“It was just a palm-sized baby; in four months it has grown to almost half a metre now,”
Baba informs me, using his amputated forearm as a reference to the size. Donning a scarlet kurta with a mustard-coloured lungi and a pair of hawaai chappals that are about to give up, Sitaram Das, aka Baba, leads me to a mugger Crocodylus palustris, which is reportedly basking in a paddy field. Baba’s looks can be deceiving as there’s more to what meets the eye. He can be a Baba and a sought-after naturalist in a matter of sentences.
We’ve been in the fields for hours now but there’s no trace of the mugger yet. While Baba strides forward with ease, I struggle to keep up. “It is a lethargic animal that gets tired easily and sometimes it takes days to move,” he quips, indicating that we may be moments away from finding it. “Six months ago, during the summers, a female mugger had laid around 20 eggs. It takes about two months for the eggs to hatch,” he adds. During our conversation, Baba casually passes on a great deal of species-specific behavioural and nesting observations. The knowledge, attained in the wild through many years of observation, would perhaps impress the likes of John Thorbjarnarson even more. Inquisitive as I was, I asked about the people who were specially trained a few years ago to perform this task. “I don’t know, perhaps they’ve been trained to be scared,” he jokes.
この記事は Sanctuary Asia の June 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Sanctuary Asia の June 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Why Children Are Needed To Help Save The World
On my very first day in India, I encountered many marvelous new customs not practiced in the United States, my home country. But the most curious by far involved trees. Here and there, alongside the roaring streets of Mumbai were rings of marigold wreathed around twisting banyan trunks like dried rays of afternoon sunlight…
Who's Who?
Fact: all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads! Let’s unpack this...
The Sea Raptor
The White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster is one of the most common raptors along the Indian coastline. Nevertheless, the sight of this soaring, broad-winged, white and black bird of prey is nothing less than majestic
Bringing Up Bob Hoots.
While we were visiting a friend’s farm in the village of Yelachetty, near Bandipur Tiger Reserve, we found Spotted Owlets nesting on the tiled roof… and one of the chicks on the kitchen floor!
Yala, Land Of The Leopard
Yala is not only Sri Lanka’s second-largest, but also the most-visited national park in the island nation.
The Wizards Of Oz!
Australia is not only a country, but also a continent. The land down under, cut-off from the rest of the world has an abundance of unique species of native animals, birds, reptiles, insects and plants.
Scales & Tails
I was really excited and looking forward to the workshop on reptiles and amphibians at Nature’s Nest in Mollem, Goa, between June 24 and 26, 2017. It was my opportunity to meet renowned herpetologist Varad Giri.
Big, Brilliant And Endangered
When one thinks of elephants, the first word that probably comes to mind is BIG! But elephants, while they may be the largest creatures on land, are not just big and powerful, they’re wise and sensitive as well. Recent scientific studies have established that they are among the most intelligent animals in the world.
Earth Manners
Everyday habits matter! Let’s be kind to the planet, animals and ourselves!
World Scan
CHINA’S IVORY TOWNAn explosive investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency has revealed how criminal gangs originating from an obscure town in southern China have come to dominate the smuggling of ivory tusks poached from African elephants.