Wildlife

Where there is water, there is life. And Narasipura Kere has it all.   First it was the birds,  then the amphibians and  Now it's time for the snakes  !   The Pancharatna Plus of Narasipura Kere are delighted to invite you to the Snake Awareness program.   Date: Saturday, 13th September 2014 Time: 1600-1700 hours Place: Just Books, Vidyaranyapura   Mr Sharath Babu, former Honorary Wildlife Warden, Bangalore Urban will be conducting the session.   To register for the session please call/e-mail JustBooks, Vidyaranyapura Phone: 23644501 Email: Frontoffice Vidyaranyapura <frontoffice@vrp.justbooksclc.com>This is open to all age groups, and there is no entry fee. Also, you do not…

The second Sunday outing of the Bird Watchers' Field Club(BWFC) in Lalbagh had an unexpected event, with a happy ending. U Harish Kumar writes: On Sunday, the 13th July 2014, at our usual 2nd Sunday Birdwatching outing at Lalbagh, an incident happened. A Flying Fox got entangled to a strong thread (probably that of a kite) - and it was dangling down from a top branch of Bottle Brush Tree by a strong thread. It was struggling to get itself free. Just then, the birdwatchers group was passing by. They stopped, and for a change, they stopped looking at the…

The cleaning session at Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest on Sunday 29th June 2014 had many of the morning walkers join the effort. The extra hands really helped the volunteers (who have pledged their support to the clean-up campaign) do more than they had expected.    However it was noticed that apart from plastic, a lot of rubbish, including wet waste, gets thrown from the road, over the compound wall. People are using this like a road side garbage dump! For a proper clean-up of this part, the group decided to engage paid labour or rag pickers.   The forest is known…

Take a walk around Narasipura 2 Lake in the late evening and you will not miss hearing the brilliant Narasipura Amphibian Harmonic Orchestra! Yes, with the recent rains, the frogs and toads are out and about. While the "Life Cycle of the Frog" is commonly taught in school, how many of us actually know beyond the spawn, the tadpole and its shrinking tail?     An important part of the food chain, frogs and toads are considered to be very good environmental indicators. This means that having frogs and toads in an area tells us that the environment is healthy for them,…

If you find a horse in distress...abandoned, abused by its owner, or otherwise in distress, please call Samabhaava's: Sandesh Raju. +91 94495 59767   He deals with equine rescue.

Rose ringed parakeet The Rose Ringed Parakeet is an occasional visitor to our backyard to eat seeds from the Rajamalli tree. They perch on one claw, use the beak and the other claw to zip open the pods and eat the seeds with a precision that would be difficult for us humans to match. These birds are very quiet when they perch but we often see them squawk noisily as they streak across the sky in groups of 4 to 6 birds. Contrary to popular terminology - these are not parrots. A good place to see parrots now is the Rio…

  Pic Courtesy: Girish S V   The Pied Kingfisher used to be a frequent visitor to the Haralur Lake before the lake was drained for renovation. While most kingfishers are predominantly blue in color, this one is black and white (referred to as Pied) and it has a very unique characteristic of hovering over the water before diving vertically into the water. Obviously this requires clear and unpolluted water for the Pied Kingfisher to make a catch. They nest in a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about five feet above water. We can still see a few of…

My response to someone who asked about how to capture a snake and "rehabilitate" it: 1. In my experience, even common non-venomous snakes are identified as cobras by security guards and, indeed, many panic-stricken people, In 8 cases out of ten, we find that it is a non-venomous snake (a keelback or a rat snake). However, I do not rule out the possibility that it might indeed be a venomous snake such as a viper, a krait or a cobra.   2.Catching the snake is itself a very risky procedure, and there is no guarantee that there will be only…

The first meeting of Eco-volunteers (those who took the Volunteer Training Program, or VTP), was held at ThoughtWorks, Koramangala, Bangalore, on 120414. It was as if Ganesha, the Elephant God, had waited in the foyer with a gesture of benison!     Raju KV took up the job of co-ordinating the meet, and conducting it:     Over 40 people turned up, showing their interest in volunteering for wildlife conservation:         Raju welcomed the gathering, and while the two Prasahanths set up their video presentation.     N C Mohan talked about patches of fragmented forest, which…

  Friends of Elephants    is having an event on  Monday 7th April 2014  at Rangasthala, Rangoli Metro Art Centre on M G Road. Do come in large numbers!