Apoorva Joshi - Journalist.Writer.Wildlife enthusiast. Foodie. Views expressed on this blog are personal and should not be considered endorsements. Other blogs include 'The Scribe Chronicle' & 'All Things Animal'.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Encroachment-our fault or their's???
think-why. why did the Elephants have to resort to encroaching on the farms?? would they have done so if they had had their habitat intact??? would they??? would they cum into ur fields if they had a place to live?? the article in a marathi magazine says- the numbers have increased frm 5 to 25...dammit!!!! look at the numbers that have fallen in the wild... what are u people doing?!?!? why would they want to encroach upon ur stupid fields if they had a forest to live in in the first place????
on one hand u worship the animal...and on the other hand u curse it. hows dat even sensible??? and basically... if they had a home, food, shelter and safety, they would never resort to coming close to a species of living beings that cares for no one but itself-humans! they would never want to b a threat to their own life by coming close to humans. any wild animal would always always always prefer the jungle to civilisation. and the sooner we realise that, the better.
it is extrememly traumatic for the animals when they are thrown out of their own home by selfish greedy humans who want more n more space for offices, houses, and activities that can well b hosted away frm the forest area. the government-as efficient as it is... has done "so much" for the protection of wild animals... that i cant stop complementing them!!! they're working so hard u know... i mean wake up dammit!!!! u cant accuse an animal of encroachment n then kill them n harm them when the MAIN CUASE OF THEIR ENCROACHMENT IS YOU!!!!
u cannot b a hypocrite... coz ur fake if ur a hypocrite. and ur utterly selfish. these animals have been here longer than we have even taken to establish ourselves... they belong here. they dont ask for nething frm us! and why shud they, when they rnt selfish, and they have a home to live in... but till they have their basic needs, they are gentle. and once u snatch things away... they will turn into a storm of beasts that u will never b able to digest.
and before that happens... STOP SNATCHING THEIR HOMES AWAY FROM THEM N CRIBBING BOUT UR OWN FIELDS. u can earn a livelihood in many ways. but the wild animals have nothing working for them right now. so stop cribbing n go get a heart. and if these elephants kill more farmers again n destroy more crops, it is TOTALLY the fault of the HUMANS.- thats why this blog's titled- HUMANS- AT FAULT-playing the blame game- does not work!!!!
Roadkills
Mahabaleshwar-a famous tourist spot,visited by thousands of people.A thriving hotel business.the main road in this hill station cuts through a forest n divides in into more than 3 parts.the animals are left with no choice but to cross this road.and this road has vehicles zooming around at a tremendous speed.so the innocent animal approaches the road, a vehicle comes at lightning speed, goes right over the animal, n the poor chap is dead within seconds.
Amboli- heaven on earth- three olive forest snake roadkills in september 2006. Tamhini Ghat-Pune district-innumerable roadkills-i myself have counted 22Checkered Keelback roadkills within a stretch of 7km. is that justice? the same day when we counted these 22 kills, there were more than 30crabs, frogs, lizards...all smashed on the road surface. ok...maybe 10%(maximum) of the fault is that of the animals... as in..maybe 10% of those killed were at fault.but what about a whopping 90% ????
what did they do??? isnt it evident that humanity is on the brink of an epidemic of insensitivity?!?!?! why must u drive at a speed enough to hurl u into space?? and risk not only ur own worthless stupid life, but also that of the animals...who have done absolutely nothing to you???
why must u act like the boss of the jungle..when ur behaviour shows u to b lower than a slave ... ??? in one year 6lakh animals were killed in Mahabaleshwar.thats an annual count. now consider this- if one more hotel comes up-it means an annual increase of say 2000 visitors(minimum). that means a subsiquent increase in the number of vehicles zooming in n out of the forest land... that means more than 6lakh annual roadkills.
the saddest part is, even snakes like Vine Snakes(Ahaetulla nasuta) and Bambbo Pit Vipers(Trimeresurus gramineus) get squashed on the roads... Owlets and birds too are not spared. Is it right, on our part that we silently watch? well, as far as im concerned- im not silent- n i cant b -when the matter is so grave. i used to think this was all. but today i saw a photo of a leopard roadkill.... and believe me-it was disgusting!!!! it was horrendous-the thought as to how anyone can be so ruthless, so selfish, so careless, so heartless- so INHUMANE.
how can u run over a Leopard?!?!?!?!?! Snakes -r small, n not easy to spot on the road fine! but a Leopard?!?!!? what the hell happened to ur bloody eyes?!?!?! its a whole mammal in front of u!!! how can u be like that??? u leave a dead Leopard on the road???? utter disbelief!!!! i mean i think its high time people-those who care bout conserving the wildlife instead of running it over... speak up. use ur voices, ur talents, nething right u can do that will spread awareness.
it really is high time... kinda what i would feel like if id been put in jail for working for the welfare of wildlife.... insane is the word. such drunk people who risk evry life on the orad when they take to the wheel-should be shot dead-through the head!!!!!
think bout it... thats all there is to it.... thought. and then- action. coz if like in mahabaleshwar the count goes higher than 6lakh- its gona b one helluva fight betvn wildlife lovers and the Government.
a simple lesson
living in a false world is risky. ur fooling urself, if u believe that white lions or polar bears are going to survive without help. ur fooling urself if u believe conservation is on a real high!! ur fooling urself if u believe that Steve Irwin could do it, so a lot of othe rpeople can. try getting out into the forest n finding exactly wat u want. try field work. n if u find it easy- sure enuf- ur a fool!
point is not who's smart n who's not- point is, that wildlife needs conservation n some evry dedicated people need wildlife. when u cut a tree or when u pluck a leaf- it may seem like an activity u dont really pay attention to... but do it out of habit. or need. but what ur overlooking is, that tree, cud b sumone's home, someone's life. ur killing not a tree but potentially many lives! that leaf-cud b food for a growing caterpillar. ur taking that away.
im not harping on sumthing or making it a big deal... its a matter of awareness. its a matter of how u feel , how strongly u feel- about the one thing-that i feel for. - Wildlife.
if ever u got a chance to do sumthing for an animal, would u take it, or give it sumone else? if u saw an injured dog on the street, would u run to its help or wud u leave it to the hope that sum animal lover will cum up n do it? if u see a flightless bird with a broken wing, will u do ur bit to help it or will u say that there are a lot of birds as it is... one doesnt matter...??
now, think- would u do that- if either of the concerned "victims" were ur family???
no u wouldnt. why are poachers not shot dead jst as they do to the animals? why are corrupt forest officers not suspended?? why are things so out of hand in a country who's wildlife was its crown once upon a time. its crown, its pride!!!!! poachers r shooting at the country's pride and we're letting them.
they're running off with elephant tusks n we're letting them. there are so many dedicated forest guards n officials who could use our help, n we're NOT letting them!!! why??? - because we're - UNAWARE. unaware of what this will lead us to. of wat this will do, n is doing to our country-our homeland. to what our future looks like. we r unaware that we ourselves r killing our future generations.
we ourselves are strangling those who cum up with sum passion n hard work to take forth the conservation mission. we r still opposed to unconventional careers-like wildlife sciences. especially done by girls! we still see medicine n engineering as to two only options a person has. why??? because- we are afraid. afraid to try , afraid to let those who have the capibility use it, afraid that they may fail- wat we overlook is- only if we try will we know if the other side is success or failure.
so wake up India. and open ur eyes to the world that needs u.- the world of wild animals that needs the most evovled and independent specie- us- to speak for those who cant speak for themselves. wake up India- coz if u dont rise now- it will b too late to even stir.
too late India- to even stir!!!! think about it. n teach ppl around u-why it is important that u help Wildlife Conservation n how it will benefit evry living hting on Earth! we're One Planet, n One Country- an incredible country with incredible will power!!!!!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
All those ppl who went to Amboli in September 2005, will know the awe that overcomes a person once u step in Amboli. The climate, the sight, the sheer presence of a place so new yet so familiar. All u nature lovers will know.Its exhilerating! The place in the Monsoon is even better. Parikshit point- leeches! Mahadeogarh point- the sloth bear trail.. n much more! Shirgaonkar point- waterfall n nature -the works! The experience has been unforgettable! 4 SNAKES!!! - in order of occurence: the vine snake, the Bedom's Cat Snake, the wolf snake, and .... ladies n gentlemen- brace yourselves- Trimeresurus malabaricus - the Malabar Pit Viper!!!!!!!!!!! n to think that it was right behind me when i was drinking tea!! Imagine the adrenaline rush!!! A flutter and bustle for cameras, evryone grasping for one... the Instructors keeping the campers at a safe distance.. (im not being diplomatic- its quite necessary with a snake like that one around!!!) so there is posing and photography session for 20 minutes... after which the snake is transferred into a jar with holes- which took 15 frantic minutes to search for!! then, its colouration is displayed and explained, my mouth refuses to shut!. the sheer shock that the snake had been exactly behind me on a shrub -the drizzle making it even more authentic!!! thank god for the fact that it was a juvenile bcoz adults are mindblowingly longer than most Vipers.To think that this snake could make a group of 42 ppl keep so quite that it was eerie... is amazing!!! to think that it could make ME keep shut!!- wow!!! talkative is my 2nd name!!and this guy has such a mind boggling effect- i guess the camp bcame special 2me that instant.!! and then... Amboli really is gr8!! especially with 41 leech bites to show off!! - seriously- my feet bled thru the 3 kerchiefs i tied 2 each of them!!! thats called "blood presssure" hehe... but this camp- had it all- Nature, Birds, - we waited for the so called Dwarf kingfisher which akash still hasnt managed 2 convince us about!!! n then, the leeches- that made 5 ppl back out Parikshit chi trail- Cowards- they missed it!!!Then, the Hiranyakeshi temple and the cave, wowee!!! even the intro trail during which we had the intro session in a mandir thanks to gorgeous rainfall !!! incessant!!!! vinya went crazy after the lime n almost went off the "hill". cartoon!! the mad rush for Solkadhi- Christ!!!!!!!! we were looking like starved hooligans!!! the cat that had charmed Amogh so much!!! cute kid n cute kitty!! The musical afternoons- with Bhuvan's guitar and us singing!!! we did that so dedicatedly! -is that even a word???The absolutely annoying antiques of Rahul Bhusari- his fantastic Pj's.... mostly on me!!! deepak raag- yeah rite! and the time when we were eating fresh hot kanda bhajji in the cold rain.... wow! then the frisbee championship at Nangartaas. - the water spouts- in our face! the group photo- with all the volunteers n instructors running to the camera!! - Rahul bhusari cheated btw- jumped first!!!! so then, this camp had it all- Nature, adventure, psychos, thrill, awe, speechless moments, sighting moments, friendships...that have lasted thruout! evrything.... there's lots more ive been wise enuf not to mention!! hehe... ;-)but it all comes down to this- Amboli rocked and so did the campers!!! n so did that mindblowing Malabar Pit Viper!!!!!! so... hope there are more ppl to appreciate the beauty of the place next monsoon!!! go on- we gotta c a blue mormon on the 1st trail!!!!! yeah!this place is pure magic, just pure magic... incomparable. so when u headed there?... gimme a call- il b packed n ready 2 leave! AMBOLI ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!- A J.