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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
© Copyright Forest Voices of India, 2022
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.
Photo credit: Photo 32814694 / Spotted Owlet © Panuruangjan | Dreamstime.com. This is another spotted owl.
© Copyright Forest Voices of India, 2022
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By Sriya Narayanan
Once a sparkling village bustling with biodiversity and economic activity, Nenmeli in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, had watched its green cover fade over the years.
The village lands deteriorated over time
A grueling water scarcity issue followed. Young residents were forced to migrate to cities to look for work and the elderly stayed behind. Over time, the hill and the land near the village became barren. “What was a hundred acres came down to two or three acres,” says Dr Sudhakar, Director, CPR Environmental Education Centre.
Dr Sudhakar with folk art
Dr Sudhakar, who has been coordinating efforts to restore groves such as these since 1993, explains that many villages in South India have a tradition of demarcating specific forests as divine, particularly those attached to temple land, in order to safeguard the wildlife and trees, while also ensuring the ecological balance of the area. “In fear and favor of God,” he says, adding that the religious attachment is far more than mere symbolism, but a way to protect a precious ecosystem by tying it into practices that eventually become a way of life.
Over many years, Mr. R. Selvapandian of CPREEC (now retired) directly managed the work on the sacred groves, spending many months or years on each site, overseeing all aspects of the restoration from start to finish.
Mr. Selvapandian and Dr. Nanditha Krishna
Restoring the forests
In general, when CPREEC restores sacred forests, (they have so far restored 53 sacred groves), they rely on accounts from the village elders to be able to replant exactly the same trees that were there previously. However, in the case of Nenmeli, there was no living memory of the very ancient forest and the tradition of worship from the past. The degradation of the forest that had taken place over time had left a barren, lifeless hillside, surrounded by acres of land that had also deteriorated. The village leaders asked CPREEC to restore the ancient land, as closely they could, to what must have been there in the past, so that it could once again be a place of great beauty, peace, and spiritual connection.
A protective deity
It is common for villages to have a ‘kaaval deivam’ (Tamil for protective deity) that safeguards the village, and conduct annual festivals to worship and celebrate the deity. The village people feel enormous respect for their sacred groves. In reality, taking care of these groves is also an act of self-preservation, for there is a ripple effect in the way it sustains human well-being.
Seeking recovery
When villagers from Nenmeli approached CPREEC’s Sacred Grove Restoration Project in 1995, they were looking to inject new life into the land that had become barren and give it a fighting chance at recovery. Dr Sudhakar and his team took on the responsibility and followed a standard process that involves carefully planned planting projects and a three-year maintenance program after which the management of the restored land is handed back to the villagers.
Trees of Nenmeli
He differentiates CPREEC’s planting efforts from similarly well-intentioned, but misguided attempts where corporate organizations might plant saplings without adequate thought to their future caretaking or the suitability of those species to the area. The Sacred Grove Restoration Project, in contrast, takes care to aim for and achieve a 90% survival rate for the newly planted vegetation, bringing it to a point where it is self-sufficient.
The whole village is involved
Another important feature of the Project is the wholehearted and spirited contribution of the village’s residents to the restoration. The locals were instrumental, for instance, in cultivating a flourishing herbal garden while the entire village community took avid interest in CPREEC’s extensive training program. “We raised awareness on soil conservation and the water table and took these educational materials to schools and colleges as well,” says Dr Sudhakar. He upholds Nenmeli as a model eco-village and reveals that the concerted effort included walling the hillock in the center of the grove in the form of check dams and trenches to prevent soil erosion and desilting the two water-tanks attached to it.
He’s delighted to describe how the well in the area soon saw more than eight feet of water during even the driest of summers and how an erstwhile four acres soon blossomed into 25 acres. His favorite observation, however, pertains to the wildlife that silently and eagerly crept back into the now-replenished grove. “Porcupines, snakes, hares, and rabbits… oh, and as many as 39 varieties of birds!” he says of the result.
Once considered eccentric
He recalls how he and his ilk were considered eccentric back in the late eighties when they started sounding the warning signs about environmental disasters and how it took several decades for the restoration movement to finally gain force. With the guidance of CPREEC co-founder Dr. Nanditha Krishna, his team soldiered on, determined to give back to Mother Earth in exchange for everything she had provided us. “It was a mission, so one does not give up. We’ve come full circle,” he says, referring to how students as young as 18 are taking an interest in environmental protection today and how there’s a significant demand for conservation efforts.
He also speaks of how the government allows the Project to develop the land and provides funding for its maintenance. “The amount spent is more than worthwhile, given its priceless benefits to society,” he says, elaborating that the carbon sequestering properties of these trees is of particular importance.
Despite having worked on these projects for over three decades, Dr Sudhakar is untiring in his efforts, drawing inspiration from Nature itself. He marvels at its ability to come back to life from apparent extinction and take care of itself – and all of us – simply by being given the space and time to exist undisturbed. Meanwhile, Nenmeli’s Sacred Grove Restoration Project is now a success story that inspires many others to dream of the same possibility for their own hometowns, and a living, breathing reminder, that when we put our minds to it, life as we once knew it, can begin all over again.
Photos:
Top photo: Dr. Sudhakar / The restored sacred grove of Nenmeli
Second photo: Sharon St Joan / Dr Sudhakar, holding a sculpted bird, the artwork of island young people
Third photo: Sharon St Joan / Mr. Selvapandian and Dr. Nanditha Krishna
Fourth photo: Dr. Sudhakar / The planted trees of Nenmeli, now around thirty years old
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© Forest Voices of India, 2022
How to help
CPREEC’s (CPR Environmental Education Centre) work helps restore the natural beauty and health of India’s ancient forests, while guiding young people toward careers that benefit both their own future and the world of nature.
You can help! Click on the donate button, above and to the right.
Thank you so much!
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