Butterflies from Hyderabad

Crocodiles in India

                                         India is home to a wide variety of reptiles,and  is no lagging behind in the case of crocodiles also. India is home to 3 species of crocodiles, Mugger Crocodile (one in above picture), Salt water crocodile and Gharial. Mugger crocodile is a  fresh water species  and its habitat spread through out India. But the latter two species are facing serious survival problem. Salt water crocodile ones spread through out India, now shrink to few healthy habitats. Gharial also known as Ganges/chambal river crocodile is estimated to around 400 wild population as per latest census. Even strict conservation measures are taken to prevent the loss of this unique indian species, chances of survival is very tough as there are only breeding grounds available.

                  Encroachment and habitat destruction are the major reason for rapid reduction in crocodile numbers. Climate change also contributes to this account as the season and resulting flood completely washing new born crocodiles. Only few of them survives which may in future would end up their life in some fishing nets. Direct evidence of poaching nowadays reduced great extent but in the past it was the main reason in wiping out this magnificent creature many part including Kerala. Early in 20th century, salt water crocodiles were present in Kandal(mangroves) region in Kumarakom-Thanneermukkom area. Last known record corresponds to one shot from Thaneermukkom. Muggers were present in chinnar-pampar river systems now greatly reduced or may be locally extinct as they move downwards towards Koottar (Amravathy dam ).

Cattle Egret

My Photoblogging Site

It's been very long time, Since I published a post here. You can check out my pics in my photo blogging site.

Exploring Periyar Tiger Reserve-vol 1

My fourth visit in the last 3 months to one of India's richest wildlife sanctuary both in terms of income and biodiversity was certainly one of the best i recently had.Periyar Tiger Reserve [PTR] is one of the best managed tiger reserve in the country and its action plan is famous 'Periyar Model 'which become the model for many other reserves in the country by involving local communities and tribes.Periyar Tiger Reserve known for the world as Thekkady[Teak plantation] attracts thousands of tourists and researchers across the globe for decades.Last year around 6.5 lakh tourists visited the place.There are many eco tourism programs there other than just boating.But if you want to explore its complete wilderness,you will need a 1000 years to spend there.

Traveling to PTR took only 3.5 hours from my home and i usually travel with my friend rony in my bike.This time i am with my old class mates from Bharananganam,Karthik.Sooraj & Ebin.We reached thekkady by 12' O clock and greeted by a gang of monkeys out there.Bonnet macaque [common monkey] which is found almost every tourist place india is first wildlife which catches our attention here.You can spot Nilgiri Langur which is ones locally extinct here in the upper branches of trees near the Information centre.During my visit in May,there was no sign of a Langurs in the tourism area,but once the monsoon came there are large numbers of such Langurs came to this area.You can spot sambar deer,barking deer and malabar giant squirrel while you traveling from the check post to the boat landing area.I just wanted to keep your eyes open and be a good listener,then you won't be disappointed.

We started our trek @ 12.45 after filling up the forms and putting trekking socks to prevent leach bite.It's always advisable to wear trekking socks during the monsoon.We crossed the periyar lake via mulachangadam[boat made of bamboo tied together] which is tied to a tree on other side.We are accompanied by forest watcher Aravindan.He was a nice person who knows the depth and breadth of the forest.As we walked through the semi-evergreen forest,we heard a large cry like sound.We walked towards the sound along the trek path,we saw a group of Great Pied Hornbills sitting in the upper branched of a big tree.Periyar harbors a good number of such endemic birds.As we proceed further we came across the skeleton and body parts of a baby tusker which was killed by Kolavilikomban,a lone tusker in musth .It's found that the rouge tusker was responsible for the death of about 7 female elephants and a baby tusker.We followed the trek path towards the Nellikkampathy .A huge monitor lizard was lying on the forest floor jumped out when it happened to see intruders in its territory.There were amazing bird sightings too.Scarlet minvet,white bellied treepie,malabar grey hornbill ,purple heron were the main sightings of the day other than numerous darters,kingfishers and commorants which can be seen on the old trees in the lake.We saw tiger scratch marks on several occasions which remind us the phantom of the forest.Aravindan told that he saw a full grown tiger from Nellikkampathy vayal about a months back. We saw tracks of Elephants and Gaurs throughout the trek.Luck was not there with us this time maybe because of wrong time chosen.Even though the sightings was poor i still have an affection on Periyar Tiger Reserve .I promised Aravindan that i will be soon back for a detailed trip,till then good bye!!

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHS

1,Southern Flying lizard (Draco dussumieri)
2,Malabar Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
3,Indian Bison (Bos gaurus)
4,Great Commorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Western Ghats-Biodiversity!

The Western Ghats, extending along the west coast of India, covers an area of 180,000 square kilometers The Western Ghats comprises the major portion of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Hotspot, one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots for conservation and one of the two on the Indian subcontinent. The area is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. Although the total area is less than 6 percent of the land area of India, the Western Ghats contains more than 30 percent of all plant, fish, herpetofauna, bird, and mammal species found in India. Like other hotspots, the Western Ghats has a high proportion of endemic species. The region also has a spectacular assemblage of large mammals and is home to several nationally significant wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and national parks
Biodiversity

In the Western Ghats, the Agasthyamalai Hills in the extreme south are believed to harbor the highest levels of plant diversity and endemism at the species level. Nearly 87 percent of the region’s flowering plants are found south of the Palghat Gap (37 percent being exclusive to this sub-region); these figures decrease to about 60 percent and 5 percent, respectively, in the Nilgiri Hills. There are more than 450 known bird species from the hotspot, of which about 35 are endemic.These includes Malabar grey hornbill,Wynadu laughing thrush,Grey headed bulbul,Malabar lark,Malabar barbet etc. The hotspot is home to about 140 mammal species,about which 20 are endemic to this region.Among the mammals there are species like Lion tailed macaque,Nilgirir langur,Nilgiri Tahr,Malabar civet,Nilgiri marten etc are made western ghats there own abode.This region is also home to about 260 species of reptiles of which 90 are endemic.130 species of about 175 of amphibians are unique to western ghats.Among endemics about 80 species are in the threatened category. A new amphibian species Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis recently discovered from kerala. Amphibian extinctions are also relatively well documented, with some 20 historically recorded extinctions. Nearly 140 of more than 190 species of strictly freshwater fishes are endemic to the hotspot.Chalakudy river which originates from anmalai hills supports the largest fish fauna in the country.

Conservation
Less than fifteen percent of the Western Ghats is protected in 20 national parks and 68 sanctuaries. Considering IUCN categories I-IV, which offer a higher level of protection, the figure drops to around 11percent, according to the World Database on Protected Areas. Thus, the protected area network is far from complete. One way of ensuring that the network of protected areas adequately conserves biodiversity is through the identification and conservation of “Key Biodiversity Areas” (KBAs). These are globally important sites for biodiversity conservation, defined by the presence of irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity: globally threatened species, restricted-range species, and species that concentrate in globally significant numbers. KBAs are biologically meaningful units that can be potentially managed for conservation, defined in a bottom-up, data driven process.
The identification of KBAs in the Western Ghats was initiated in 2003, coordinated locally by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and in collaboration with The Wildlife Conservation Society-India and the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore. Building from preliminary data on Important Bird Areas, compiled by the Bombay Natural History Society, data on globally threatened species of mammals, birds, amphibians, plants, and to a lesser extent, reptiles and fish, were synthesized to identify and delineate 126 KBAs in the Western Ghats. These sites are high priorities for conservation action. KBAs in the Western Ghats will be refined as new and better data become available. Landscape-scale action, through biodiversity conservation corridors, will be necessary for wide ranging species such as the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus, EN), tiger ( Panthera tigris, EN), Asiatic wild dog ( Cuon alpinus, EN), and greater spotted eagle ( Aquila clanga, VU).
Sources : Conservation International
WWF-India
ATREE