shekar Dattari for helping me get it! this pic, i understand, is from Kanha

Rohan Chakravarty, for the cartoon.

some hometruths...

No, it is not that i don't care about people, just coz i care about animals; yes, i know the girl child/AIDS/street children need attention--dire attention, but you who pointed out to me, do tell what you have contributed to the cause? No, we can't live happily ever after if we don't have forests. We can't live period, they give us, water, and clean air. conserve soil for our food. Do I think i am saving the world? no, i am not a fool. on second thoughts i am. A fool...to try to explain that money and GDP, and all the human brains in the world can't produce water....

the fate of india's tigers...

So, who is going to decide the fate of India's tigers and elephants and other wonderful wild creatures, and her forests and environment? the minister for coal, and power, and mines, and transport and steel and the planning commission, and finance..oh yes, mercifully, they have remembered to throw in the forests & env minister.

vultures don't vote...

the vultures lose, the nesting site of 69 long-billed vultures, a species on the verge of extinction, (99 per cent fall in population) in Girnar will b ravaged. for the sake of a ropeway to take pilgrims, tourists and louts who want a joy ride, in what we call (ha ha) their sanctuary.
why do we persist in this farce of protection?
of course, vultures don't vote too..

on human nature..

i think the saddest commentary on the nature of man is that all animals, be it the mighty tiger or the giant among beasts-the elephant or tiniest of birds or the dog whom we have 'tamed'-is that they consider us their natural enemy. That they know us in fear not in trust. That we are the face of terror..not kindness.

A typical Day

Overnight sms: Hangul poached in Dachgaam,. Man killed by tiger. Mob demanding death to tiger. Beat up forester; Two eles electrocuted-a tusker poached. Morning, leopard beaten to death.
Tiger near Corbett shot by cops-25 bullets-its not the 'man-killer' reportedly, who currently moves around with fatal wounds. Forest staff beaten.critical. two domestic ele's injured. one wild elephant found dead-all in corbett.
over 250 villagers enter dudhwa-cut grass, wood, create mayhem. Highway thru Valmiki TR widened to double. wetland in dadri being cemented over by delhi's biggest builders. Huge timber smuggling in suhelwa. Kaimur sanctuary threatened by cement factory. and trust me i am not telling all.
phew. Help