In September 2012, a group of concerned citizens led by photographer Mahesh Bhat, who lives near the Hesaraghatta grasslands in Bangalore had initiated an online campaign to save 300 acres from getting converted into a film city. Earlier, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had planted several thousand saplings in almost half of the grassland (See ‘Killing a Grassland‘). The misguided seemingly good-intentioned approach was stopped thanks to an outcry from conservationists in the city but not before considerable … Read More
Sloth bear cub trapped in snare — Rescued by Wildlife SOS & Karnataka Forest Department
In the early hours of 3rd December 2012, Wildlife SOS team in Bangalore headed by veterinarian Dr. Arun A Sha received an SOS call from the DFO Tumkur Division, Karnataka Forest Department about a sloth bear trapped in a snare. This was a very unusual case and we had little time to lose. The location was about 2-hours from Bangalore city (about 150 kms) in a village situated in Tumkur division.
The Wildlife SOS team from the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue … Read More
Awareness Programmes on Urban Biodiversity – Bangalore, Oct 4-7 2012
As a run-up to the UN’s convention on biodiversity, the 11th Conference of the Parties, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Bangalore, Citizen Matters and Red Frames are organising the following awareness programmes on biodiversity in Bangalore from October 4 to 7.
- Talk on ‘Nature in the City: how people shape and are shaped by biodiversity in Bangalore”, by Harini Nagendra, Ramanujam Fellow, ATREE, on October 4.
Growing Metros Choking Lakes
Under the pretext of development, lakes in cities like Bangalore are getting choked by the construction of lake view apartments (as in the picture). There is an urgent need to preserve water bodies including the adjoining catchment areas, if we are to find some solution to our water crisis. The biodiversity of these ecosystems is also under threat. The checkered keelback (Xenochropis piscator) in the picture is living on the edge, literally.… Read More
Buzzard and Earth Mover, Hesaraghatta
This image was made a few months back during the winter in Hesaraghatta, a lake on the outskirts of Bangalore city. The habitat is basically a grassland and semi shrub vegetation. During winter a large variety of birds such as kestrel, harriers (marsh, pied, montagu’s and pallid), common stonechat, steppe eagle, greater spotted eagle, zitting cisticola etc., migrate to this small area. Many months ago, the local development body had proposed to build a theme park this area – a … Read More
Being Human
This was photographed early in the morning at Nandi hills (near Bangalore), a good birding destination with an evergreen forest patch on the top.
A Bonnet Macaque that lives in the wild, with no human interaction is a docile, shy creature. As a stark contrast, the ‘monkey’ that all city-folk know exhibits the exact opposite behavior – aggressive, thieving, angry, and dangerous even. The way this intelligent, curious species has adapted itself to whatever environment it has been introduced to … Read More
Long-billed Vulture Chick, Ramanagara, Karnataka
The welcome sight of a Long-billed Vulture chick on the crags of Ramanagara signal some hope for the augmentation of the very low population of this bird in the south of India. As of now, the number of Vultures at this location seem to have dwindled from thirteen, a year or two earlier, to only nine or ten. The painkiller chemical, Diclofenac, which is still not banned for human use, has decimated the population of Long-billed Vultures across the Indian … Read More
Duck Hunting At Karenahalli Kere, Bangalore
At around 11 a.m. on the Bangalore Bird Race Day, Suma Rao, Gayathri Naik, Garima Bhatia, Jainy Maria and I were birding at Karenahalli kere, one of the lakes off Kanakapura Road, just past Somanahalli in the outskirts of Bangalore. Our attention was focussed on a flock of about 30-35 lesser whistling teals, when we heard a gunshot, and the entire flock took to the air. Right across the lake from us, we could see a lone injured duck flapping … Read More
Lesser Florican Sighted In Bangalore After A Century!
Out on a cold gloomy morning with the intent of photographing birds, Mr. Raghavendra Bhat sat in his car in the outskirts of Bangalore, waiting for the sun to warm up the day. As the day brightened-up in about 20 minutes, he observed a medium sized bird cross the kuchha road in front and walk into the grass. At first, he thought it to be a juvenile junglefowl, but on seeing the structure of the head, he thought it could … Read More
Killing a Grassland, Hesaraghatta, Bangalore
There is an urgent conservation issue related to the Hesaraghatta grasslands in NW Bangalore. Of all places in Bangalore, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) selects possibly the last remaining grassland to go on a tree-planting overdrive. Using bulldozers, close to 30,000 pits have been dug and most of them planted. The media coverage was helpful and possibly aided in putting a halt to the digging but almost 200 acres of prime grassland is dug and gone — unless the saplings … Read More
Leopard Runover by Truck on Bangalore NICE Road, Feb 2011
A leopard was run over by a heavy vehicle on the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Road, connecting Bannerghatta Road and Kanakapura Road. It shows how much the urban sprawl have begun infringing on wildlife habitat. Forest officials and the Bannerghatta police, who visited the spot visit in the morning, said that the leopard sustained head injuries and died on the spot. The forests urban department which has ordered a probe is in the process of identifying the vehicle from … Read More
Leopard Runover by Truck on Bangalore NICE Road
A leopard was run over by a heavy vehicle on the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Road, connecting Bannerghatta Road and Kanakapura Road. It shows how much the urban sprawl have begun infringing on wildlife habitat. Forest officials and the Bannerghatta police, who visited the spot visit in the morning, said that the leopard sustained head injuries and died on the spot. The forests urban department which has ordered a probe is in the process of identifying the vehicle from … Read More
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