The town of Harohalli is a 40 minute drive southeast of Bangaluru in south India. On May 10, 2023, a kind person took the time to stop and rescue a bonnet macaque there who was having trouble and clearly wasn’t doing well. She was brought to the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) in Bangaluru, adjacent to the Bannergatta Forest.
There was an uncomfortable swelling on one side of her abdomen. She wasn’t just simply an overweight macaque because the swelling was only on one side. It looked to Dr. Roopa Satish like it might be an intestinal hernia.
At the nearby Zoo hospital at the Bannerghatta Biological Park, Dr. Umashankar and Dr. Vijay took an x-ray and were able to confirm that diagnosis.
Surgery and recovery
The following day, back at the WRRC Clinic, Dr. Roopa and Dr. Nirupama performed surgery, using general anesthesia, to correct the hernia.
All went as planned, the wound healed well, and there were no post-operative complications.
Of course, macaques love fruit and she was kept on a half diet of soft food like banana, papaya, and cucumber. Each day she got better and regained more of her strength.
In just 15 days she was back to feeling fine again, and as macaques tend to do, she removed her own sutures. On June 21, she’ll be taken back home to where she was found in Harohalli to rejoin her family and friends.
Good to go
Thanks to her kind rescuer and the skilled surgical intervention at the WRRC, she’ll be able to live a happy life now, active in the wild and free from pain.
Her condition had been serious. Initially, she may have suffered from a bite or trauma which tore the abdominal muscles, causing significant internal damage. If it hadn’t been corrected, as she grew older, she would have been very susceptible to serious intestinal problems that would only get worse with time. Now she is healed and can live a normal happy life of 20 to 25 years.
Bonnet macaques are native to south India. They are named for the distinct bonnet of fur on the top of their heads.
Dr. Roopa writes, ”We are glad to send her home in 41 days after a major abdominal surgery.”
Congratulations to Dr. Roopa, Dr. Nirupama, and all at the WRRC!
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You can help monkeys like this and other wild animals at the WRRC with your donation. Thank you for caring!
It was a warm, windy day as Varaprasad walked along in the Jigani area near the Bannerghatta Forest. It is an industrial area dotted with occasional acres of grass and a sprinkling of trees. Looking down for no particular reason, he suddenly spotted movement in the grass. There, he was startled to see a baby bird in among the blades of grass.
The baby bird must have fallen out of its nest. He picked up the chick very carefully and looked up to see if he might see the nest in a tree. Unfortunately, the branches were very high up, and there would be no way to put the baby back in its nest even if he could find the nest. The baby seemed weak and exhausted, but not visibly injured.
Holding the bird very carefully, Varaprasad turned around to head straight for the large, enclosed area which is the wildlife rehabilitation center, where thousands of birds and other animals are rehabilitated every year. He is a local wildlife rescuer and has often brought injured or distressed wildlife to the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre).
Inside the Clinic, Dr. Roopa Satish examined the little bird. The young shikra chick weighed 125 grams. There were no visible external injuries. However, Dr. Roopa suspected internal injuries because of the height that the bird must have fallen, and because she was quite weak.
She was able to eat though, and eagerly gobbled down some food which she was handfed. She was very small and still had fluffy down feathers. Every few hours she was fed and had a ravenous appetite.
In a span of just three weeks, she transformed into a grown-up shikra looking very beautiful in adult plumage. If there had been any internal injuries, they had healed and she was feeling strong and alert.
By a happy coincidence, the WRRC, has, at the same time, another young shikra, around the same age, who will be put into an aviary with her. The two will be good companions and will be able to practice flying together, becoming stronger day by day – and getting ready for release back to the wild.
Because they have each other — and their human caregivers are very careful to respect them as wild birds and not interact with them, they will remain wild, will not become tame, and will be able to take up their lives again living free among the trees in the Bannerghatta Forest.
Shikras are accipiters – small hawks distantly related to sparrow hawks. They fly fast and are agile hunters. These are native to India and similar shikras are also found in Africa. They are beautiful, graceful birds – very lively, yet small enough to fly among the tree branches.
By Sharon St Joan
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If you’d like to help these little birds and support charities in India that help the natural world, your donation will go a long way and will be much appreciated! Donations to Forest Voices of India, a 501 C 3 organization – go to help four charities in India.
The Indian spectacled cobra is among the most common snakes in India. In the area of Nisarga, near the Bannerghatta Forest in Karnataka, south India, one of these was found injured on June 6.
On arrival she weighed one kilo (2.2pounds) and had a severe wound to her intestines. Though no one saw how she was hurt, it looked like the kind of accident that could have been caused by an excavation machine doing construction work. She might have been underground when it happened, so the machine operator would not have seen her.
When she was brought to the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) in the Bannerghatta Forest, she wasn’t in very good shape. Dr. Roopa Satish first gave her shots for the pain, to prevent infection, and to stop the bleeding. Then the intestinal wound, which was muddy, had to be rinsed with a saline and antimicrobial solution.
The intestines had to be put back in properly, and then the tear on the skin repaired. A firm bandage was put on the snake. All this was quite exhausting for the snake, and she was placed in a clean vivarium with a heating pad where she could rest and recover in quiet place.
The cobra’s recovery
Because the wound was so serious and the intestines had to be given time to heal, the cobra couldn’t be fed for a while. She was kept on pain killers and strong broad-spectrum antibiotics and given fluids under the skin.
Two days after the surgery, she was beginning to look a bit livelier – even displaying her hood – which was a wonderful, encouraging sign.
Three weeks after the surgery, the wound was healing well, and the cobra is now on her way back to good health. It was an extensive surgery, and it’s good that she’s recovering so well and is on her way to being released.
She’ll still have to wait for one or two sheddings, which could take from one to three months before she can go back to the forest.
Then she’ll be able to resume her life back in the wild, happy to be well and free again – thanks to the skill of the doctors and the excellent care she was given by the WRRC.
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By Sharon St Joan
The photo is of another cobra. Photo credit: Kamalnv, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
After sunset one evening last December, a man who lives in one of the little villages adjoining the Bannerghatta Forest in Karnataka, south India, came across an Indian rat snake in his shed.
Just as he was thinking of releasing the snake back into the forest, he spotted what looked like some abrasions and scratches along the body of the snake.
Not wanting to release a snake who seemed to be injured, he took the trouble to bring the snake to the well-known rehabilitation center that was right nearby – the WRRC, the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.
The snake was shedding her skin
Dr. Roopa Satish, the veterinarian and wildlife rehabilitator at the WRRC, examined the snake closely. She weighed 1.69 kilograms and was shedding her skin. Snakes are always very vulnerable at this time and can be easily injured.
All snake’s eyes have eye caps covering the eyes. Normally, they are transparent, but when the snake is shedding, they become translucent and therefore the snake is almost blind. At this time, the snake was having trouble knowing where she was going and could easily fall prey to an injury, having wandered too close to a building. Maybe she just suffered some scrapes, but she seemed to have been attacked by another animal.
With her assistants helping, Dr. Roopa cleaned the wounds and gently removed the partially shed skin using wet cotton swabs. Some of the wounds were deep enough to require stitches.
Then they administered pain killers, antibiotic injections, and fluids to rehydrate the snake.
Already beginning to feel less in pain, the snake was placed into a clean, dry vivarium, with a heating pad, to rest and recover.
All snakes shed their skin
All snakes molt and routinely shed their skin. How often they shed depends on several factors – like the species, their age, how active they are, and what the ambient temperature is.
Shedding is a very effective way of removing parasites on the body. Every two or three months, when snakes are ready to shed, they may rub their body between two rough stones to help loosen the skin.
During this time, they have poor eyesight and are very vulnerable. They may be attacked by pets or by other wild animals.
Thanks to quick action by the man who found the snake and the excellent care provided by Dr. Roopa and her assistants, the snake has continued to improve.
Back to the wild
Dr. Roopa has monitored the snake’s condition very carefully. She is waiting for the snake to shed one more time before releasing her, and she writes, “She is still with us for the time being and will be released after another shedding so as to allow all her internal and external wounds to heal.”
The snake will most likely be taken back to the same village to the green area just beyond the village, bordering on Bannerghatta Forest.
That was her home and the area that she was familiar with. When Dr. Roopa is satisfied that the snake is fully healed, then she’ll be ready to resume her peaceful life back in the wild, to live free and be happy once again.
Photo credit:dreamstime_s_184422714.jpg The photo is of a different Indian Rat Snake from the one in the news story.
In January 2023, the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) forest cell officers raided an illegal pet traders’ hub in the city of Bangaluru, in the south of India, and rescued ten Alexandrine parakeet chicks.
These are large parakeets native to India. Unfortunately, they are very popular in the pet trade because they are considered to be “talking parakeets.” They are protected under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and it is illegal to take them out of the wild.
The demand for this species is high, and so this raid was intended to send a stern message to poachers.
When the chicks arrived at the WRRC, they were weighed, and their weight was between 110 to 140 grams. Dr. Roopa Satish, the Chief Veterinarian and Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator for the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) and her assistants, examined each chick carefully, looking for any injuries or abnormalities. Then they were dewormed, dusted with an anti-parasite powder, and given fluids.
Next, they were divided into two batches of five chicks each and placed into two spacious cages. There was a wood stand for them to perch on and a heating lamp to keep them safe and snug.
Twice a day, they were handfed with a high-quality bird feed, reconstituted daily with water that was boiled, then cooled. Each chick was fed using a sterile syringe and was then carefully wiped off with lukewarm water.
Wiping them off keeps them safe, free from any ants or other insects.
Learning to eat on their own
After three weeks, their food was reduced just a bit to encourage them to learn to eat by themselves, and they were given plates of delicious fresh fruit.
One of the consequences of the young birds having been kidnapped from their nests and not having spent much time with their parents is that they don’t have very good natural immunity.
Lacking good immunity, they needed to be vaccinated for common poultry diseases. Extra attention had to be paid to keeping them really clean, not handling them except when necessary, and maintaining strict hygienic practices around them.
So far, so good
So far, thanks to all this care and attention – all is going well. They’re showing a good growth rate, their feathers are coming in well, and they are really lively and active.
Very soon, they’ll be ready for the next stage which is flight practice in a large aviary. The aviary will be prepared with lots of branches and other enrichment, then they’ll be moved into their new aviary for the next stage of rehabilitation, which is flight practice. During this time, they won’t be handled at all, but will be left to their own devices, preparing for life in the wild.
There’s a lot for them to learn – vital flight skills, as well as overcoming becoming imprinted on people. They’ll need to develop proper parakeet social skills, so that they’ll fit in well once they’re back in the wild.
There’s an enormous amount for the young parakeets to learn in order to get along well in their flock – the right etiquette and language – plus alarm calls, what predators to watch out for, and courtship behavior.
We might think the life of a bird is simple, but the lives of birds are never simple. Actually, life in the wild is very complex – and it varies with every species.
If all continues to go well, these young parakeets will be all ready in one or two years to be released back into the wild – to live in freedom.
Thanks to the WRRC and everyone there for their care and expertise in getting these parakeets all set for their next adventure – so they can fly free with long, happy lives ahead of them.
Tumkur is a city in south India about an hour north of Bangaluru. There, on September 19, 2022, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) forest cell rescued a large Bengal monitor lizard from poachers. (The photo above is of a different Bengal monitor lizard.)
Dr Roopa Satish, of the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) writes that when poachers tie these beautiful lizards tightly with nylon ropes, the blood circulation is often cut off. Then they may become handicapped and unable to move their limbs. Of course, they can only be released if they can get their limb movement back.
Weighing 4.3 kilos or nearly 10 pounds, the large monitor was thoroughly examined. He had a few wounds and one missing claw. All the wounds were cleaned and dressed and his limbs were gently messaged to restore circulation. He was rehydrated with sub cutaneous fluids, given a shot for pain and also given antibiotics.
He was housed in a large enclosure and given food and water. The big enclosure offered a lot of hiding spaces and space for basking so that he could be comfortable. Because of his size and weight, he was believed to be a male.
As it is for any wild creature, being in captivity was stressful. He was kept in a calm, quiet place away from any human disturbance, so that he would have a chance to rest, to promote his healing and recovery.
Soon, he was feeling much livelier — able to spring into action and to make aggressive sounds when approached. He loved his food and was definitely feeling better.
After a week or so of being under observation in order to rule out any infection, he was taken to a safe protected forest area and released in the presence of forest officials.
Now once again back where he belongs, he is enjoying his freedom in his forest domain.
Photo credit: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons. The photo is of a different Bengal monitor lizard, not the one in the story.
A couple of years back, the Jigni area on the outskirts of the large south Indian city, Bangaluru, was a field where a kind of millet was grown. Now, it has been developed and is filled with homes. On November 29, of this year, a spectacled cobra was spotted who had accidentally entered a family’s house.
The people who lived there were startled by the cobra, and they called a snake catcher to come and catch him.
Sadly, the snake catcher had no experience catching snakes, and he was way out of his depth. He had bought some snake tongs on the internet. Catching snakes is an activity that requires a great deal of knowledge and years of experience. Without meaning to, he injured the snake by clamping down too hard. Hurt and in pain, the snake became aggressive. Afraid and not knowing what to do, the inexperienced snake catcher let go of the snake, leaving the tongs still attached to the snake.
This time the family called an experienced snake catcher, who arrived within an hour, safely removed the tongs, and rescued the cobra. He also took the time to educate everyone present not to use the wrong tools, like the tongs, which are very painful to snakes. He then, in the middle of the night, brought the injured cobra to be cared for at the WRRC center in Bangaluru (the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre), where all kinds of wildlife in distress are treated with great kindness and expertise.
Dr. Roopa Satish, the Chief Wildlife Rehabilitator, examined the cobra that weighed 740 grams, about one and a half pounds.
Luckily, there were no spinal injuries. The cobra was given pain killers and fluids, and the wound was thoroughly cleaned and dressed.
He was moved into a clean vivarium with a bowl of fresh water and a heating pad and left in peace and quiet to recover.
Happily, within two days, the cobra had much improved and began looking for a way to escape from his vivarium.
All animals, whether wild or domestic, are, by nature, innocent. They defend themselves if attacked and, of course, they seek food to eat. But they do not act out of malice or viciousness.
Once the relevant Forest Department permissions are obtained, the cobra will be released in the second week of December in a good habitat away from both people and housing developments.
Thanks to human beings who cared, he’ll be free to enjoy the rest of his life in a suitable wild area, as nature intended.
Photo credit: Kamalnv, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons The photo is of a different cobra.
On the night of July 6, 2022, a young spotted owl lost her footing and tumbled from a tree in Bangaluru, a big city in south India. Perhaps she had been startled by a group of songbirds that sometimes harass these small owls at twilight.
This was in the Basavanagudi section of the city, an old, very charming area with beautiful temples and colorful markets. Passersby, seeing her fall and remain lying on the ground, rushed to her rescue. She didn’t seem to be able to get up by herself and looked like she needed help.
One of these good samaritans knew just where to take her. They picked her up very carefully and rushed her to the WRRC – the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. The well-known wildlife center is located in Bannerghatta Forest, south of Bangaluru.
When they arrived, the little owl, just eight inches in height, was turned over to Dr. Roopa Satish, the Chief Veterinarian and Wildlife Rehabilitator and her capable assistants. They take care of hundreds of orphaned and injured wildlife every year, with the goal of releasing them back to the wild.
They noted immediately that she was a juvenile with her soft, fluffy, downy feathers still present. She was stressed, dehydrated, and no doubt wondering what was happening to her. She weighed 100 grams. Dr. Roopa examined her very thoroughly, noting that her right wing had an injury. There were no broken bones, but she had fallen from a great height and that could result in organ damage. She might have internal trauma.
For fifteen days, she was on medications, kept warm with heating pads, and handfed in order to coax her to start feeding on her own.
Since owls are nocturnal, she was fed in the evening. During the day, she was left completely undisturbed, in complete darkness and quiet – to have a chance to recover in peace.
She improved markedly, and within a month after arrival, she was much brighter. Her wing wound had healed, her appetite was good, and she was eating on her own, which was a joy to see.
Moved to a larger aviary, she was able to begin to practice flying again.
Her caregivers had made sure that she had a lot of hiding spaces so she could be completely hidden during the daytime, only coming out during the night. She was so well hidden that sometimes they even wondered if she might have escaped. But the presence of down feathers shed on the floor and her empty plate of food were clear signs that she was right there and doing well.
In the fall, as was normal, there were continuous heavy rains, so she couldn’t be released just yet.
Finally, on the night of December 1, 2022, she was released in the presence of the forest officials who had been specially invited to come to the center at dusk to witness the release.
She flew up vertically, effortlessly taking off like helicopter from the basket, which was placed on the ground, and disappeared into the fading light.
An innocent being gone back to the wild, thanks to the caring and expertise of the WRRC, and the wide circle of those who help in so many ways.
Over two years ago, in April of 2020, two Giant Indian Fruit Bats were rescued from Bangaluru City, in south India, and brought to the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre).
Both are males that weighed 390 grams and 410 grams (nearly one pound each).
The Covid 19 pandemic had just begun, and sadly, along with it, came false rumors that the disease was being spread by bats.
Worldwide, some people responded with cruelty toward bats. Bats are, of course, beneficial to the natural world, not harmful.
One of the bats had been kept, inappropriately, as a pet, but was promptly released with the advent of covid.
The other bat was wild and had been attacked and injured by people who mistakenly thought that bats can cause covid.
Both bats were left injured. They have irreversible wing injuries and are unable to fly, so they cannot be released back to the wild.
They are quiet, shy creatures who enjoy hiding in safe places. Dr. Roopa Satish, the Head Wildlife Rehabilitator, along with the staff of the WRRC have created a number of special safe hiding places for them. They are housed together and have become good friends.
They are given a wide variety of fruit, which they really enjoy. Their time is spent watching the activity in the forest and in the sky, of birds and other wild creatures.
In the wild, fruit bats are very social animals that enjoy living together in large social groups. They sleep during the day and wake up at twilight to begin to fly in search of food. An amazing sight to watch as they soar past the trees with their huge wings stretched out; their wing span is about five feet.
Like mammals generally, fruit bats are not natural fliers. They can fly only when they take off from a height, but if they get stranded on the ground, they can’t just take off again, but first need to climb a tree and then after reaching the top will be able to take off in flight.
When they are resting, fruit bats hang upside down. A good sense of smell helps them with locating fruit trees. They also see well and have good hearing, but they are missing the sonar that insect-eating bats have.
Thankfully, these two bats were rescued by kind people and then cared for by the WRRC. They’re able to live their lives in peace and security in the re-assuring presence of the nearby forest and each other.
Photo credit: Praveenp, CC BY -sa 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
How you can help
You can help the orphaned or injured wildlife at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre near Bangalore, India, where so many wild animals are cared for. Thanks to the expertise of the WRRC veterinarians and caregivers, most can be released to live out their lives in freedom back in their wild habitat.
Please find the donate button on the right, at the top. Thank you for giving!
Early in July, a young male spotted deer was rushed to the WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre) in Karnataka, in south India.
The young deer arrived in very bad shape, having been attacked by dogs. He had been rescued by kind people who found him near the city of Doddaballapur, an industrial city just north of Bangalore. Seeing that he was badly hurt, they knew he needed to go to the WRRC to receive urgent care.
When he arrived, suffering from many bite wounds, he was treated under general anesthesia. However, he experienced huge blood loss caused by the wounds, and this slowed down his recovery from the anesthesia.
It was only due to the skill of Dr. Roopa Satish and her assistants that they were able to save him.
They gave him intravenous fluids and other emergency medications to stabilize and revive him. Unfortunately, all this happened at a time when the weather was cooler than normal and there had been a lot of continuous rain. This cool spell reduced the body temperature of the deer, and he was in grave danger of hyperthermia. They placed an infrared lamp close by to raise his body temperature.
Fortunately, after sundown, after about four hours, he began to regain consciousness, but he was still too weak to stand up. They were greatly relieved though to see that he was awake.
Dr. Roopa and his caregivers changed his position and made him comfortable for the night.
Night near the forest
The WRRC Rehabilitation Centre is located in a very beautiful wild forest called the Bannergatta Forest. It’s quite a large center with very sturdy enclosures, and the whole area is enclosed too, so there is no danger from forest wildlife that wander by during the night. That night was no exception. The deer, who was a newcomer, had attracted the attention of wild leopards who had walked around not far from his enclosure. However, they couldn’t get too close, and the deer remained unaware of them. The leopards left their footprints in the earth that could be seen in the morning.
During the night, the young deer had started to feel much better – well enough to get up, walk around, munch on some green grass, and drink loads of water. Noticing all this in the morning, Dr. Roopa and her assistants were happy. For the first time, they were able to feel that he would survive and be okay.
Dr. Roopa writes, “After a week today, he is much stronger, hates his injections and resists any antiseptic sprays we try to spray on his wounds. He is a very chill and calm deer unlike a wild one.”
The deer had been taken out of the wild
Normally a wild deer would be highly nervous and stressed by the presence of humans. “But,” Dr. Roopa writes, “this fellow may have been handreared by humans, losing his instinctual fear of humans and dogs and so was not alarmed by dogs which chased and bit him viciously.” Being raised in captivity had caused his life to get off to a really bad start.
Something had gone terribly wrong at the beginning of this young deer’s life.
It’s not certain exactly what caused this young deer to be in captivity, but what sometimes happens with young fawns is that people come across them where they have been left to wait for their mother who will return to feed them. Not knowing that it is normal for the fawn to be alone for a few hours, people try to “rescue” them. The poor fawns end up being held for some time in captivity – where they cannot develop the skills they need for life in the wild. Then they are subject to hazards, like dog attacks.
Expected to be okay
“Now,” Dr. Roopa explains, “we will have to slowly make him wild and shy again by not interacting with him, keeping him apart from humans, and giving him his complete privacy. Slowly over a long period of time he should get the message that he is a wild creature unlike humans and that he cannot approach or trust humans or any other animal. This could take from six months to up to two years. Hopefully, we we will be successful in rehabilitating him back in the wild where all wild animals belong.”
Thank goodness, the deer was brought to the WRRC, where he can receive appropriate care.
If only the first people who came across him when he was found initially had known in the beginning to call and seek assistance from the WRRC, his story might have had a much happier start. They could have left him where he was, waiting for his mother, as was normal.
However, thanks to the expert care that he will receive now, he stands a good chance to recover completely, to be able to gain all the skills he’ll need to live back out in the forest.
Saving many thousands
Whatever country you live in, if you ever come across a very young deer, please contact a licensed wildlife center before trying to help. In many cases, a young fawn is just waiting for his mother and may not need help at all.
Because of their extensive expertise and training, Dr. Roopa and all the caregivers at the WRRC are able to save the lives of many thousands of injured wild creatures.
The WRRC is an amazing place of healing for wild animals.
Assuming all goes well, the young deer will, when he is ready and equipped with good survival skills, be released to live a life of freedom, among the trees, birds, and streams, at peace in the beauty of Bannergatta Forest.
How you can help
If you’d like to help give a young deer or another animal a new chance at life, please look for the donate button, above on the upper right! Thank you!
