Wildlife

Last month, I’d discussed spiders. I then thought about the creatures that use them as prey, and this reminded me of the Wasp-and-Spider drama that I witnessed. About four years ago, I made this post about the Spider or Pompilid Wasp organising food for her yet unborn children, by stunning and burying a Yellow-thighed Tarantula or the Indian Ornamental Spider.  Well, her story repeated itself while we were at the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. This Spider Wasp had already stunned the Tarantula by the time we saw it. Unhappy with the first site she had chosen, she dug it out of the…

Websites? I mean, the homes of those that make homes of silk… that is, spiders. We’ve all seen spider webs around us: in the house, in the garden...and indeed, so synonymous is clearing spiders’ homes with our idea of keeping house well, that even when we talk about clearing our minds, we say, “let’s clear the cobwebs”. However, a closer look at these “websites” show they are marvels of engineering, strength and resilience. Spiders spin webs out of the silk that they produce, which passes out of their spinnerets. But the actual “architecture” of spider webs can vary very widely.…

The very word 'Tarantula' is something that strikes dread into most of our hearts. We’ve all heard the horror stories of 'evil' arachnnids delivering fatal bites. However, though they may be deadly Tarantulas elsewhere, the ones we have nearby are generally more wary of us than we are of them, and do not bite until they are extremely disturbed. Tarantulas comprise a group of very large and often hairy arachnids belonging to the Theraphosidae familyof spiders. Their large size and hairy appearance, combine to give most of us a dread of them. But they have some very interesting features! Tarantulas do spin…

May 10th 2015, was celebrated as Global Big Day, when, all over the world, birders tried to document as many species of birds as they could in 24 hours.  However, in India, we also  observed Endemic Bird Day on the same date. It’s not every country that can count a lot of endemic birds; we are lucky to have many of them! What are endemic birds? Like any other species of living creatures, endemics are those which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. (we take the south of Asia as the area.)  The tally in India, this year, was 567,…

If you are a frequent visitor to Lalbagh, you may have seen the various animals and birds that have made it home. Along with an abundance of dogs, squirrels and birds, you’ll also find monkeys! And if you happen to take a stroll on the trail that leads to the lake from the main gate, in all likelihood, as you near the staircase, you will bump into some of the simians, and a gentleman named Shivshankar. For the past year and a half, he has been feeding the monkeys at Lalbagh. A Maharashtrian by birth and a resident of Andhra…

Guiana chestnut | Pachira aquatica Now that's a sight worth spending a morning for, isn't it? This is how it came about. Nidhi Chawla and Reshmi Chakraborty, who founded an online magazine for seniors, asked me to conduct a nature/birding walk in Lalbagh, and I readily agreed. I've taken many mixed groups, but this would be the first time it would be an only-seniors group. I carefully thought out a trail that would touch on the iconic sights in this wonderful city garden, and yet would not tire our older friends. We started at the iconic tower of Kempegowda, and…

Looks can be very deceiving. Pic: Eden Ezsak When people ask about my daily discoveries in Bengaluru, I have a hard time recalling what I still find surprising in India. After two months, I have moved past the innumerous cows that so nonchalantly add to the congestion on the Bengaluru roads. The symphony of barking dogs, shouts, calls to prayer, traffic and endless horns has drifted quietly into the background of my consciousness. I no longer feel like rickshaw rides are similar to my childhood experiences at amusement parks. The perpetually burning mound of garbage near my apartment has become…

Do they not look delightful Perched upon the wire, Chatting together Against the sky? When I see the same birds Through the twisted wire Of bird-cages, penned up... I ask..why? (Picture of Munias in a bird cage from the FB page of Gopakumar Namboothiri, with his permission) Why can we not just admire? The flower set upon the bush Or smiling from its tree? Why do we need to cage and tie down beings That look so much better, when they are free? The first photo was taken on Bannerghatta Road, near the Police Station; the second in a house…

  “My favourite weather is bird chirping weather.” - Terri Guillemets It is a rather rare occasion when people from around the world get together for a common cause. When it happens, it makes for a marvelous spectacle. The Great Global Backyard Bird Count is one such event, where tens of thousands of people, though separated by geography, are one in spirit. What makes it truly spectacular are the sights that these good folks will be witness to.   This weekend marks the 18th edition of the Great (Global) Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and…

Most of us shudder at the sight of spiders, but they are really fascinating creatures. Did you know that most spiders are solitary... and cannibalistic? Many female spiders eat the males after mating! However, there are some spiders that are more sociable. One variety called Social Spiders, spin whole "apartment" complexes, which can cover large areas, like long stretches of this barbed wire fence: Or over plants, as you can see here: However, there is another group of spiders which are commonly called Harvestmen or Daddy Long-legs (they have long, thin legs)! Scientifically their name is Opiliones, but they are also…