protection of ecosystems Archives - The Sacred Groves

Efforts You Can Make to Help in Wildlife Protection in Your Area

Monisha Krishna — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 11:30:11 +0000

A world that we wish for our children to inherit should be a world that has its natural ecosystems in place. Wildlife protection is the need of the hour, and every person is accountable for it by adopting a more humane and responsible way of life. There are some easy measures you can take to protect wildlife in your city or county, such as:

* Protect the environment to protect wildlife.
Every step you take impacts the world at large, so it’s always better to make every action a positive one. It begins with protecting your immediate environment and adhering to laws and rules about conservation to ensure a litter-free, plastic-free zone in your neighbourhood. The cleaner and greener the environment, the better for the animal and bird kingdom at large. The next step is to be as non-intrusive as possible when visiting natural reserves and national parks – this includes avoiding littering, making noise or interfering with the animals’ way of life. Other steps you can take include saving use of fuel whenever possible, recycling and reducing waste, eliminating plastic usage in everyday life, switching to sustainable cleaners that do not impact marine ecology, and participating in, or organising regular trash clean-ups in your home or office neighbourhood.

* Get information about local conservation and protection efforts.
Your local area or even the city at large has organisations working tirelessly in the arena of wildlife protection and environmental conservation. Most of them require volunteers, donations in cash or kind, and a constant stream of ancillary resources to continue their work. You can get information about local efforts being made to protect animals and birds, and ally with the causes that resonate with you the most.

For example, the Government of the United Arab Emirates has implemented strict measures to protect wildlife in the UAE. Wildlife protection laws in the country extend to the conservation of natural ecologies for the benefit of wildlife such as the red fox, Asiatic caracal, striped hyena, Brandt’s hedgehog, cape hare, sand cat and Arabian leopard, among others. These measures encompass steps such as protecting plant species, preventing dumping in the sea, reducing plastic use, creating nature reserves, and generating environmental awareness among residents. UAE residents are invited to become part of these initiatives and to volunteer resources and time wherever possible.

* Learn more about species in peril.
Every region has some threatened or imperiled species that need help from becoming extinct. Positive human intervention in the form of supporting policies and creation of funds to protect wildlife in the area can go a long way in helping these species. But the first step is to know which species are in peril. You can find out more from your local municipal office, or the nearest national park, or even local organisations in your area that work to protect wildlife and plant ecosystems. Next, you can spread awareness about them, and follow environment-friendly measures to curb further threats.

* Protect your property, but not at the cost of wildlife.
It helps to be kind to all living beings, and avoiding the use of high voltage electric fences, snares and traps to catch animals roaming into one’s property, or impacting crops, is a good measure. Whenever possible, advocate the use of cruelty-free measures to prevent animals from causing agricultural or property damage. Further, do take animals and birds injured in snares to the nearest vet for immediate treatment and to be released back into the wild.

Which other measures can individuals take to protect animals and plants in their area? Tell us in the comments section below.

The post Efforts You Can Make to Help in Wildlife Protection in Your Area appeared first on The Sacred Groves.

ReWild:Life

Monisha Krishna — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 08:42:41 +0000

Naturalist and amateur wildlife photographer Devendra Singh documents the return of species of mammals, birds and butterflies to the urban forests of Delhi in the last eight years since efforts have been made to protect and rewild them. The photo essay gives reason to hope that rewilding will ultimately result in lost species reclaiming lost habitats…

We think of Delhi as a concrete jungle, which, indubitably, it is. However, the city is on the tail end of the Aravallis and their forests, many of which are, happily, in different stages of rewilding. Recent surveys of these forests show that they harbour an astonishingly rich diversity of wildlife with relatively high densities of mammals in non-protected areas. As someone who has been documenting life in these forests over the last few decades, I have, in recent times, chronicled many species that used to be rare to find and can now be spotted.

This beautiful female Sambar deer took me by surprise on a morning walk in the Central Delhi Ridge, part of a critical wildlife corridor that stretches to Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Conservationists attest that this was the first time in 20 years that this species has been seen in Delhi and its environs. The mammal was very shy and as soon as I started photographing it, it jumped over a five-foot adjacent wall and disappeared into the forest area. I spotted the deer at least thrice and was able to capture its beauty twice.

I encountered this handsome Golden Jackal on a morning walk in the Central Ridge. This wolf-like canid is an opportunistic predator and a scavenger. India’s ancient texts, the Jakatas and the Panchatantra, paint it to be highly intelligent and wily. Even with its intelligence, it could not cope with the loss of habitat around Delhi and was seldom spotted till recently. Now, its population has doubled in Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, a rewilded area on the outskirts of Delhi.

This is a Black Hooded Oriole, once a rare sighting in Delhi. Over the decades, as Haryana’s Aravallis suffered rapid deforestation to become one of the most degraded forests of India, these stunning yellow birds became rarer and rarer till they disappeared. With focus back on the preservation, protection and regeneration of ecosystems, the habitats around Delhi once again offer a good habitat for these birds and Black Hooded Orioles are once again being sighted by birdwatchers across Delhi.

When I reported a sighting of the charismatic Indian Pitta in 2012, it was the first time in almost 40 years that Delhi NCR had witnessed this migratory bird which stops in northern parts of India seeking a conducive habitat for mating. The pitta is a wondrous bird, its plumage has nine colours and its call always transports me to another world! Seeing this bird once stays with you forever and you want to witness it again and again. Seeing it so close to my home brings me pure happiness. Thanks to the increasing cover of trees endemic to the dry Delhi biome, it has become a regular visitor.

The lifespan of butterflies is very short but they are vital indicators of habitat regeneration and resurgence of flora and fauna. This lovely creature is the Indian Fritillary Butterfly. Until a few years ago, it was a rare sight in Delhi. Now, ever since its habitats are better protected and host and food plants have been reintroduced, it has once again become a common visitor to the capital.

The growing awareness about the conservation and protection of Delhi’s urban forests is a welcome breath of fresh air for conservationists and wildlife lovers like me. Much more needs to be done but I am happy that in my years as a chronicler of the city’s animals, I have got to see some of these amazing species return to their lost habitats.

Author: Devendra Singh, The India Story Agency for Sacred Groves
Images Credit: Devendra Singh

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