A DAY'S HAPPINESS

ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN CLEAN UP

   “We generate our own Environment. We get what we deserve. How can we  resent a life that we have created ourselves? Who is to blame, who is to credit, but us? Who can bring about a change, but us?”

   

          With this aim in mind, the team of W.I.L.D initiated a Lucknow Zoological Garden Clean Up on World Environment Day.

 

Sona (female white tiger)

          Lucknow Zoological Garden, located in the heart of the capital city of Uttar Pradesh is one of the most beautiful zoological gardens of India. The Zoo is being managed as a trust by the Zoo Advisory Committee. It initiated the White Tiger Conservation Project  few years back and today with its efforts the world has managed to save the species. It has lately proposed to start a ‘cell-bank’ or a ‘frozen zoo’ for the conservation of endangered species though the idea is still under consideration.

          The Zoo is home to a large variety of mammals, birds, and reptiles. It receives around 7,00,000-9,00,000 visitors annually who visit the Zoo to appreciate the fauna so beautifully created by God but sadly they are the ones destroying it. The Zoo is facing certain issues which it has been unable to overcome as they are in the hands of visitors. They have become a major concern for the zoo staff. people throwing stones at creatures, breaking the fences and making their way as close to the animals as possible, throwing eatables to the animals, throwing tin cans, plastic bottles etc. in the cages of animals and teasing them are offences which are punishable by law. Several boards reading, “FINE OF RS.2000/- IF CAUGHT TEASING THE ANIMAL” have been put up by the zoo authorities all over the campus, however visitors are fearless of punishment. The Zoo Administration has put a ban on any sort of plastic products inside the campus, but the visitors manage to take in plastic bottles, packets of chips and other non-biodegradable material. The  zoo has been provided with stalls inside the campus which sell products in plastic and non-biodegradable pouches and containers. However, this facility has been provided for the convenience of visitors and its the visitors responsibility not to misuse it by littering the place.

 The overall analysis of this issue proves that these problems can only be solved by individual efforts of visitors.

           To overcome these problems our first step towards cleaning up the Zoo was warmly welcomed by the Zoo staff and the people visiting the Zoo. We started from cleaning up the pavements, the roads that ran across the Zoo, the gardens and the small canteens. Slowly and steadily visitors also stepped forward and helped our team in collecting the litter nearby by handing over the used plastic plates, empty tin cans etc. to us instead of throwing them anywhere else in the campus. In a few hours time we were able to fill three garbage bags and two dustbins with both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

Its time to change now, time to hear the ignored groans of these innocent creatures. The Zoo staff alone cannot handle or be held responsible for everything. It is our city and it is our duty to uplift it from the present day condition. We need to join hands with our Zoo Staff and make our Zoo a Better and a Cleaner place.
 

Every Zoological Garden has the following phrase printed on a mirror at its gate: “WORLD’ S MOST DESTRUCTIVE CREATURE”. Let us not prove this statement right. A little effort for a Greener and Cleaner tomorrow is not much to ask for!

“What’s the use of a Fine House if you do not have a Tolerable Planet to put it on?’’

So DO YOUR BIT TO NURTURE THE WILD, COME SUPPORT W.I.L.D.

                                                                            -Abhinav Kumar Saxena

( President/Founder W.I.L.D)

          -Pratishtha Raj

            ( Member)

We The People

Abhinav K. Saxena- Also known as “President Saab”. Do not be fooled by the lofty title of president, Abhinav is in fact the youngest member of the group! Soft-spoken yet strong willed, he is deeply passionate about the environment and a storehouse of knowledge on all things green. Proud owner of the environment-friendly bicycle, and an aspiring vet, Abhinav makes sure he practices what he preaches.

Parnika Madar- Also known as “PM”. Parnika controls the purse strings of the group. Known for her love of all things canine, Parnika is deeply involved with animal shelter homes. She is responsible for ensuring that there has always been a green buck for the green cause! When not going W.I.L.D., PM prefers writing, heavy metal music, reading novels and the company of her dogs and snakes.

Supriya Swarup- Also known as “Soup”. At first glance, Supriya comes across as an introvert, but crack a joke and you will hear the maniacal screechy laugh that she is known for. Brilliant with words and at art, Soup ensures that the group has the coolest graphics and collateral. Studying to be an architect, she is an ace dancer and has to keep declining offers to dance at weddings!

Radhika Mathur- Also known as “Radz”. Radhika has one of the most dynamic personalities around. It is her job to keep W.I.L.D. in the public eye and is the go-to person for finding the right bargain. On an average day, Radhika “Glee”-fully enjoys social work (for which she has been awarded), singing and yoga! She aspires to become an Audiologist.

Venkatesh Vivek Narain Saigal- Also known as “Venky”. A happy-go-lucky, fun loving guy when you meet him, Venky is in fact sensible and the man who gets things done. Deeply committed to the environment, he uses his aforementioned charm to work around deadlines, tight schedules and budget constraints. A true all-rounder, Venky aspires to be a lawyer.

RECYCLATHON-2012

WILD is organizing an event know as RECYCLATHON-2012

A bit of information regarding Recyclathon 2012 :

1.The main event is a recycling competition. Students as well as elders can take part. All will be provided with recyclable materials,they just have to come and make a product that can be sold at various shops in Lucknow. We will place sample recycled products for all to see and take inspiration from.

2.Apart from the recycling competition,we have a lot of other competitions like quizzes,or making on-the-spot teams/pairs and giving them a topic related to the environment or animals,and the teams need to voice their opinions/suggestions/knowledge about their topic through any medium they're comfortable with- acting,dancing,singing,drawing.

3.There will be a lottery too,and people can look forward to winning great prizes.

4. For all the competitions we'll be having,we have 1st,2nd,3rd and consolation prizes.

5.For all participants (of the recycling competition) we will hand out certificates of participation as well as prizes for the winners.

6.There will be a provision for refreshments,so you can bring over as many people as you want.

7.There will be a band performance at the venue too. Talented musicians like a beat-boxer,a rapper,a vocalist,etc.

Please attend,May 30th, La Martiniere College Lucknow,10 am onwards.

For more information visit:

https://www.facebook.com/Recyclothon2012wild

THE LIVING DINOSAURS

Amongst all the different types of creatures around us, crocodiles are considered to be surviving from the Jurassic -era and so their experience on earth makes them the most deadly creatures. With time, where many of the tallest, biggest, strongest and fastest creatures have been destroyed and been left in nothing more than fossils on earth, this specie has survived  every phase of destruction in all these eras, due to their extraordinary adaptability to their surroundings.

Crocodiles belong to the CROCODYLIDAE family, the Alligators and the Caimans belong to the  ALLIGATORIDAE family while the Gharials belong to the  GAVIALIDAE family. The creatures from the CROCODYLIDAE are considered to be the true crocodiles.

Member species of the family Crocodylidae are aquatic reptiles that live in the tropics in Africa, Asia, America and Australia. Crocodiles are found in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. They feed mostly on vertebrates like fish, reptiles, and mammals and sometimes on invertebrates like molluscs and crustaceans, depending on their species. The crocodiles of that time were lot different than what we see today. They were bipedal and survived on vegetarian diets.

SCTOMATOSUCHUS INERMIS: they were one of the oldest crocodile species surviving on earth. The skeletal structure of the creature was a bit similar to that of the modern crocodiles. Stomatosuchus inermis ("Weaponless mouth crocodile") was an enormous 10 metre long eusuchian crocodyliform from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Egypt. Unlike most other crocodyliforms, it is difficult to determine exactly what S. inermis ate. Its flattened skull had a long, flat, lid-like snout, which was lined with small, conical teeth. The mandible may have been toothless and may have supported a pelican-like throat pouch.

Unfortunately the only known specimen, a large skull, which was collected in German paleontologist Ernst Stromer's Egyptian expedition, was obliterated when the Munich Museum was destroyed during an Allied bombing raid in 1944.

ARCHOSAURS: they came up later in the Jurassic era. They resembled our modern crocodiles much more than any of the dinosaurs before. Archosaurs were a group of diapsid amniotes whose living representatives consist of modern birds and crocodilians. This group also includes all extinct non-avian dinosaurs, many extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosauria, the archosaur clade, is a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestors of living birds and crocodilians. It includes two main clades: Crurotarsi, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives, and Avemetatarsalia, which includes pterosaurs and dinosaurs (of which birds are the only living clade).

MORDERN CROCODILES: The one first appeared during the Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago. They are among the most complex biological creatures surviving on earth. They can survive both on land and in water. The creature is a very good hunter in both kind of ecosystems. Crocodiles are ambush hunters and they normally hunt in water, waiting for fishes or other land animals to come close and then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles are cold blooded creatures and can survive without food.T hey have a very slow metabolism but despite all these flaws they are the top predators on earth. Crocodilians can produce sounds during distress and in aggressive displays. They can also hear well and the tympanic membranes are concealed by flat flaps that may be raised or lowered by muscles.

They feed upon fishes, birds, mammals and sometimes even feed upon small crocodiles.

Size greatly varies between species, from the dwarf crocodile to the saltwater crocodile. Species of Palaeosuchus and Osteolaemus grow to an adult size of just 1 metre (3.3 ft) to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). Larger species can reach over 4.85 metres (15.9 ft) long and weigh well over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lb). Crocodilians show pronounced sexual dimorphism with males growing much larger and more rapidly than females. Despite their large adult size, crocodiles start their life at around 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long. The largest species of crocodile is the saltwater crocodile, found in eastern India, northern Australia, south-east Asia, and in the surrounding waters.

Two larger certifiable records are both of 6.2 metres (20 ft) crocodiles. The first crocodile was shot in the Mary River in the Northern Territory of Australia in 1974 by poachers and measured by wildlife rangers. The second crocodile was killed in 1983 in the Fly River, Papua New Guinea. In case of the second crocodile it was actually the skin that was measured by zoologist Jerome Montague, and as skins are known to underestimate the size of the actual animal, it is possible this crocodile was at least another 10 cm longer.

The largest crocodile ever held in captivity is an Estuarine–Siamese hybrid named Yai , at the famous Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo, Thailand. This animal measures 6 m (19.69 ft) (19 ft 8 in) in length and weighs 1114.27 kg.

Meanwhile, the longest crocodile captured alive is Lolong which was measured 6.096 metres (20 ft 3 in) by a National Geographic team in Agusan del Sur Province, Philippines.

Wildlife experts, however, argue that the largest crocodile so far found in the Bhitarkanika was almost 23 feet (7.0 m) long, which could be traced from the skull preserved by the Kanika Royal Family. The crocodile was shot near Dhamara in 1926 and later its skull was preserved by the then Kanika King. Crocodile experts estimate the animal was between 20 feet (6.1 m) and 23 feet (7.0 m) long, as the size of the skull was measured one ninth of the total length of the body.

There is no such recorded age of crocodiles, but the oldest crocodile that survived in the Australia zoo was recorded to be 130 years of age. This crocodile was rescued by Bob Irwin and Steve Irwin after being shot twice by hunters.

Crocodiles have smooth skin on their belly and side, while their dorsal surface is armoured with large osteoderms. The armoured skin has scales and is thick and rugged, providing some protection. They are still able to absorb heat through this thick, rugged armour as a network of small capillaries push blood through the scales to absorb heat.

Humans are the biggest danger to crocodiles. The crocodiles are hunted by humans for their skin. Their skin is used for making leather products like wallets, briefcases, purses, handbags, belts, hats, and shoes.

THE CHANGE WE LIVE IN

Our urban world grows every day like a menacing, authoritative monster that engulfs all green patches that come in its path and evolves into a more grey concrete jungle that drains out the biodiversity of our once pristine surroundings. Our team saw so many instances where the state of our city’s biodiversity was nothing but deplorable that we felt we had to do something and not just sit idle at our desks. Firstly we wanted support for our hypothesis of the degradation of the natural elements and we decided to observe our environment for clues that gave us solid proofs for the same. Honestly, we were clueless and didn’t know where to begin this daunting task, however with sheer determination and with passion for our surroundings we were able to delve deeper into the concept of local biodiversity and climate change.

The Clouds 180˚ Project-

                                 

                DAY 49                  DAY 97                     DAY 171




(Photographs above were taken by us)

As a simple experiment, we took photographs of clouds everyday for a time span of 180 days and made careful observations by recording the type of clouds seen, made predictions of weather based on it and then checked if these held true with the real weather our place experienced. The photographs were of the sky at a particular time of the day by three of us who lived in distanced regions of the city. When we finally tallied all our observations and recordings we found out that for a majority of cases the weather that the cloud cover promised did not hold true. Also, the piece of sky above Hussainabad, a busy market place lacked cloud coverage as compared to the sky over the Aliganj area which also provided great discrepancies in the amount of rain each of the areas received even though they were situated within the same city. It was disappointing to us as we also did not experience as much rain as we had the year before especially in September.

Shocking yet true, climate change is not something we read in books. It is certainly not that is just happening at the polar ice caps, it’s happening around us, all the time. The next step to combat this sad yet inevitable consequence of our deplorable actions is to determine the carbon footprint of individuals in a community. This would thus help us set a goal for our self so that we could meet the basic well-being of our environment.  

The Climate Watch Program-

As part of the climate watch program, we observed the Asian house Gecko; the common lizard. This included keeping a track of mating calls (a distinct scratching sound against the wall), a rough idea of population density in various environments around the household.

(Places chosen as observation points)

Scientific classification

  Kingdom-Animalia

  Phylum-Chordata

  Class-Reptilia

  Order Squamata

  Genus-Hemidactylus

  Species-H.frenatusHemi

Several national geographic channel episodes and various news channels have already reported instances of animals that have changed their migratory patterns, have reacted to familiar situations in a very unusual manner and have changed their habitats. We went out looking for such proofs in our own homes.

The following inferences were derived-

1.     They love to live in warm, humid conditions especially behind electrical appliances like air-conditioner.

2.     They are active at night and wander close to the light-bulbs where insects smaller than it’s size thrive in abundance and thus feed on them, including moths.

3.     They emit a distinct and periodic scratching noise against the surface to which they cling as part of their mating ritual. However, mating was not observed.

4.     The pestilence caused due to these creatures has increased over the years, summer after summer. The number of the house geckos that are fond of tropical climates has increases significantly.

5.     They mated early in the summer season which is an expected phenomenon due to the effect of increasing temperatures because of climate change.

6.     Also, these lizards have grown more aggressive over the course of time and are not afraid of humans even when they’re standing close, especially in air-conditioned rooms. This can be a result of the effect of climate change that has driven them so cold. If such tiny creatures get so affected by climate change, we can only expect the bigger ones to become more unruly and act weirdly in the days to come.

Understanding our Homes-

We’ve divided Indian households into three classes i.e. Class I, Class II and Class III and then analysed the facilities and basic amenities that are present in their homes and proposed changes and suitable additions to help them mitigate climate change.

Class I- The people who live in mansions, bungalows or cottages that have a garden or too!

Class II- Persons who live in apartments and have community gardens or an array of potted plants.

Class III- People who do not own either a garden or potted plants and live in congested areas.

	CLASS I	CLASS II	CLASS III
Type	Mansions Bungalows Cottages	Flats Penthouses	Individual houses in flea market areas that usually are given out for rent
Free Space	Ample(Gardens, Terraces)	Medium(Balcony, Terraces, Community Gardens)	Limited(Courtyard, Verandah)
Ecological Economics	Can afford eco-friendly devices and systems	Can afford eco-friendly systems	Cannot afford sophisticated eco-friendly systems
Carbon Footprint	Generally, such homes have the most impact on environment(use more resources as they can meet expenses)	Have a somewhat smaller carbon footprint	Have high or low carbon footprints(due to lack of awareness)
Awareness of Environment	Well aware, educated masses.	Aware of consequences of daily actions on the environment	Unaware, least bothered as they are self-engrossed in trying to earn themselves a meal for the day.
Changes that can be made to achieve an eco-friendly goal in the name of the community	Installation of solar systems like solar water heater(Initial costs will be high but will be mitigated in the long run and will reduce expenditure on energy usage) Can install devices such as a stopper in pipes while watering plants so that water is not wasted. A simple rainwater harvesting system that collects water in the terraces and will travel through pipes and into a deep trench or tank in the corner of a garden will be most apt.	Can setup bird feeder mobiles in balconies to feed birds, Potted plants that bear seasonal flowers will do more good than harm. Sophisticated chimneys will go a long way in combating climate change. Rain water harvesting systems that are linked to the houses on each floor can be used to later to wash cars. A pool-in for a solar system might also be beneficial to reducing down energy needs.	Can water trees planted by the local government or NGO with waste water.  Drains can have a net at one end to collect rubbish and the liquid can be used to water roadside plants. Bird feeder mobiles will prove good! Kerosene fuelled stoves can be replaced with stoves that use gobar gas.

We all know that people lead extremely busy lifestyles these days. No body has got the time to do something for the environment. The children are expected to spread awareness but no one pays heed to their pleas. There is no point in actually suggesting changes in a person’s lifestyle. The point is to cleverly make them ‘adapt as we go by’ so that they don’t feel they’re doing any extra work and still render a little help to the environment.

Keeping in mind that everybody knows polythene is harmful and kills our cows by chocking them to death. People continued to buy stuff in them and did not care at all. The initiative of charging money for polythene opened the eyes of the local masses and has proved successful as now no one wants to actually pay more form their pockets for something that can be replaced with free cloth bags available in their own homes.
We propose something similar as the trick is to inculcate a law or policy into the lives of the average man that would bind him to remain committed in good ways that help the environment. Spreading news about how their actions will affect biodiversity and will bring about climate change does nothing. We feel that the more authoritative, educated and responsible governments and NGOs must bring about such projects.

To promote local biodiversity, we would like to propose a project that would benefit birds, butterflies and bees.

The Beautiful Biodiversity Project

         Helping our Bees, Butterflies and Birds

            Why save them? According to the Operation Bee campaign, there are primarily three reasons behind this- 

                  Food Shortage because pollination or seed dispersal does not occur

                  Lack of Biodiversity

                  Economic Crisis

        

Who it involves? The local cleaning body, local government and NGOs, Schools

            What is to be done? A collection of seeds of the plant species that attract bees, birds and butterflies can be done which can be distributed freely to homes who will plant them. An inspection during the course of the season can be done to ensure that this is being followed. Also, in the city, the home with the most eco-friendly adaptations can be handsomely rewarded. This would result in a healthy competition for the greater good.  NGOs can assist the poorer families with this project as something needs to be done until its too late and our future generations no more get to see the sparrows perched on our window sills. 

We suggest planting seasonal plants and trees that would give rise to blooms that would benefit local biodiversity, keeping in my plants that are available with ease in India.

Observations have it that bees are attracted to blue, yellow and purple flowers. They prefer single whorled flowers to multiple whorled flowers. Moreover, a lawn that is excellently manicured will not be as inviting for them as one which has wild shrubbery and the like growing in abundance

Also, butterflies like flowers that have petals that are slightly bigger and in a variety of vibrant colours. Sweet smelling flowers are a favourite source of nectar for them.

          Small birds like sparrows and humming-birds whose populations have had to bear the consequences of climate change and green belt removal within our cities will benefit from trees that have dense foliage for protection of nest. One should try planting these trees where they won’t be subjected to periodic trimming.

REPORT BY OUR MEMBER- NIKITA NAYAK
WITH- ASREEN ABDULLAH, SRISHTI BHATT, ANANYA MATHUR, OSHIN DEEPAK AND SHUBHANGI SAXENA.

THE REPORT WAS DONE FOR THE EARTHIAN PROGRAM BY WIPRO THE REPORT WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE TOP 20 RESEARCH PAPERS AMONG 569 SCHOOLS IN INDIA.. :)

RHINOCEROS

There are five different species of rhinoceros found in different parts of the world, Black rhino, White rhino, Sumatran Rhino, Javan rhino and Indian rhino. The creature is surviving on this earth from the Jurassic era. Fossils are found in many places of the world. The creature is included in the native species of Africa (2) and Southern Asia (3).

SUMATRAN RHINO

                       

The creature has a well built body, and is included in the mammalian class i.e. the female gives birth to the new ones and the baby rhino feeds on the milk of the mother for a certain period of time.

JAVAN RHINO

                                      

The female gives birth to only one child at a time, it is seen that the baby remains with the mother for the first 3 years of his life and after that the mother is ready for a new child. The mother rhino takes good care of the child in all conditions. Looking at the pattern that the mother and the young rhino use while on the move, its easy to determine the difference between the White and the Black rhino. One must not confuse the color of a rhino by the title of their specie; black rhino and white rhino; rhinos are more or less of the same color. As the color of the rhino has no difference as such, this technique can help find the difference. A white rhino mother walks behind its baby to protect its young one, while a black rhino mother walks in front of the young one. Besides this, black rhinos are considered more aggressive than the white rhinos.

WHITE RHINO (CALF WALKING IN THE FRONT)

                  

BLACK RHINO (MOTHER WITH HER CALF)

                 

An average healthy rhino has a protective layer of 1.5-5 centimeter and  weighs about 600 kilograms.

Rhinos have very small legs as compared to their large and heavy bodies. The creature can run at a maximum speed of 50kmph, which is indeed a good speed considering its size and weight . It only feeds on grass in the winter and the rainy season  with which it also fulfills its need for water, while in summers the animal can travel up to 25km a day in search of water.

The creature loves to live alone and lives a really boring life. They hardly come in contact with other rhinos.

A mother with her child can live in an area of 25 km for years. Considering their large size they are able to  survive  in very small areas.

The rhinos don’t have much hair traces on the body like other mammals, except of some on their ears and some on their tail. The horn of the rhino is made of a collection of hairs and it grows really big and strong in white rhinos, while in Black rhinos the front horn is not that big. They are illegally killed all over the world for their horns. The rhinos usually don’t  face any danger except from humans and microorganisms.

WHITE RHINO

BLACK RHINO

The rhinos have an average life span of 35-40 years. They don’t have a good eyesight and because of this anyone can easily approach the rhino from its rear end, but usually creatures don’t attack rhinos. The creature due to its low eyesight charges easily on anyone who comes in its way, but the best part of the rhino is that it retreats as quickly as it charges.

The white rhinos have square shaped mouth which helps them to easily chew grass and thorny leaves, while the black rhinos have round shaped mouth and they lose their teeth very fast.

RHINO KILLED FOR ITS HORN

Black rhinos have a curved back as compared to the straight back of white rhinos.

The male rhinos frequently fight with each other in friendly games and also for mating needs. Male rhinos are often seen killing the young ones in order to insist the female to mate with the male rhino.

The calf is born after a period of 14-18 months and are able to feed on grass after a week of birth.

Rhinos once used to roam around all the continents and were found in abundance, but now there are just a few thousands left and are now officially declared as ENDANGERED species.

 [IMAGE SOURCE :- INTERNET]

ALL ABOUT SPITTING COBRAS

This is indeed a very beautiful snake, belonging to the cobra family. The snake is named so because of its exceptional power to spit venom from far away on the creature, as a sign of WARNING instead of biting it in the first reaction and taking its life.

The snake is able to do so due to the amazing structure of its fangs. The fangs of a spitting cobra have a distinct whole, which is clearly visible under observation. When the snake pressurizes its venom gland, the venom is ejected through these small holes (one present in each fang) the ejection is similar to the spanker that we use. 

 IMAGE: right-spitting cobra ; left- non-spitting cobra

A fully grown adult snake can spit its venom up to a distance of 10ft and that too very accurately.

The snake is famous to attack directly into the eyes of the visible threat, which causes instant temporary blindness, and the snake gets time to escape. If this venom is not washed properly and quickly, it may result in long term suffering of pain, swelling and temporary blindness, and may also cause complete and permanent blindness if not treated within proper time. This is because the venom affects the cornea or the retina, resulting in permanent blindness.

Many varieties of this snake are found in different parts of the word. Spitting cobras may grow up to a length of 8ft.

Spitting cobras support cannibalism, i.e. they feed upon other spitting cobras, they also feed upon small mammals, rodents, lizards, frogs and other snakes.

The most amazing fact about this specie is that some of them give birth to young ones.

The most common threat to these creatures is the GREAT MONITOR LIZARD. As soon as the monitor lizard sees this snake the lizard attacks it, rips it apart with is strong denture and enjoys its meal for the day.

Some of the varieties of spitting cobra are:
*Red spitting cobra

*Mozambique spitting cobra

*Brown spitting cobra: largest of its kind, recorded length 9ft

*Equatorial spitting cobra

The colour of the species may vary from continent to continent like RED, YELLOW, BROWN, BLACK n even PINK.

(IMAGE SOURCE INTERNET)

Tips for meeting a dog for the first time..... :)

 1. Don’t approach the dog. Pretend you are ignoring the dog. Dogs prefer not to be examined by strangers.

2. Always ask the dog’s owner for permission to meet their dog. Assuming they say yes, follow the steps below. Otherwise the dog may get violent, and may attack.

3. Always stay calm, put on an easy smile, or slowly blink your eyelids. Keep your body loose. All these signal to the dog that you are not a threat. If the dog sees u as a threat, it may be dangerous for you.

4. Do not create direct contact with dogs eyes. As by doing this you may seem to be a visible threat to the dog.

5. Turn your body so you are not facing the dog. Again, being face-to-face is polite to most of us, but can signal threat or aggressive intentions to a dog.

6. Do not crouch over the dog. Its threatening to the dog !!

7. Allow the dog to come to you. Most dogs are naturally curious and they will let you know if they are interested in you.

8. If the dog shows interest by sniffing you with a relaxed posture, wagging tail (NOT ALL DOGS WILL WAG AND NOT ALL WAGGING IS FRIENDLY), perhaps looking at you with soft eyes – then you can slowly offer the dog your hand for investigation.

** IT IS SEEN THAT SOME DOGS AND CAT, INCLUDING THE BIG-CATS, WAG THEIR TAIL WHEN PREPARING TO ATTACK. **

9. Let the dog sniff your hand, if he/she wants to, and then gently touch the dog on the shoulder, neck or chest. DO NOT TOUCH OR TAP ON THE HEAD OF THE DOG IN THE FIRST MEET, AS HE SHE MAY GET THREATENED BY THIS ACT OF YOURS.

10. The dog will clearly tell you if he/she wants more interaction or if he/she is finished with you. Listen to him/her.

11. IF AT ANY TIME DURING THE INTERACTION THE DOG BACKS AWAY, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AS THIS INTERACTION MAY GET MUCH WORSE.

SPARROW REHABILITATION REPORT LUCKNOW

The project on Sparrow Rehabiliation was conceived by Sir Arun Krishnamurthy, a passionate environmentalist,  who has been a great source of inspiration for all volunteers. 

The project took place in the grounds of La Martiniere College on the 18th of December, 2011 where volunteers from both La Martiniere Boys’ & Girls’ joined hands to protect the sparrow community. The project work started with the help of sample nests sent by Arun sir from Chennai. He coordinated with the volunteers regarding other requirements that helped our project gain momentum.

The nests that we constructed were made out of scrap wood shafts collected from the school campus.  Narayan Bhaiya  (carpenter at La Martiniere Boys’ ) too, along with the enthusiastic group of boys and girls, had immense fun sawing the wood into the required sizes. The girls especially had a great time drilling holes into the nests, though their slender yet strong hands were vibrating more than the drilling machine itself!

The pieces were then nailed together and the nests were painted in camouflaging green hues to attract birds to habitate in them.

Dr. Denzil John Godin, an ornithologist visited the busy work station and gave valuable insight and information regarding nest building, ornithology[ study of birds], Oology[study of birds’ eggs] and correct usage of binoculars for observing birds. He also showed us his collection of eggs that he has been collecting since his teenage. In his short visit,  Dr. Godin  suggested that we create a group and following his advice,  we created WILD which stands for Working for the Indian Living Diversity and it will work under Arun sir’s group EFI [Environmentalist Foundation of India].

The work resumed after Denzil sir left, with even more zealous and enthusiastic workers.  After constructing a sufficient number of nests, the exhausted group took a refreshing tour round the school and learnt about the rich natural heritage that the campus is so proud of and we are so fond of !!

Various locations have been marked for installing the hand-made nests with the help of Mr. Hamlin and the rest of the WILD group.

The group will meet again in the month of March for giving the final strokes of success to the project.

This report would be selfish without a note of thanksgiving to all the volunteers of this project as well as a few more personalities for their respective contribution in the great work, Miss R. Ali (teacher at La martiniere Girls’ ) for her much needed support,  Mr. A. D. Hamlin (teacher at La martiniere Boys’ ) for his extremely valuable assistance in the group activities, and  though his name has been mentioned so late, Mr. C. A. McFarland (Principal of La martiniere Boys’ ) is the hero without whose support, encouragement and financial assistance, this project could not have existed.

Abhinav Kumar Saxena coordinated the group and its activities, Ayushi Johari designed the logo of the group “WILD” with immense creativity and innovation,  Supriya Swarup gave the group its tag line “Do your bit to nurture the wild, come support WILD”, Radhika Mathur got the “WILD” t-shirts made, Nikhil Keswani , our mechanical engineer (:p), was the expert in machine work, Sagar Kapoor, our official photographer did wonders with his Canon DSLR camera, Hemang Chaturvedi did unbelievable hard work that included monkeying on the trees, Ananya Agarwal donated us wood for the nests, (sparrows should really thank him ) ;)

Parnika Madar, Aakarshika P, Devbhuj Bundela, Samarth Gupta, Shadab Hasan, Rupali Dubey, Umang Agnihotri,  Kane A Bennett, Radhika Sharma, Sohail Afzal, Apoorva Singh,  Akshat Kumar, Mohammad Musab, Nikita Nayak, Devika, Deepan Keswani are also righteous of appreciation for their good work.

Indian Tigers skin flooding blackmarket : TIBET

A disturbing trend in Tibetan communities is driving the illegal tiger and leopard skins trade. In

recent years, Tibetans have been increasingly wearing traditional costumes at their local festivals

that include tiger, leopard and otter skins. The minimal use of tiger and leopard skins on trims of

clothing was once only found in eastern Tibet among a small fraction of the population, but has

now become a fashionable practice among Tibetans from the Tibet Autonomous Region, western

Sichuan, Qinghai, northwest Yunnan and southern Gansu provinces. In Lhasa and other towns in

the Tibetan region, cat skins are openly sold in shops and the mass media is glamorizing Tibetans

wearing wild animal furs in an effort to promote tourism to Tibetan areas. There actions in turn

further driving up demand for skins in Tibetan areas of China.

Nearly 200 tiger skins have been confiscated in China over the past 5 years, coinciding with a rise

in wild tiger poaching in nature reserves in India, Nepal and Southeast Asian countries. Some

experts now put the total number of individual tigers remaining in the wild at between 3,000 and

5,000 individuals.

Through this project, which was generously funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,

Conservation International (CI) worked with Chinese NGO partners and government agencies to

promote public awareness of the issues surrounding the tiger and leopard skin trade. CI is pleased

to report that we have witnessed a reduction in the use and sale of tiger, leopard and other skins

even within the short time frame that we have been monitoring. CI is one of the few

environmental NGOs that has been working in this region, and our years of work have given us

access to partner with local Tibetan NGOs who are keen to cooperate to reduce and one day

eliminate this problem. CI also attempted to tackle this trade and consumption issue by

increasing the capacity of local communities, NGOs and government agencies. The wildlife trade

is an extremely complex issue; however, in this particular case, the source, transit routes and end

markets are clear, and the Tibetan consumers, who are by nature religious and respectful of all life, were found to be very amenable to stopping their consumption once they understood the

repercussions of their use on wild populations and that purchasing such products was illegal.

Our new member………… :) a PRAYING MANTIS…… :)

Our very own photographer Sagar Kapoor…… has got a new pet…and that too means that we have got a new member in our group….. J

He found this creature in his garden…and he adopted it….. J he has this one with him for 3 to 4 days…the creature is a praying mantis…..……… J

Facts about PRAYING MANTIS:

The praying mantis is named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer. The larger group of these insects is more properly called the praying mantis. Mantis refers to the genus mantis, to which only some praying mantis belong.

By any name, these fascinating insects are formidable predators. They have triangular heads poised on a long "neck," or elongated thorax. Mantis can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings with two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them.

Typically green or brown and well camouflaged on the plants among which they live, mantis lie in ambush or patiently stalk their quarry. They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place.

Moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects are usually the unfortunate recipients of unwanted mantis attention. However, the insects will also eat others of their own kind. The most famous example of this is the notorious mating behaviour of the adult female, who sometimes eats her mate just after—or even during—mating. Yet this behaviour seems not to deter males from reproduction.

Females regularly lay hundreds of eggs in a small case, and nymphs hatch looking much like tiny versions of their parents.

The one we have with us is probably a Female youngster….. J

Sexual dimorphism

Looking at external differences between males and females

Antennae:

Males generally have longer and thicker antennae than females do. This can be seen most clearly when the mantis is adult, but as the nymph grows to become an adult it steadily develops the longer antennae. When comparing male and female nymphs you see that the female has thin hair-like antennae while the male has thick antennae. Species of the Empusidae family have males with feathered antennae (‘hairy’ antennae) while the females have smooth antennae.

Body size:

Some species have a very clear difference in body size between males and females, for example the Orchid Mantis and the Budwing Mantis. As the mantis nymphs grow, you can start to notice that some nymphs stay behind in size compared to the others. These are the males. When adult the difference is even more obvious as neither of the sexes will grow anymore.

Body type:

Male praying mantises are generally much more slender than female praying mantises. This can be seen especially well when looking at the thorax. Most species have a pronounced widening in this area, for example the shield of the Dead Leaf Mantis (Deroplatys desiccata), and males have a much smaller widening than the females. This effect becomes more and more pronounced as the mantis nymph becomes older.

Length of the wing:

This difference can only be seen in adult mantises. The wings of a male praying mantis are generally longer than those of the females. The wings of the females reach to the end of their body or even do not reach that far, while the wings of the male are never shorter than the body. The wings of the male generally reach past the end of their body, sticking out a bit from the back. This is because male praying mantises will fly to find a mate, while females generally are to heavy to fly.