Crouching tiger?

Frightening... but is anyone shaking a fist?

What can WE do?

We can solve the climate crisis, says WE.
It's an excellent campaign, and from an online advertising perspective, supported by some excellent creative. How effective it can be depends on us, or is it WE?

More

Lightweight buildings, papered on the outside

This stuff is amazing. Can we really accomplish so much with paper?

Trees are life - Wangari Maathai shows how

Trees, says Wangari Maathai, are not super-heroes. Let's soak that up for a nanosecond. Not just another green message from just another loudmouth. For one, Wangari Maathai is no loudmouth. And then, this is a message that will stay relevant as long as there are trees and there is life. If not, it will read like an excellent epitaph on the tombstone of our planet.

More here

Baby buffalo becomes a movie star

What began as a YouTube clip became a major wildlife documentary. There's scope for all of us, yeah?

Read more on The Observer

Gopi blogs!

GS, the ornithologist known as Gopi Sundar, now blogs at http://g-n-s-travels.blogspot.com/

Read his latest on Prairie Chickens.

An eco-storm in China's cup of woes?

I have so much disdain and rancor for China's ecological eyewashes that nothing that country and its soul-bereft administration does will redeem its image for me.

But, this BBC news story (via Sahastra) offers some hope - it turns out not everything about China is bad.

BBC correspondent Mukul Devichand talks to campaigners Wen Bo and Zhang Jingjing and comes away with the hope that the saplings of hope are being planted in China. One part of me scoffs 'too late!' but another one reasons 'how late is too late?'

More here

BR Hills species list - March 21-23

BR Hills
March 21-23
Weather: Mostly overcast with occasional light rain

1. Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus
   
2. Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
   
3. Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus
   
4. Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnus malabaricus
   
5. Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei
   
6. Indian Bushlark Mirafra erythroptera
7. Chestnut-shouldered Petronia Petronia xanthocollis
   
8. Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis
   
9. Rufous Babbler Turdoides subrufa
   
10. Tawny-bellied Babbler Dumetia hyperythra
    
11. Blue-capped Rock Thrush Monticola cinclorhynchus
    
12. Malabar Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii
    
13. Orange-headed Thrush Zoothera citrina cyanota
14. Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
    
15. Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
    
16. Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus
    
17. Common Hawk-Cuckoo Cuculus varius
    
18. Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
19. Asian Fairy Bluebird Irena puella
    
20. Golden-fronted Leafbird Chloropsis aurifrons
    
21. Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
    
22. Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike Hemipus picatus
23. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae
24. Nilgiri Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudatus
25. Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
26. Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
27. White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola
28. Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta castanea
29. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis
30. Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus
31. Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
32. Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus
    
33. Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
34. Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
35. Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
36. Black-crowned Sparrow Lark Eremopterix nigriceps
37. Bronzed Drongo Dicrurus aeneus
    
38. White-bellied Drongo Dicrurus caerulescens
39. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
40. Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides
41. Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala
42. Vernal Hanging Parrot Loriculus vernalis
    
43. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
    
44. Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
    
45. Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus
    
46. Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica
    
47. Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum
48. Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
49. White-cheeked Barbet Megalaima viridis
50. Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense
51. Common Flameback Dinopium javanense
52. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos canicapillus
53. Rufous Woodpecker Celeus brachyurus
54. Streak-throated Woodpecker Picus xanthopygaeus
55. Great Tit Parus major
    
56. Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
57. Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
58. Yellow-browed Bulbul Iole indica
59. White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus
60. Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
61. Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica
62. Asian Barred Owlet Glaucidium cuculoides
63. Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus
64. Blyth's Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum
65. Thick-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum agile
66. Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorynchos
67. Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor
68. Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata
69. House Swift Apus affinis
    
70. Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica
71. Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula
72. Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Treron phoenicopterus
73. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
74. Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis
75. Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis
76. Black Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis
77. Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela
78. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
    
79. Black Kite Milvus migrans
80. Shikra Accipiter badius
81. Changeable Hawk Eagle Spizaetus cirrhatus
82. Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
83. Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
84. Pond Heron Ardeola grayii
85. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
86. Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
    
87. Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii
    
88. Red Spurfowl Galloperdix spadicea
89. Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus
    
90. Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus
91. Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris
92. Hoopoe Upupa epops
93. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata
94. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
95. White-browed Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis
96. Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
97. Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
98. Brown-cheeked Fulvetta Alcippe poioicephala
    
99. Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
100. Large Grey Babbler Turdoides malcolmi
101. Sirkeer Malkoha Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii
102. Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
103. Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea
104. Black-headed Cuckooshrike Coracina melanoptera
105. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus
106. Barn swallow Hirundo rustica
107. White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
     
108. Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus
     

NOTE:
Large owl (unid), probably Dusky Eagle Owl Bubo coromandus

En route from Chamarajnagar to Bangalore

Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus (with chick)
Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus (with chick)
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida
Common Coot Fulica atra
Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio
Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa
Great Egret Casmerodius albus
Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus

Springtime in BTM

Video - B.R. Hills

In God's own jungle - birding in B.R. Hills

In God's own jungle

Whoever named Butea monosperma the Flame of the Forest was undoubtedly a poet. And it is poetry that this magnificent tree lends to the forest landscape of Biligiri Rangaswamy Betta (B.R. Hills).

However, the morning on which Sahastra, Arun and I landed in B.R. Hills was not one that inspired poetry. Reflecting now on the vistas of mist-draped hilltops and the fresh scent of vegetation that welcomed us, maybe it was – but we were not in the mood to appreciate it.

Leaving from Mysore at 4 AM on Saturday, we encountered rain within half an hour. First a few specks on the windshield, but as we drove on it turned into a daunting downpour. Our much-awaited birding trip, the excitement of which had kept me awake for the past week, appeared to be imperiled.

A chance encounter

Somewhere past Nanjangud, we stopped to ask for directions. On the rain-darkened thoroughfare, no one appeared to be awake except one soul with a sack pulled over his head to brave the deluge. We pulled up beside him and shouted askance above the din of the downpour. In a strangely accented Kannada, he said something to the effect of drive straight ahead and pointed to what appeared to be the source of the rain. We mumbled our thanks and hoped for the best.

It was past six by the time we reached Yelandur, where we were to collect entry permits from the Range Forest Officer. Having made a number of calls and confirmed with everyone concerned over the past week, we expected our entry to be a breeze. But we were met with a peculiar kind of hostility – I was asked to come in and make myself comfortable in the RFO’s veranda but refused an entry permit. He said he had no idea about the fax we had sent him and that he had not heard from his superiors.

After some parleying and an impassioned speech that I should have written down for posterity, I was told that we could drive right up to the Soliga shrine of Kyatha Devarayana Gudi or K. Gudi (where Jungle Lodges runs a very profitable eco-tourism lodge) but we were not to enter the forest trails. We were disappointed but pressed ahead. Our accommodation had been arranged at Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK), an NGO founded by the eminent doctor and social worker Dr. H. Sudarshan. We decided to stay the night and do what we could.

Once we began driving, it seemed idiotic to have wasted an hour seeking permission where none was required. A motorable road ran all the way from Yelandur to K.Gudi via B.R. Hills through a beautiful forest. But for two check posts, there was nothing to stop us from entering.

The jungle begins

The downpour had been replaced by a fine, powdery rain. We passed a watering hole where a flock of peafowl (mostly peahens) seemed to be engaged in some sort of saas-bahu spat, presided over by a solitary Grey Junglefowl. Pied Bushchats and Oriental Magpie-Robins sang from the wayside. As we entered scrub jungle, we saw bulbuls and Indian robins. Laughing doves fluttered up from the muddy road. We had a glimpse of a pipit that we could not identify.

The scrub jungle gradually grew denser. At one point we stopped beside a flowering Flame of the Forest, which seemed to have the effect on a flock of purple sunbirds (yes, a flock, if eight to ten individuals can be counted as one) that one of Bangalore's pubs would have on beer-guzzlers. The rain let up briefly. Just as we passed a bend in the road, Sahastra signaled me to stop. All he said was "a blue bird". We clambered out of the car and our eyes picked out a wintering Verditer Flycatcher, its aquamarine plumage gaudy against the murky foliage.

The rain continued, varying from fine spray to a discomfortingly cold, ungentle drizzle. But the sight of the changing forest topography had us transfixed. In moderately dense deciduous forest, we heard that most fascinating of calls, one that tells you instantly that you are now breathing oxygen manufactured by the Western Ghats - the exuberant call of the Hill Myna. Looking up through the rain we saw a flock of seven birds perched on what in sunny times would have been a nice dry tree. Near them was a flock of Rosy Starlings, accompanied by a few Yellow-footed Green Pigeons blinking away the rain. A bronzed drongo fluttered about them, cackling away its soliloquies.

At VGKK

There are a number of water bodies en route to B.R. Hills from the forest check post (where the guard had immodestly asked us for "tipsu"). One of them lies opposite the gates of VGKK. The hospital and school run by the NGO occupy an entire hillside. Rows of neat buildings with tiled roofs welcomed us. After conversations with the administrative officers, we were shown to our room, a functional, no-frills three-bed unit (any place sans TV is only a few steps from heaven). We were ravenous but were gently told that we give the hospital canteen a pass and try Giridarshini, the only eating house in the region for about 20 kilometers.

The food turned out to be decent. No complaints at all. We dispatched 14 dosas among ourselves, a move that served us well through the day when we skipped lunch (we had no option) and chomped on our provisions of biscuits, chikkies, etc.

The rain's appetite, however, was unsatisfied. With a cruel sense of humor, it strengthened every time we stopped to investigate a woodpecker or warbler. Lorikeets, Plum-headed Parakeets and Malabar Parakeets kept up a constant clamor. Rufous babblers squabbled noisily in the undergrowth. Suddenly it got very foggy and birding in these conditions seemed fruitless. We pressed on, slowly driving ahead and birding on the way. Coral trees and flame of the forest offered bright respite from the murkiness.

A change of weather, and luck

A little past two, the rain stopped. The sky was still overcast but a few holes appeared in the dank grey sheet above us. The presence of a lurking sun was often revealed in spurts of brightness. The jungle was getting thicker and the tarred road turned to mud. Past a bend in the road, we came upon herds of chital and a few sambhar. A coral tree lavished its colorful bounty upon us. And enjoying a great nectar feast were coppersmith barbets, white-cheeked barbets, ashy drongos, bronzed drongos, great tits and a pair of brown-capped pygmy woodpeckers. Among them, velvet-fronted nuthatches flitted about on the trunk like little trapeze artists.

At a turn in the road, we came across a magnificent male Asian Paradise Flycatcher. Splendid milky white with trailing streamers and a bright black crested head. I fumbled about with my nearly dysfunctional handycam to get some record shots, with moderate success. The sun sent out a few miserly rays and suddenly the forest around us seemed to come alive in a feeding frenzy.

A little ahead of us, a coral tree played host to a big post-lunch nectar session. Chestnut-tailed Starlings, White-cheeked Barbets and Bronzed Drongos notwithstanding, there was a Racket-tailed Drongo. And high above, on the topmost level, was a solitary Spangled Drongo, the twirled half-streamers on its tail diagnostic. Lifers for Arun and Sahastra. Noticing a few eucalyptus trees in the area (planted benevolently by the forest authorities, no doubt), I recalled that in the winter of 1992, I had observed Spangled Drongos (then known to us as Hair-Crested Drongos) feeding on the nectar of Eucalyptus blossoms in Bannerghatta National Park. We had also seen the Nilgiri flycatcher on that occasion.

A sneaky safari
A tame elephant and a herd of wild pigs welcomed us to the Jungle Lodges encampment. While Sahastra and Arun rushed to investigate a Blue-capped Rock Thrush, my mind was set on how to sneak a safari. We spoke to the JL manager and he agreed to let us pile on for Rs. 350 apiece. And that's how we found ourselves trundling along in JL's four-wheel drive along the deep jungle tracks. Not much reward in terms of wildlife, though Sahastra and Arun managed a good sighting of a Streak-throated Woodpecker. We saw plenty of chital, a few wild pigs, a langur or two, and a small herd of gaur. No elephants, and certainly no big predators. A pair of Stripe-necked Mongooses beside a waterhole obliged us for a long time, and I got some decent, if somewhat shaky, footage.

Two rounds of coffee, courtesy Jungle Lodges, proved very invigorating and as we started back towards VGKK, it was already dark. Wildlife was active in the jungle, and our high-beams revealed deer on both sides of the road like friezes in a surrealist art gallery. At one point, we stopped to let a Sambhar fawn, a proverbial doe in headlights, cross the road as her mom watched anxiously. Traffic is not allowed to enter or leave the park after 6, and we were lucky to have the road to ourselves. As we drove ahead, a Small Indian Civet crossed the road, stopped to stare at us and melted into the jungle (Kalyan Varma's picture of a civet roadkill haunted me and I urged Sahastra to drive slowly). Further ahead, we saw a large dumpy shape on the road. We slowed down, thinking it was a hare. But it turned to stare at us indignantly and flew up into a tree. A large owl - pale with dark barring. And we have no idea what it was. Wish we were born with night vision.

We stopped for dinner at Giridarshini where we devoured at least six chapatis apiece and passed up the rice. The rain was a distant memory and the stars were out when we reached VGKK. A herd of wild pigs welcomed us in, and we knew the adventure was not quite over.

At long last, a good night's sleep
We had to move rooms - downgraded a bit, no attached loo - but we did not complain. For the first night in over a week, I slept, and it was the sleep of the accomplished. We had overcome a number of obstacles to get here to B.R. Hills, we had sneaked ourselves into the Jungle Lodges safari, and we had enjoyed a great day's birding. The stripe-necked mongoose was a treat. And the Spangled Drongo on the coral tree was a framed picture in the gallery of my unconscious. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought of the man we saw in Nanjangud, the man whose directions got us to Yelandur through driving rain. Driven away by my snoring, my soul must have wandered off to the surrounding forest to consort with the denizens of the night...

I woke at half past five to a sky spangled with stars. Even after some acrobatics in the clean but very cramped common loo (I actually considered doing the business standing sideways), my back gave me little trouble - perhaps it was the yogic position.

The good folks at VGKK are inspiring and hospitable. On Sunday morning, we walked about the campus with its rows of small, even buildings, and the Soliga children murmuring their lessons in the classrooms. I was touched by the look of eagerness on their faces. The story goes that Dr. Sudarshan braved the threats of Veerappan to carry on his meaningful work. Dr. Prashanth, whom I met online via Ulhas Anand, had helped us with the contacts at VGKK. In his email, had told me: "Enjoy your stay, and dont expect too much luxury at VGKK. Please do see the work we do as you appreciate the birds. I spent a good 4 years of my life there!"

Fulvetta and other sightings
We left VGKK on a cool, glorious morning. Yesterday's dank, foggy impersonation of a cloud forest was forgotten. Shafts of sunlight lit up the glades and gilded the canopy. Langurs catching an early bite in the forest scooted at the sight of us, amid a frenzied trembling of treetops. We skipped breakfast to finish whatever little birding we could accomplish before dropping Arun off at Chamarajnagar. In a forest pool, a large wader (sandpiper-like) flew around in circles, giving us no time to identify it. A Common Kingfisher hung around a fallen tree, cheeping merrily.

Further down the road, we stopped at a breathtakingly beautiful tree (no id, sorry) that grew beside a stream. Drongos - Ashy and Racket-tailed - cavorted about it merrily. A wintering Grey Wagtail hopped about the wet stones at the foot of the tree. A small, dispersed flock of Brown-cheeked Fulvettas (which I still know better as Quaker Babblers) revealed the source of the call that had been a mystery to us until then. We had confused it with the Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher. But no longer, my friends. Quiz me now, and I'll whistle you the difference.

As we approached the coral tree near Jungle Lodges, we saw a White-bellied Drongo and a wintering Asian Brown Flycatcher. Good views of both. The Blue-capped Rock Thrush was still there, and so was a juvenile male Asian Paradise Flycatcher. We had a fantastic view of a Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch but it was too nimble for my camera. A flock of Common Rosefinches fluttered through the canopy. A few lifers for Arun there.

Predator!
It was almost nine. The view was grand - an amphitheatre of hills unfolded ahead of us - the rest of B.R. Hills and M.M. Hills in the distance, and the shimmer of a large water body. We could not stop to savor it long enough, as we had to make it to Chamarajnagar, 27 km away, to get Arun on a bus to Mysore. Well, it was all downhill and we drove as fast as third gear would let us.

In time, the road leveled out and we reached dry deciduous forest with golden grass and undergrowth that was ready tinder for a forest fire. A few kilometers before the park gate, we heard a Red-wattled Lapwing's alarm call. And to the left of the road, we saw a Dhole, better known as the Indian wild dog and the most efficient hunter of the Indian jungles. We stopped the car and looked on, as I filmed the animals greedily past the shoulders of my friends.

The dhole, a female, crossed the road, gave us a long, lingering look and sauntered across the road. To its left, away from our direct view, another individual sat on his haunches, observing us. There must be a pack, we reasoned, and they seemed to be coming this way from a waterhole. Which might mean they had just killed and eaten. Arun identified the dog on our right as the alpha male by the pale patch around its throat and chest. He appeared to be the leader all right, watching over his tribe. A third dhole appeared, then a fourth, and the two bolted across the road. Finally, our alpha male got up and walked unhurriedly across the road, turning around to look at us. We chattered about it all the way to Chamarajnagar where we dropped Arun to a Mysore-bound bus and turned towards Kollegal en route to Bangalore.

That was our reward. So the man at Nanjangud may have been god after all...

Our thanks to:

Ulhas P.A.
Dr. Prashanth N.S.
Dr. Sudarshan, Mr. Ramachar, Mr. Bindu and the good folks at VGKK

B.R. Hills - bird list

Feb. 9-10, 2008
Arun Menon, Sahastrarashmi, Bijoy

1. Jungle Babbler
2. Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
3. Large Pied Wagtail (White-browed)
   
4. Indian Rufous Babbler
5. Quaker Tit-Babbler (Brown-cheeked Fulvetta)
6. Tickell's Flowerpecker
7. Common Tailorbird
8. Purple Sunbird
9. White-headed Babbler
10. Grey Wagtail
11. Common Rosefinch
12. Red Spurfowl (female)
    
13. Indian Peafowl
14. Rufous Woodpecker
15. Little Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker (Streak-Throated)
    
16. Blyth's Reed-Warbler
17. Malabar Grey-headed Starling (Chestnut-tailed)
    
18. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Black-rumped Flameback)
    
19. Greater Golden-backed Woodpecker (Greater Flameback)
20. Grey Junglefowl
21. Jungle Myna
22. Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike
23. White-cheeked Barbet
24. Asian Brown Flycatcher
25. Verditer Flycatcher
26. Oriental Magpie Robin
27. Indian Robin
28. Pied Bushchat
29. Common Myna
30. Rosy Starling
31. Oriental White-eye
32. Southern Hill Myna
33. Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
34. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
35. Great Tit
36. Common Swallow
37. Red-whiskered Bulbul
38. Red-vented Bulbul
39. Yellow-browed Bulbul
40. Malabar Whistling Thrush
41. Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike
42. Black-hooded Oriole
43. Indian Pond Heron
44. Golden-fronted Leaf Bird
    
45. Rufous Treepie
46. Jungle Crow (Large-billed)
    
47. Eurasian Golden Oriole
48. Large Cuckoo-Shrike
49. Median Egret
50. Scarlet Minivet
51. Little Egret
52. Black Drongo
53. Ashy Drongo
54. White-bellied Drongo
55. Bronzed Drongo
56. Spangled Drongo
57. Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
58. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher
59. Blue-capped Rock Thrush
60. Small Minivet
61. Emerald Dove
62. Common Kingfisher
63. White-breasted Kingfisher
64. Small Bee-eater
65. Common Hawk Cuckoo
66. Indian Hanging-Parrot
67. Plum-headed Parakeet
68. Blue-winged Parakeet
69. Cattle Egret
70. Spotted Dove
71. Coppersmith Barbet
72. Yellow-legged Green Pigeon
73. Mountain Imperial Pigeon
74. White-breasted Waterhen
75. Red-wattled Lapwing
76. Black-shouldered Kite
77. Crested Serpent Eagle
78. Shikra
79. Little Cormorant
80. Laughing Dove
81. Greenish Leaf Warbler
    
82. Unid. Owl (large, pale with dark bars)
    
83. Unid. Pipit (Black tail with white line across the middle)
    
84. Unid. Flycatcher (Slaty blue head, brownish-rufous back, pale bluish grey)

Mammals

1. Unidentified Hare (Indian Hare?)

2. Axis Deer/ Chital

3. Sambar

4. Gaur

5. Stripe-necked Mongoose

6. Small Indian Civet

7. Hanuman Langur

8. Bonnet Macaque

9. Wild Pig

10. Dhole/ Wild Dog (10-02-08) - pack of 5
    

The milk of human blindness

Hard to imagine that the near extinction of three species of Gyps vultures has to do with something mammalian.

Milk.

Medicine to mammals, toxin to vultures, the antibiotic drug Diclofenac was widely administered to livestock. When vultures fed on animal carcasses as they have been doing for millennia, traces of the drug crept into their digestive systems and, over time, caused renal failure, slowly wiping out whole populations of the raptors. Finally in 2006, Diclofenac was banned, perhaps 15 years too late. Now, the worrying part is that Diclofenac has moved to Africa, where it poses a huge threat to vultures and other raptors of that continent.

Just as with the gharial crisis that is unfolding in the Chambal River Sanctuary, theories abounded but the solution came late. Conservationists are now waiting with bated breath - some fear the damage is too deep; others are hopeful that the vultures will make a comeback.

Tehelka has a good opinion piece on the subject by conservationist Neeta Shah.

Crocodile tears... on IBN blogs

Couldn't take it any more...

I have vented my angst over the reportage of the gharial crisis on IBN blogs. Here's the text:

Curious how the stuff of Animal Planet becomes a mainstream media issue and everyone in the animal kingdom a spokesperson for it.

First, it was the tiger - when the Sariska poaching incident came up, our friends in the media announced doomsday for the big cat. Sorry, even before that it was the elephant - Veerappan and his ivory oligarchy won Jumbo a number of page-one anchors.

And then we forgot about them.

Now, because tigers are so last year and elephants scarcely a blip on the radar, media melancholia has shifted to the knob-nosed, fish-eating crocodilian we know as the Gharial.

Read the full post here

Paper packs a punch

Via Google Reader:

Awesome, innit?

The Ecopak: Moulded, Printed, Biodegradable Paper-based Packaging

via TreeHugger on 2/4/08

We’re big fans of packaging done right, and we really hate packaging done wrong. It’s no wonder then that we were intrigued when Mark Appleford of Varden contacted us about their new Ecopak packaging solution that “combines elements of pulp paper thermoforming with a specialized printing technology to create highly original and sustainable packaging.” According to Mark, the process uses recycled paper and cardboard pulp, but is finished to the same standard as regular card...