DOCSLIB.ORG

India -The Western Ghats 2011 – Jon Hall

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
India -The Western Ghats 2011 – Jon Hall India -The Western Ghats 2011 – Jon Hall The Western Ghats I'd been to the centre, west and east of India but never to the south, which has a set of nice endemic species including Lion-tailed Macaques and Nilgiri Tahrs. So the Western Ghats was an obvious choice of destination when I was planning how to spend my 3 months long service leave at the end of 2011 (long service leave is one of the Australian public service's finest contributions to modern civilization). I organised this trip, again, with with Anil at North West Safaris, who had arranged my 2007 trip through Gujurat and 2008 trip in Assam. As always Anil did a great job choosing the best itinerary, finding wildlife-friendly places to say and in particular using his network to arrange for Sasi to accompany me (see the Kerala intro below). Ramesh Nair from Explore helped with the local bookings too. This was my favourite trip to India to date. Kerala is beautiful and while the towns are still chaotically Indian, its a little bit less frenetic than other parts of the country. The food was spectacular and, compared to the other places I have visited here, the parks were more relaxed and better set up for a naturalist wanting to look for things other than just Tigers and Elephants (though I am sure Sasi's presence helped with this too). Mumbai Mumbai is probably not the best gateway to Kerala, but I wanted to visit two sets of caves - Elephanta and Kanheri - that are close to the city. These caves are well know tourist sites (they both comprise a set of temples) but are also known roosts for several species of bats I wanted to see. Vivek Menon's Field Guide to Indian Mammals recommends Elephanta Caves as the easiest place to see both Schneider's and Fulvous Leaf-nosed Bats, and Kanheri as the best place for Fulvous Fruit Bats and Greater False Vampires. Elephanta Caves are a world heritage site and tourist boats start chugging out there each morning at 9am from in front of the Gate of India. It ought to take about an hour to get there though it took us 90 minutes on the way out, mainly because the skipper couldn't steer in a straight line. There are at least 5 caves on the island, all next to each other along the main path through the heritage site. The first cave has the most tourist activity. I saw two clusters of Asiatic Greater Yellow House Bats in here, both in sink holes in the roof. Asiatic Greater Yellow House Bats There was also a mixed colony of both Schneider's and my first Fulvous Roundleaf Bats above the main statue at the back of the cave (I managed to miss these first time I entered the cave somehow. And it was difficult to work out that there were in fact two separate species other than from examining the nose leaves in the photos: speoris has 3 supplementary leaflets, fulvus has none). They were a bit too high up for decent photographs plus there was a perpetual queue of tourists wanting to be photographed in front of the statue too which limited photographic time. Schneider's Roundleaf Bat Fulvous Leaf-nosed Bat I couldn't find any bats in the smaller Nos 2, 3 and 4 caves, but in the 5th cave, in a low small chamber on the left hand side as you enter, were a group of my first Greater False Vampire Bats. A great species. Greater False Vampire I didn't explore the rest of the island. Indeed I am not sure its easy or even permitted to explore it and everything is pretty much set up around the 5 caves. Bonnet Macaques are very common and hang around the caves looking for handouts and causing trouble. Bonnet Macaque I headed back to Mumbai on the first boat at 12.30 (two hours or so on the island is just about enough time to look in all the caves reasonably well). Kanheri Caves The journey back was quicker (and straighter) and we drove straight to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, an hour or so away. This is part national park, part safari park and also home to the Kanheri Caves. It was particularly hot and humid around the caves. And when I discovered there are 109 caves I decided to take a local guide who claimed to have seen bats in a few of the caves and knew which ones. So we wandered from cave to cave, probably visiting about half of them. Most of the 'caves' are small chambers cut into the cliff face and very similar in size and layout. Cave No. 1 stank of bats but I couldn't see or hear any. I'm not sure if it is a night roost, or a seasonal thing or that there were in fact bats in the upper chamber which I couldn't see into. The upper chamber is about 10 metres above the cave floor. Now I could have climbed a makeshift ladder to have a look. It had been left there by the locals, and was just two pieces of bamboo lashed together with various twigs sticking off that served as rungs. After several near death moments in Asian bat caves I decided not to risk climbing up and then immediately regretted how unadventurous I had become. I consoled myself with the thought that Fulvous Fruit Bats were using the cave from time to time but I would have heard them if they had been in there. Black-throated Tomb Bat In Cave No. 3 - which is more of a temple - there were a few very flighty Tomb Bats above the corridor around the perimeter. I saw at least one Black-throated Tomb Bats Taphozous melanopogon (which have been recorded here before according to this very useful report on the status of all South Asia's bats) but they may possibly have also been some T. longimanus but I couldn't get a good look or photo at all of them. I didn't see sigh nor sound of bats in any of the other 40 or so caves I wandered around. So Kanheri was a little disappointing and perhaps there are more animals there at different times of the year. A guide I was chatting too at Elephanta said there were lots of bats in Kanheri, so many in fact she'd been scared when she visited, so it might be worth visiting at a different time of year. In the forest around the caves we saw many Bonnet Macaques, a few Rhesus Macaques, a Southern Plains Grey Langur and a brief flash of a striped squirrel that I think was a Jungle- Striped Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus). Back in Mumbai I saw a roost of Indian Flying Foxes and many more flying around the city at dusk. Some smaller Fruit Bats were feeding near Homian Circle Gardens. I saw them flying from the trees while we were stuck in traffic so didn't get a good look but they were smaller than Flying Foxes but too big to be anything but Fulvous Fruit Bats (Leschenault's Rousette) I believe. Indian Flying Fox Kerala Its a 2 hour flight from Mumbai to Kochi and the landscape coming into land is as lush as anything I've seen. I was met at the airport by a driver and Sasindra Babu, a conservation campaigner who had taken leave from his job in the Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department to join me after Anil had contacted him. Sasi coordinates eco tourism and development activity in the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and has campaigned to involve the local community in conservation and ensure they see some rewards. It appears to have worked. If you would like to visit Kerala you could contact Sasi to see if he could help. He's a great guide, fixer and companion. Thatekkad Bird Sanctuary Two hours later we were at the pleasant Soma Bird Lagoon Hotel near the Thatekkad Bird Sanctuary. The hotel was nice but the area was quite disturbed: the small sanctuary was set up primarily to protect Ceylon Frogmouths. We headed to the sanctuary for a late afternoon/night walk, all of which required special permission of course, in true Indian style. Sasi got the permission but by the time a local guide had arrived it was dark. We decided to focus on looking for Travancore Flying Squirrels which are apparently not so easy to find in the Western Ghats but were quite common in Thatekkad. We didn't see or hear anything inside the sanctuary so headed to the edge of a cocoa plantation nearby where we heard several calling - a mournful whistle - but couldn't see them. Other interesting species in the sanctuary include Malabar Spiny Dormice and Pangolins. The former can probably only be seen by trapping. The latter sometimes get stuck in nets that farmers put out to protect their fruit. Pampadum Shola and Top Station The next morning we set off on the slow 4 hour climb up to Top Station and Pampadum Shola National Park. There were a few Bonnet Macaques en route and lots of gorgeous scenery. After transferring to India's oldest Mahindra jeep we bumped up the last 8kms of track to spend the next two nights at the lovely Camp Noyal, a set of forest bungalows nestled at over 2000 metres amid tea plantations. It was something straight from the Raj.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sri Lanka – 28.12.18 – 13-01.19
    Sri Lanka – 28.12.18 – 13-01.19 Sophie and Manuel Baumgartner A mammal watching trip without a tour operator nor driver… We loved our time in Sri Lanka: Amazing mammals, the friendliest people, excellent food and a beautiful green and colourful country. Since we like to organize our travels in a flexible way and discover a country on our own, we decided not to plan our trip with any tour operator. We think that this report might help others to organize their Sri Lanka trip on their own and travel on a low budget. We rented a car with ‘Kings Rent a car’ and the service was good. They organised our driver license and brought us our car to the airport. We were gone within 15 minutes and met them again shortly before our flight at the airport. Unfortunately, every 4x4 car was already booked and we rented a very small car. We might have been able to drive into national parks on our own with a 4x4 but were very happy to have a small car to travel around in the end (we could easily overtake a tuk-tuk with another one on the other side). Anyway: The traffic is certainly different, and it needs continuous attention while driving, but it worked out fine for us. We don’t think it would be a good idea to drive around at night in a busy place nor did we try to drive around in Colombo but other than that it was all fine. We think that because we didn’t book with a tour operator, we were able to support many different amazing people who helped us in our trip (in nearly every place we met competent local people, who had good knowledge of mammals).
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka Ceylon Sojourn
    Sri Lanka Ceylon Sojourn A Tropical Birding Set Departure January 20 – February 2, 2019 Guides: Ken Behrens & Saman Kumara Report and photos by Ken Behrens TOUR SUMMARY The Indian Subcontinent is rich, both in human culture and history and in biological treasures. Sri Lanka is a large island at the southern tip of this region, lying a short distance from the Indian mainland. It contains a rich selection of the birds, mammals, and other wildlife of the subcontinent, which thrive in a selection of delightful protected areas; enough to thoroughly recommend it as a destination for a travelling birder. But even more alluringly, Sri Lanka is home to dozens of endemic birds – 33 given current Clements taxonomy, though this number is sure to continue to climb as distinctive subspecies are split as full species. Sri Lanka has decent infrastructure, excellent food, good lodges, and wonderfully kind and hospitable people. This short and sweet tour is equally attractive to those eager for their first taste of the Indian subcontinent, or to those who have travelled it extensively, and want to see the island’s endemic birds. As on all of our tours in recent years, we “cleaned up” on the endemics, enjoying great views of all 33 of them. This set of endemics includes a bunch of delightful birds, such as Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Serendib Scops-Owl, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot, Red-faced Malkoha, Crimson-backed Woodpecker, Green-billed Coucal, Sri Sri Lanka: Ceylon Sojourn January 20-February 2, 2019 Lanka Blue Magpie, Sri Lanka (Scaly) and Spot-winged Thrushes, Yellow-eared Bulbul, and White-throated (Legge’s) Flowerpecker.
    [Show full text]
  • 日本モンキーセンター 霊長類和名リスト 2018年11月版 日本モンキーセンター霊長類和名編纂ワーキンググループ the Working Group on Japanese Nomenclature of Primate Species at Japan Monkey Centre
    日本モンキーセンター 霊長類和名リスト 2018年11月版 日本モンキーセンター霊長類和名編纂ワーキンググループ The Working Group on Japanese Nomenclature of Primate Species at Japan Monkey Centre 種分類は原則としてIUCN Redlist （2017.12.5 Download）に従った．一部，必要と思われる種を補って計447種とした． また，近年の知見に照らして属を変更したものがある． 高次分類についてはIUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group（www.primate-sg.org）， Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol.3. Primates. (Mittermeier et.al. eds. 2013) ， およびPrimate Adaptation & Evolution 3rd Ed.
    [Show full text]
  • (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8.236,308 B2 Kischel Et Al
    USOO82363.08B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8.236,308 B2 Kischel et al. (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 7, 2012 (54) COMPOSITION COMPRISING McLaughlin et al., Cancer Immunol. Immunother, 1999.48, 303 CROSS-SPECIES-SPECIFIC ANTIBODES 3.11. AND USES THEREOF The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, “Points to Consider in the Manufacture and Testing of Monoclonal (75) Inventors: Roman Kischel, Karlsfeld (DE); Tobias Antibody Products for Human Use.” pp. 1-50 Feb. 28, 1997.* Raum, München (DE); Bernd Hexham et al., Molecular Immunology 38 (2001) 397-408.* Schlereth, Germering (DE); Doris Rau, Gallart et al., Blood, vol.90, No. 4 Aug. 15, 1997: pp. 1576-1587.* Unterhaching (DE); Ronny Cierpka, Vajdos et al., J Mol Biol. Jul. 5, 2002:320(2):415-28.* München (DE); Peter Kufer, Moosburg Rudikoff et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 79: 1979-1983, Mar. (DE) 1982.* Colman P. M., Research in Immunology, 145:33-36, 1994.* (73) Assignee: Micromet AG, Munich (DE) International Search Report for PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2006/009782, mailed Nov. 7, 2007 (6 pgs.). *) Notice: Subject to anyy disclaimer, the term of this Bortoletto Nicola et al., “Optimizing Anti-CD3Affinity for Effective patent is extended or adjusted under 35 T Cell Targeting Against Tumor Cells'. European Journal of Immu U.S.C. 154(b) by 491 days. nology, Nov. 2002, vol. 32 (11), pp. 3102-3107. (XPO02436763). Fleiger, D. et al., “A Bispecific Single-Chain Antibody Directed Against EpCAM/CD3 in Combination with the Cytokines Interferon (21) Appl.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Checklist of Indian Mammals FINAL.Pmd
    CHECKLIST OF INDIAN MAMMALS REVISED AND UPDATED 2008 417 species in 48 families Taxonomy and nomenclature as per Wilson & Reeder (2005) I. ORDER: PROBOSCIDEA 1) Family: Elephantidae (Elephants) 1. Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 Asian Elephant - I, SR, N, BH, BA, M, SE II. ORDER: SIRENIA 2) Family: Dugongidae (Dugong) 2. Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) Dugong - I, PK(?), SR, M, BA, SE, P, ET, AU - Tropical coastal waters of Indian and W Pacific Ocean III. ORDER: SCANDENTIA 3) Family: Tupaiidae (Treeshrews) 3. Anathana ellioti (Waterhouse, 1850) Madras Treeshrew - I (EN) 4. Tupaia belangeri (Wagner, 1841) Northern Treeshrew - I, N, M, BA, SE, P 5. Tupaia nicobarica (Zelebor, 1869) Nicobar Treeshrew- I (EN) IV. ORDER: PRIMATES SUBORDER: STREPSIRRHINI 4) Family: Lorisidae (Lorises) 6. Loris lydekkerianus Cabrera, 1908 Gray Slender Loris - I, SR 7. Nycticebus bengalensis (Lacépède, 1800) Bengal Slow Loris - I, M, BA, SE, P SUBORDER: HAPLORRHINI 5) Family: Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys) Subfamily: Cercopithecinae (Macaques) 8. Macaca arctoides (I. Geoffroy, 1831) Stump-tailed Macaque - I, SE, P 9. Macaca assamensis Mc Clelland, 1840 Assam Macaque - I, N, SE, P 10. Macaca fascicularis (Raffles, 1821) Crab-eating Macaque - I, M, SE 11. Macaca leonina (Blyth, 1863) Northern Pig-tailed Macaque - I, M, BA, SE, P 12. Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780) Rhesus Macaque - I, AF, PK, SE, P 13. Macaca munzala Sinha, Datta, Madhusudan and Mishra, 2005 Arunachal Macaque - I (EN) 14. Macaca radiata (É. Geoffroy, 1812) Bonnet Macaque - I (EN) 15. Macaca silenus (Linnaeus, 1758) Lion-tailed Macaque - I (EN) Subfamily: Colobinae (Langurs and Leaf-monkeys) 16. Semnopithecus ajax (Pocock, 1928) Kashmir Gray Langur - I, PK 17.
    [Show full text]
  • Gap Analysis of Periyar - Agasthyamalai Landscape for Arboreal Mammal Conservation
    Gap analysis of Periyar - Agasthyamalai landscape for arboreal mammal conservation Final Technical Report 2013 Gap analysis of the Periyar – Agasthyamalai landscape for arboreal mammal conservation Final Technical Report 2013 Supported by Foundation for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning (FERAL) 170/3, Tiruchittrambalam Road, Morttandi Village, Auroville P.O., Vanur Taluk. Villupuram District Tamil Nadu 605 101 India. http://www.feralindia.org Suggested Citation: Sushma H.S., Ram, S. and Vaidyanathan, S. 2013. Gap analysis of the Periyar Agasthyamalai landscape for arboreal mammal conservation. Final technical report, Foundation for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning (FERAL). Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 1 Executive summary ................................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 4 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 6 Study area............................................................................................................................... 7 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 13 Results and discussion
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Classification of Nonhuman Primates
    BLBS036-Voevodin April 8, 2009 13:57 Part I: Introduction to Primatology and Virology COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL BLBS036-Voevodin April 8, 2009 13:57 BLBS036-Voevodin April 8, 2009 13:57 1 Classification of Nonhuman Primates 1.1 Introduction that the animals colloquially known as monkeys and 1.2 Classification and nomenclature of primates apes are primates. From the zoological standpoint, hu- 1.2.1 Higher primate taxa (suborder, infraorder, mans are also apes, although the use of this term is parvorder, superfamily) usually restricted to chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, 1.2.2 Molecular taxonomy and molecular and gibbons. identification of nonhuman primates 1.3 Old World monkeys 1.2. CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE 1.3.1 Guenons and allies OF PRIMATES 1.3.1.1 African green monkeys The classification of primates, as with any zoological 1.3.1.2 Other guenons classification, is a hierarchical system of taxa (singu- 1.3.2 Baboons and allies lar form—taxon). The primate taxa are ranked in the 1.3.2.1 Baboons and geladas following descending order: 1.3.2.2 Mandrills and drills 1.3.2.3 Mangabeys Order 1.3.3 Macaques Suborder 1.3.4 Colobines Infraorder 1.4 Apes Parvorder 1.4.1 Lesser apes (gibbons and siamangs) Superfamily 1.4.2 Great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and Family orangutans) Subfamily 1.5 New World monkeys Tribe 1.5.1 Marmosets and tamarins Genus 1.5.2 Capuchins, owl, and squirrel monkeys Species 1.5.3 Howlers, muriquis, spider, and woolly Subspecies monkeys Species is the “elementary unit” of biodiversity.
    [Show full text]
  • (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9.260,522 B2 Kufer Et Al
    US009260522B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9.260,522 B2 Kufer et al. (45) Date of Patent: Feb. 16, 2016 (54) BISPECIFIC SINGLE CHAIN ANTIBODIES WO WO 2008, 119565 A2 10/2008 WITH SPECIFICITY FOR HIGH WO WO 2008, 119566 A2 10/2008 MOLECULAR WEIGHT TARGET ANTIGENS WO WO 20089567 A2 102008 OTHER PUBLICATIONS (75) Inventors: Peter Kufer, Munich (DE); Claudia Blimel, Munich (DE); Roman Kischel, Sist etal (r. NA i. S. 2. Munich (DE) 139-159).*ariuZZa et al. eV. Ophy S. Ophy S. e. : (73) Assignee: AMGEN RESEARCH (MUNICH) syst al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. May 1987; 84 (9): 2926 GMBH, Munich (DE) Chien et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. Jul. 1989: 86 (14): 5532 5536).* (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this Caldas et al. (Mol. Immunol. May 2003; 39 (15): 941-952).* patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Wils a systs, lig,...si:18): U.S.C. 154(b) by 553 days. 5.adoSeal. Elia? J. VTOl. (J. Immunol.S1Ol. Jul. 2002;, 169 (6): 3076-3084).*: (21) Appl. No.: 13/122,271 WuCasset et al. et (J.t Mol.(Biochem. Biol. Nov.Biophys. 19, 1999;Res. &R294 (1): 151-162).*Jul. 2003; 307 (1): 198-205).* (22) PCT Filed: Oct. 1, 2009 MacCallum et al. (J. Mol. Biol. Oct. 11, 1996; 262 (5): 732-745).* Holmetal. (Mol. Immunol. Feb. 2007; 44 (6): 1075-1084).* (86) PCT NO.: PCT/EP2009/062794 ClinicalTrials.gov archive, "Phase II Study of the BiTE(R) Blinatumomab (MT103) in Patients With Minimal Residual Disease S371 (c)(1), of B-Precursor Acute ALL.” View of NCT00560794 on Aug.
    [Show full text]
  • Enteric Pathogens of Zoonotic Concern in Selected Non-Human Primates in Sri Lanka
    Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Department of Clinical Sciences Enteric pathogens of zoonotic concern in selected non-human primates in Sri Lanka Cecilia Tegner Uppsala 2016 Degree Project 30 credits within the Veterinary Medicine Programme ISSN 1652-8697 Examensarbete 2016:45 Enteric pathogens of zoonotic concern in selected non-human primates in Sri Lanka Potentiellt zoonotiska tarmpatogener hos primater i Sri Lanka Cecilia Tegner Supervisor: Associate Professor Åsa Fahlman, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Assistant supervisor: Professor N. P. Sunil-Chandra, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka Assistant supervisor: Dr Ingrid Hansson, PhD, National Veterinary Institute, Sweden Examiner: Associate Professor Gunilla Trowald-Wigh, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Degree Project in Veterinary Medicine, Clinical Sciences Credits: 30 Level: Second cycle, A2E Course code: EX0736 Place of publication: Uppsala Year of publication: 2016 Cover photo: by author Title of series: Examensarbete / Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Fakulteten för veterinärmedicin och husdjursvetenskap, Veterinärprogrammet Number of part of series: Examensarbete 2016:45 ISSN: 1652-8697 Online publication: http://stud.epsilon.slu.se Keywords: Zoonosis, Salmonella, Campylobacter, rotavirus,
    [Show full text]
  • Plant Health News Letter Volume
    N I P H M National Institute of Plant Health Management http://niphm.gov.in Promoting Plant Health Management since 2008... QUARTERLY Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Plant Health Plant HealthNEWS LETTER JULY - SEPTEMBER, 2017 Theme Article Special Event Crop Raiding Monkeys and Management Approaches WHAT’S INSIDE FTF ITT Training 9 Inauguration of the 4th batch of PGDPHM, Kerala 9 International Training programme on “Managing Biosecurity Treatment Systems” 10 National Workshop on “Weed Risk Assessment” 11 International Training Program on “Plant Health Management Technologies and Approaches” 12 - 15 Capacity Building 17 Inauguration of Plant Health Engineering Workshop Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India From the Director General’s Desk Recent days the vertebrate pests such as rodents, birds, wild boar, monkeys, bats, elephants, nilgai etc., have received the attention of farming community and agriculturists as a serious pests. They are posing increasing threat to standing crops and stored commodities. Due to expansion of agricultural farming areas by destroying the forest lands thereby disturbing the wild animal's habitat, there is an increased human and wild animals intervention and conflicts. Among all vertebrate pests, rodents are one of the major pest causing quantifiable damages in pre and post-harvest systems and in transmitting potential diseases and health hazards. In India there are more than 104 rodent species are present that includes porcupines, squirrels, gerbils, bandicoots, rats, mice and voles. Rodents cause heavy damages in crop ecosystem and storage; we are more focussed on management of rodents at crop and storage levels with respect to vertebrate pest management.
    [Show full text]
  • India Conference of the Grantees of the Rufford Small Grants
    Summary Report India Conference of the Grantees Of the Rufford Small Grants Date 12-13 April, 2013 Place and Venue WWF-India, New Delhi Organized by 50, Samanwoy path, Survey, Beltola PO, Guwahati 781028 Assam, India [email protected] In collaboration with WWF-India, 172-B, Lodi Estate, New Delhi www.wwfindia.org Supported by Background The Rufford Small Grants Foundation (RSG) is one of the most prominent nature conservation donors today, supporting small grants all over the world. The RSG has sanctioned 253 nature conservation grants in India since the early part of the last decade. The RSG with its small grants has offered immense opportunities to young professionals and amateurs, researchers or conservationists, to explore deeper into natural and wilderness areas from the conservation perspective. At the same time RSG has opened up the world for the grantees to explore wildlife research and conservation more as a profession and many have found it as a launching pad for their careers. Beyond, supporting a great diversity of nature conservation projects, RSG launched a new programme as RSG Conferences. Since, it has been over a decade of funding by the RSG and now it is high time that RSG grantees meet at one platform and share their experiences. Keeping this in mind, Aaranyak and WWF- India jointly hosted this conference Delhi, India. Conference theme The proposed theme was- “Sharing the experiences of the RSG Grantees of India”. The conference had oral presentations. Organizers Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) is a non-profit organization based in Guwahati Assam and has been working for over two decades now in scientific research and conservation of biodiversity, particularly in the northeast India.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern India
    SOUTHERN INDIA FEBRUARY 16–MARCH 7, 2020 A shy and songful endemic, the White-bellied Sholakili © Max Breckenridge LEADER: MAX BRECKENRIDGE LIST COMPILED BY: MAX BRECKENRIDGE VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM SOUTHERN INDIA February 16–March 7, 2020 By Max Breckenridge Southern India is truly a delight. The local people are friendly and vibrant, the food is diverse and delicious, and, most important, the wildlife is remarkable and conspicuous! Our wonderful and easy- going group assembled in the central-southern metropolis of Bangalore (Bengaluru). After settling in, it was soon time to head south, bidding the abundant Black Kites of Bangalore’s skyline farewell. After the modern hustle and bustle of the big city, we made a refreshing visit to the traditional village of Kokkare Bellur, about halfway between Bangalore and Mysore (Mysuru). The drawcards for this quaint town, which has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years, are the plentiful Painted Storks and Spot- billed Pelicans that nest in large trees dotted between the small houses. Before arriving in the princely city of Mysore, we enjoyed a stroll around Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace & Museum with its exquisite wood carvings and facades, as well as an extensive collection of artwork and weaponry. The peculiar Great Thick-knee from Ranganathittu Sanctuary near Mysore © M Breckenridge. The next morning we loaded into a rowboat for an intimate visit to the bustling waterbird rookery at Ranganathittu, north of Mysore, on the Cauvery River. Close looks were had at a variety of egrets, more storks and pelicans, plus Indian Cormorants, Eurasian Spoonbills, several pairs of the strange-looking Great Thick-knee, Streak-throated Swallows nesting, a striking Stork-billed Kingfisher, and several Mugger Crocodiles lounging.
    [Show full text]