“Jisne forest ko raat me nahi dekha, usne kuch nahi dekha (one who hasn’t seen the forest at night, hasn’t seen anything),” said Rohit, as Zarif and I sat beside him.
A stream gurgled softly in the distance. The dark forest sky, tall trees and distant call of frogs, all added to the surrealism of the night. Perhaps the thing about darkness is that it makes one aware of one’s presence. It was unlike anything that I had experienced before.
The watch read 9 p.m. We sat in the darkness, occasionally switching on the headlamp to focus the light toward the spot where the ‘sound’ had come from. The mist nets were set further upstream, and all we could do was wait. For what, you ask...? For bats!
DESTINATION PANGOT
It all started one fine morning, when a sudden realisation dawned on me. I had nothing to do during the long, hot summer vacation! So I messaged Rohit Chakravarty, a reseacher working in Uttarakhand, in the hope that I could volunteer on his bat study. A confirmation from him set the wheels in motion.
Within days I found myself on a bus to Nainital, and then onward to Pangot, a small, dreamy village 20 km. from Nainital. Later in the day, Rohit and his field assistant Zarif, met me at Jungle Lore, a birding lodge, set beautifully in the village. An alumnus of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, Rohit is currently working on a documentation and ‘call’ library of bat species found in Uttarakhand. Rohit briefed me on the agenda, which sounded interesting and fun (and a little frightening since I had never spent time in a forest at night before).
BAT SIGNALS
We began by surveying the area around the village and decided that the area near a forest stream would be a good site to catch bats. Why a stream? Because its course offers an uninterrupted passageway for bats to fly through the forest.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Sanctuary Asia.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Sanctuary Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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.
