Biodiversity at its best: My Neighbours

Living at the edge of a forest that has taken approx. 30 yrs to regrow by itself from a barren land to a forest thriving with life and providing a unique habitat for a diverse kinds of living organisms. By the way the forest I am talking about lies just at the foothills of the famous Panchgani tableland. 

It has been one year and four months of an amazing experience living at the edge of a living forest with creatures that are so incredible and beautiful to watch. Though not a wildlife expert at documenting the rich biodiversity that this small patch of forest holds, I have made a humble attempt to note down things that I have been seeing every day since my stay at Panchgani. Experiencing the entire weather of the year out here and noticing certain organisms being found only in a particular month or season and then not to see the same insects or birds in the rest of the months is so intriguing and leaves me with big questions like - WHY & HOW? With the help field guides like Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (Richard Grimmett et al), the book of Indian animals (Prater), Snakes of India: The field Guide (Romulus Whitaker & Ashok Captain) and many online resources; like this one was really helpful - www.indiabirds.com a good tool for identification of birds.

Below is the list of diverse fauna from insects, mammals, amphibians, reptiles to birds; documented from October 2011 until the date of this post and the list is growing even though I post this exhaustive list now. I  hope this list is helpful to appreciate and accept that we are not alone and we share our surrounding with some of the most beautiful creatures that are so essential for the functioning of the ecosystem. Our approach so far in management of our environment or its resources like forest or water have always been anthropocentric forgetting we also need this creatures to complete what we call our Earth - a Home for all. This list will remind us to share our resources with creatures that too have important role in the environment just like we think 'we do'.

Avifauna: (104 Birds)

Red-whiskered Bulbul (emeria)

Red-vented Bulbul (humayuni)

Square-tailed Bulbul (Hypsipetes (leucocephalus) ganeesa)

Great Tit (Parus major)

Indian Yellow Tit (Parus (xanthogenys) aplonotus)

Brown-headed Barbet (caniceps)

Coppersmith Barbet

Jungle Bush Quail

Common Quail

Red Spurfowl

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Small Minivet (malabaricus, cinnamomeus)

Orange Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus)

Black Drongo

White-bellied Drongo (leucopygialis?)

Indian Peafowl

Asian Paradise-flycatcher

Red-breasted Flycatcher/ Red-throated Flycatcher

White-spotted Fantail

White-browed Fantail

Indian Nightjar

Indian Scimitar Babbler (horsfieldii)

Tawny-bellied Babbler (hyperythra)

Jungle Babbler

Malabar Lark

Pied Bushchat

Oriental White-eye

Common tailor bird

Pale bellied flowerpecker

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Purple Sunbird

Vigor’s Sunbird

Loten’s Sunbird

Black-winged Kite/ Black-shouldered Kite

Black Kite

Crested Serpent Eagle

Laggar Falcon

Oriental Magpie Robin

Indian Robin (fulicatus)

Common Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Laughing Dove

Asian Koel

Southern Coucal

Indian Scops Owl

Red Rumped Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow

Dusky Crag Martin

Jungle Myna (fuscus)

Common Myna

Greenish Warbler

Blyth’s Reed Warbler

Indian Jungle Crow

House Crow

Grey-breasted Prinia (hodgsonii)

Indian Grey hornbill

White-throated Kingfisher

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Rufous Treepie

Green Bee-eater

Long-tailed Shrike

White-browed wagtail

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Common Woodshrike

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus)

Cattle Egret (Bubulus ibis)

Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus)

Indian Blackbird (Tardus nigropileus)

Black hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus)

Crested Bunting

Red-wattled Lapwing

Green Warbler [Phylloscopus( trochiloides) nitidus]

Indian Bushlark

Yellow crowned Woodpecker

Indian Golden Oriole

Orange-headed Thrush (cyanotus)

Indian Blackbird (Tardus merula nigropileus)

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense)

Tytler’s Leaf Warbler

Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis)

Grey Wagtail

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)

Western Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus occipitalis)

Ultramarine Flycatcher

Verditer Flycatcher

Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)

Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)

Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

Greater Short-toed Lark

Shaheen Falcon

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

Crested Hawk Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

Common Hawk Cuckoo (Hierococcyx varius)

White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)

Common Iora

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis)

Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)

Reptiles: 

Phipsons Shield Tail

Spotted yellow Wolf Snake

Common Krait

Indian Cobra

Travancore Wolf Snake

Rat Snake

Montane Trinket Snake

Large-scaled Sheildtail

Beddome’s Cat Snake

Mahabaleshwar Shield tail

Indian Rock Python (This one I should mention, that I saw this swallowing a Red-vented Bulbul whole. Though caught it on my mobile camera but didn't come out so clear)

Green Keelback

Elliot’s Sheildtail

Amphibians:

Skink

Geckos (Deccan Banded Gecko)

Frogs

Toads

Monitor Lizard

Garden Lizard

Mammals: 

Indian Chevrotain/ Mouse-Deer

Bonnet Macaque

Common Langur (Presbytis entellus)

Common Mongoose

Wild Pigs

Hare

Bats

Indian Porcupine (Hystrix indica)

Indian Field Mouse

Indian mole rat

Three striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)

Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)

Insects:

Butterflies

Moths

Ants

Termites

Glow worms

Slugs

Caterpillar

Earthworms

Honeybee

Flies
Dragon fly

Bumblebee

Centipede

Garden Spider

Wolf Spider

Cicada

Dung beetle

Rhinoceros Beetle

Shovel-headed Beetle

Diving Beetle

Cockroaches

Millipedes

Ticks

Earwig

The photos below will give you a small view into the list I am talking about. Had I had my own camera, I would have posted more photos. Well, special thanks to my workplace and others for providing me with the photos. 

I will be glad if anyone can identify this snake. Looks to me a cobra with the spectacle-mark on its back but this one was quite different then the other snakes that i have seen so far (some say it is a Rat snake). It lie dead on one of the road sides inside the campus in the night (Photo credit: Aparna Shrivastava)

The Rhinoceros Beetle

The Shovel Beetle (P.S This and the picture above belong to the same family but have different tools on their head)

The shiny insect (anyone to name it differently or give me its scientific name, please feel free)

Butterfly caterpillar (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

This hairy worm is seen only in winter from Dec to Jan (Slugs in the monsoon, this hairy worm in winter and now what I see around is a worms with black hair, quite amazing different timings for these worms to make their short lived dominion known)

Giant centipede (out hunting in the night)

Bee's nest (honeycomb) on an Eucalyptus tree

Phipson's Shieldtail (this guy didn't like that I took it on a stick)

Phipson's Shieldtail (Uropeltis phipsonii) -  the moment I left it on the ground it started digging to move down the ground 

Travancore Wolf Snake

Orange Minivet - Female (Pericrocotus flammeus). (Photo Credit: Anandi Gandhi)

Orange Minivet - Male (Pericrocotus flammeus). These birds are seen in groups of 4 to 5 in the morning and esp in the evening (Photo Credit: Anandi Gandhi)

Garden lizard giving the right pose in front of the camera

Red-breasted Flycatcher

The majestic Asian Paradise Flycatcher and my favorite bird.

Red Whiskered Bulbul

Scary spider (I must mention here that there are so many different spiders out here and  new spiders seen every week.  I would suggest someone comes out here and does a proper research on spiders -  a good place to identify new one and document them)

White-cheeked Barbet (This guy crashed on to my window,  tried to put on water to revive his strength but ended up hitting another window when it tried to fly and then finally took off).  

Skink

I call it a Showel worm (It is interesting to note out here is that worms and insects that i have noticed have interesting tools on their head to dig through the ground. If some one knows a better name please let me know)

Anyone to give name to this  interesting creature. Found laid under soil rich with moisture and other small insects (Coin is for scale)

Black Moth 1

Moth 2 (Night time is the time of the moths)

Butterfly

Deccan Banded Gecko seen on one of my night treks

Praying mantis

Cat-legged spider (two of its leg not in place)

Was almost 2 meters long with its head into the cement bags, didn't want to disturb it so was not able to see its head. But it is a Rat snake

Common Krait on the table land on one of my night treks

Toad

Black-shouldered Kite

Indian roller (Photo Credit: Aparna Shrivastava)

Green Bee-eater (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Pretty looking Butterfly

Millipede

Two Common Langur (Presbytis entellus) staring at  me when taking their photo.

Two cricket's sitting on a tree branch, was not that easy to spot them especially their body completely blending with the colour of the branch. I was able to spot them by fine tuning my ear to their sound.

White-throated Kingfisher (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Quite common to see them early mornings and in the evening with their melodious sound - Pied Bushchat (Photo Credit: Rachel Jacobson)

Special thanks to Dr. Girish Jathar (Orinthologist) for going through the list and correcting some of my errors.

Warli art: A window to the ancient cave paintings of India

The name Warli art comes from the Warli tribe of Maharashtra, India. An indigenous tribe or adivasi community living in the mountainous and coastal regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat border. The reason for me to post this time about this tribe is because I painted a Warli mural on the training walls at my work place. I was drawn into the realm of ancient people who depicted what they saw around them in the form of cave paintings. Paintings that portray a window into the minds of our ancestors. An indirect glimpse into the daily life and culture of ancient people that still exist in minority in India, where it is still portrayed on the mud walls  of these tribal people. The Warli paintings have close resemblance to those done between 500 and 10,000 BCE in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, in Madhya Pradesh an archaeological World Heritage site.

For those who don't know what is a Warli painting or who are Warli tribe, here is quick intro (following excerpt below is taken from the Warli website)  - Warli art is a beautiful folk art of Maharashtra, traditionally created by the tribal women. Tribals are the Warli, Malkhar koli, Kathodi, Kokana, Dhodi tribes found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai, in Western India. This art was first explored in the early seventies & from then it was named as “Warli art”.  Tribal people express themselves in vivid styles through paintings which they execute on the walls of their house. This was the only means of transmitting folklore to a populace not acquainted with the written word. Warli paintings were mainly done by the women folk. The most important aspect of the painting is that it does not depicts mythological characters or images of deities, but depict social life. Pictures of human beings and animals, along with scenes from daily life are created in a loose rhythmic pattern. Warli paintings are painted white on mud walls. The paintings are beautifully executed and resembles pre-historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting. A useful further reading on the Warli tribe, its history and place can be found here. 

Warli painting that I made was on a rough textured surface wall (ideally should be made on smooth surface), so was not an easy one in making clear circles, triangles or lines but was somehow possible. I used red oil paint to give the background and white oil paint to paint the Warli figures. In the first four Warli murals I have tried to depict the four areas the organisation that I am associated with (Grampari) are focused on - WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Livelihood, Watershed, Governance and leadership respectively. The very bottom two Warli murals, I have tried to depict the village daily life that I am exposed to. It is interesting to note out here is that the traditional Warli painting is made by plastering the mud wall with cow dung, colouring the wall with red ochre colour and drawing the Warli figures with white pigment made of rice paste mixed with water and gelatin as a binding material. They use bamboo stick chewed at one end to make a simple paint brush. Isn't that really a natural drawing!!

I am novice and a tyro in this art form, but got all the inspiration from the people who have kept this art form alive and tons of material that already exist on the internet. Below are the Warli mural that I did, stretching for almost 9 and half days.... finally it is over!!! But I really enjoyed doing it and maybe in some ten thousand years from now will be an evidence of what was happening out here. :D 

Warli mural depicting tippytap program. (WASH) © R. Thomas

Warli mural depicting livelihood program. © R. Thomas

Warli mural depicting watershed program. © R. Thomas

Warli mural depicting leadership and governance program. © R. Thomas

Warli mural depicting village life and the wildlife surrounding the community.  © R. Thomas

Warli mural depicting Agrarian village life. © R. Thomas

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"

There is apparently a great deal of interest among people to believe in stuff which are no where close to the truth and reality. I hope you guess it right, 21st December and the End of the world hoax. Well we all have to die one day or the other but I realized people have been believing and continue to believe lies that have no credibility from centuries on. (Link -  list of dates predicted for the apocalyptic events) 

Dates for the end of the world are proposed, that keep postponing and preponing when realizing that the world did not end on the day that was prophesied. I found a interesting article posted on the NASA website that just refutes the claims of the end of the world that is supposed to happen TODAY.

And actually "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." (quote by Carl Sagan) which is just lacking in the so called claims of the dooms day people. 

Are we banking on more dams to reap more disasters?

An article in the International weekly Journal of Science - Nature on Flood of protest hits Indian dams, Himalayan plans pose ecological threat, researchers warn raises concerns and highlights the agitations by native people on huge number of dams to be built on the youthful rivers of Himalayas. More than all the concerns raised, I am surprised that such places are focal areas of huge earthquakes and are totally ignored when building such reservoirs. Haven't we had enough deaths and have enough problems with displacement of people, loss of livelihood, loss of biodiversity, slicing of our beautiful mountains, loss of culture and language ...and the list goes no. Are we banking on more Dams to have a so called 'Economic growth' and want to reap disasters with more interest??

Courtesy: Nature, International weekly journal of Science.

Recent conclave concluded at Mahabaleshwar for Saving the Western Ghats highlighted the very dangers of big reservoirs that has posed on the rich biodiversity nestled in the Western wall of India, session taken by South Asia network on dams, rivers and people. I hope my readers would take note of the articles published by SANDRP, which are really insightful into the problems of our unplanned development. Also worth mentioning was the accelerated transformation of the landscape in the Western Ghats in the past couple of decades and its future changes expected due to rising population was really scary given by a research institute on Population studies based in Bangaluru (Just don't remember their name right now).

I hope that our Earth is protected from the greed of having more than what we require, but I don't think that the motion we have set in can be undone anymore, if at all there is an inner revolution in every individual to change this present scenario and restrict our wants. There would be more conflicts and tensions over sharing this limited natural resources in the years to come and it is already happening (eg. Water) with ever increasing population. And I don't think that we can really change the wishes, thoughts and actions of people, only if it starts from 'Me'.

Lead in History and the decline of Roman empire??

You might be wondering what is the link between lead and the decline of the Roman empire. Well this was the very same question I had when, I came across an unusual explanation of lead poisoning being one of the reasons for the downfall of the Roman empire. History imputes the final fall of Rome in 450 AD due to the Barbarians over taking the Empire but one of the eventual weakened condition has been attributed to mental and physical deterioration due to excessive quantities of lead found in their wine, food and cosmetics.


A theory put forward by Jerome Nriagu in 1983 in the New England Journal of Medicine sparked and reopened a public debate over the lead poisoning. But for me, inspite of all the controversy surrounding the importance and validity of lead poisoning to imagine the slow process of Geology having a part in the decline of the Roman Empire is startling.

Lead Pipe in Roman baths (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Roman Lead water pipes with taps (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

The ancient Romans used lead for making water pipes and lining baths, and the plumber who joins and mends pipes takes his name from the Latin word plumbum, meaning lead. Plumbum is also the origin of the terms 'plumb bob' and 'plumb line,' used in surveying and also the chemical symbol for lead, Pb. In medieval times, lead came to be used for roofing, coffins, cisterns, tanks, and gutters, and for statues and ornaments. But water that supplied the Roman towns originated in the limestone terrain, these water carried dissolved lime and coated the inner linings of the pipes, not allowing the water to react with the lead pipe. Neither swimming in tanks lined by lead nor drinking water from the lead pipes were the reason for lead poisoning.

Romans were blithely ingesting huge amount of lead in the wine on a daily basis all their lives, including those famous multi-course, hours-long meals the upper class was fond of. So it seems like lead poisoning would have significantly impacted Rome's population, its decision makers, army, etc., especially over a long period of time and that's how Geology works.

Not only did the Romans had huge appetites and drink legendary amounts of wine, does Jerome sites but they flavored their wines with a syrup known as 'Sapa' made from simmered grape juice that was brewed in lead pots. The syrup was also used as a sweetener in many recipes favored by Roman gourmands. In all they probably had 20 milligrams led  input on a daily bases thus leading to physical and mental deterioration which may explain some of the bizarre and unusual behavior of Tiberius, Caligula, Cladius, Galba, Nero, Nerva and almost all of the late-Empire emperors were known to be both heavy drinkers and suffer gout-like symptoms. Elagabalus in particular was a huge pleasure seeking emperor, with enormous banquets, exotic dishes and blended wines. He was also, no doubt due to lead poisoning, mentally impaired.

I guess the lifestyle speaks for itself for the decline of the huge empire, but I hope we don't overlook this important page of history while going about with similar lifestyle that exist today.

Courtesy: (Cover page) The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

References:

[i] Jerome O. Nriagu.(1985) : Saturnine Gout among Roman Aristocrats, New England Journal of Medicine, pp 660-3

[ii] Lead Poisoning and Rome; retrieved November 15, 2012 from <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html>

[iii] Decline of the Roman Empire:Wikipedia; retrieved November 15, 2012 from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire> 

[iv] Roman Empire's fall is linked with Gout and Lead Poisoning (1983), New York Times,  retrieved November 15, 2012 from <http://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/17/us/roman-empire-s-fall-is-linked-with-gout-and-lead-poisoning.html>

[v] Edward Gibbon: General Observations On The Fall Of The Roman Empire In The West. Fall In The West — The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Calvin College Computer Science, retrieved November 14, 2012 from <http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/volume1/chap39.htm>

A positive step towards sustainability

The Municipal Assembly of Saku, Nagano Prefecture, in central Japan passed a draft plan for preserving groundwater and spring water on June 29, 2012. The draft defined groundwater as a valuable common property of the local community indispensable to citizens' daily life, and set forth restrictions on groundwater pumping so that citizens can continue to benefit from plentiful, high-quality groundwater into the future. 

The city of Saku is dependent on groundwater for most of its water resources; it regards groundwater as public property and thinks it necessary to raise people's awareness on groundwater and to make efforts to preserve it. For this purpose, the ordinance sets down standards for requiring permission for or reporting groundwater pumping, and also a set of rules for setting up wells.  The city intends to cultivate groundwater, protect it from risks, and make sure it can be passed down to future generations.*[i]

The Groundwater rules and regulations in Maharashtra are also in place, but so far my experience in working closely with rural communities in Maharashtra has showed that the rules are quite easy to surpass/override if the land belongs to highly influential rich people who are backed by politicians. Every day so many open wells and borewells are sunk in the hard basaltic rocks with or without permission. 

The government role should be of more of an activist, a proactive role in protecting the precious water resource and the interest of the poor people. Well I am not writing to blame a particular group here, all the people are responsible including me and have an active role in preserving their water resources; it is just like a everyone having a bank account in a common bank. If all withdraw and don’t try to save or deposit in the bank (aquifers) then nothing will be left in the account and the result is bankruptcy.

Land belonging to poor people and having good amount of water are sometimes carried away by the greed of notes offered by people to buy and develop that land are not really the wealth – it the water that has real value. Money notes are in place just to make transaction easy but it should not substitute in valuing and protecting the real wealth. Hivre Bazaar is an excellent example where water is valued more than development.

During my work I realized that the village communities don’t even know that there is law to protect this precious water resource. The links below will be helpful to those who are working with the rural communities and active youths of the village.

Link to the Maharashtra Groundwater Law, 1993 and the recent bill passed in the state.

http://ielrc.org/content/e9301.pdf

http://envis.maharashtra.gov.in/envis_data/files/eGWDevpMgmtAct2009.pdf

The copies of the Bill are available in the Office of all Zilla Parishads, Panchyayat Samitis, District libraries and the District office of the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency.

We should never forget that it was along rivers and streams that the civilizations began around the world. It is water that is the key to modern civilization, it this one resource more than any other that has potential to limit are ambitions. The fundamental limits of water cycle are still there but the lesson of history is that the most successful civilizations learn to adapt to those limits. The problem is more to do with us and that prospect may find you gloomy but the fact is shaping our future is in our hands and how we use our water resource.

References:

[i] Japan to the World - Japan for Sustainability, retrieved on October 19, 2012 from <http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/032282.html>

'Geologie' comes across TippyTap

You might be wondering how come I switched my post article for this month from geology to health and sanitation. Well don't forget! Everything in life is interconnected - Wars, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, disease outbreaks, famine, radio-logical incidents and chemical spills – all are emergencies that, invariably impact on public health and sanitation. Internal emergencies in health facilities – such as fires and loss of power or water – can have adverse impacts on health and hygiene of the people in general. If you have to compare deaths due to natural disasters to loss of life due to poor health, then poor health will overtake the figures of natural disaster death toll [i]. 

Over 1.5 million children under five die each year as a result of diarrhea [ii] and it is the second most common cause of child deaths alone worldwide [iii] compared to average 0.06 million deaths per year from natural disasters. Just washing your hands with soap can cut the figure to almost 30%. Now isn't that amazing! Small interventions and little behavioural change can have such big impacts.

Tippy Tap film has been shortlisted for the 2012 Golden Poo Award. This is an award that works to promote water, sanitation and hygiene through different mediums. This year, the contest is for film shorts and the video has made it to the final round. The winning film receives promotion for Global Handwashing Day and World Toilet Day as well as getting access to groups like DFID and WaterAid.

I hope you will do all your bit to help TippyTap.org raise awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene by just watching the video and also invite others to watch the same, that can SAVE LIVES and SAVE WATER and I am  sure you all will like it. Lets support the initiatives of WMG and Grampari in reaching out to more kids.

Kids enjoying washing hands with the Tippy Tap (Photo Credit: Grampari)

Click on the caption below to visit the website and have access to tones of information on how to make a Tippy Tap and reach out to more people with it. Cheers!!!

(Photo credit: TippyTap.org)

References:

[i] Emergencies: Global and Local Impacts (2009) World Health Organization, 2009, retrieved on September 3, 2012 from <http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2009/emergencies_impact/en/index.html>
[ii] Prüss-Üstün A, Bos R, Gore F, Bartram J.(2008): Safer water, better health: costs, benefits and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health. World Health Organization, Geneva.
[iii] UNICEF (2008). The State of the world’s children.