March 15,2003. The sun was setting on the coast of Orissa. The fishing boats were making their way back to the land with catch of sea creatures, unlucky to have got trapped in the net. But one of the sea dwellers was fortunate to have survived the death zone. Wading through the warm evening waters, it crawled on deep into thecoast, found a suitable place, dug a pit and laid some 120 eggs. On covering them with sand, it returned back to sea, only to come back next year(if survived). The feat was followed by 2,00,000 others in days to come. The Naturalists heaved a sigh of relief. The 'Olive Ridleys' had survived...!!

 


        These turtles are exploring the depths of ocean beds since the pre-historic period and trace their relation to the mighty dinosaurs, fortunately having survived the mass extinction 65 million years ago, with their major nesting ground being ' Gahirmatha ', on the coast of Orissa, which highlight their peculiar cycle. they move about alone in ocean, not in group. Still they manage to find their way back to the place they were born, all at the same time, irrespective of them being in ' Indian ' or in ' Pacific ' ocean, which led the researchers to experimentally deduce that turtles posses certain magnetic sense, just like the pigeons. Their sense of location & time is really unbelievable.

 
         Female turtle after laying eggs return to seas. She never gets to meet her young ones. The eggs get nurtured in sand all by themselves. The young ones after hatching of eggs, move around the ocean for 10-15 years and return to place where born on reaching aduthood, to lay eggs. Though years would have passed since their birth, still never fail to find the address..!!!

      
          But the fairy tale's  feared to have an end. Incessant killing and fishing activities around shores of India & Africa have led to dwindling numbers of turtles. Although East Indian territory  of Gahirmatha has been declared as a Santuary, legal licences have been issued to fishermen for fishing in that areas..!!!   No one listens and no one understands. the captured turtlesare then sold in market of Kolkata, Calicut etc., which highlights the real cause of worry for these creatures. unless there is demand, suppliers are always gonna be there..!!

           Its our job to find the weakness in our attitude and actions, and eradicate them before they destroy the nature...!!!!

terrific planet earth

" What is this life, if full of care ?
We have no time to stand and stare "
-W . H . Davies

Globalization is the mantra of today's modern world.
World seems to have become a village. But is it really so ??
The more we expand artificial societies, the more we move away from real world.
' Earth ' is a film, re-introducing the world, we thought we knew...Njoy the trailer !!

Fly High....

November 12, 1938.... Lord Lilinthgo aiming a bird with his gun, and without giving a second thought, pulled the trigger.And with it were spitting fire 39 guns across 29 sq. km area of Keoladeo, laying dead 4273 birds within a span of just 24 hours. Death beckoned in the santuary. But for the then viceroy of India, only numbers mattered. Knowingly or unknowingly, he drove them towards extinction. And the worst hit was Siberian Crane.

Being the native of Siberia, these 1.25 metre high cranes, with 2.25 metre wide wings, along with other 350 migratory bird,in winter, visit the keoladeo santuary of bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. It has being the winter residence the magnificient bird for centuries. But man has not let the bird live in peace, neither hundreds of others. Pursuing their hobby, British viceroy along with the local hunters, thoughtlessly hunt down the birds. Not far behind were the local state kings, to whom only concern was their pride. Even after independence, the fate of these birds was no different, with numbers dwindling each year. In year 1964, there were about 200 Siberian cranes seen at Bharatpur. The number reduced to 77 in 1972. Only 37 showed up in 1982, 17 in 1989 and only 2 in 2003,which was the last time their presence in India was recorded.

A female Siberian crane lay just two eggs every year, and only one is taken care of. This results in lower birth rate with respect to their death rate. Though their lifespan is as long as ours, their 6000 km long migration route is consists of multiple rest points, where they are most vulnerable. Since they have a long route, its very hard to keep their track. One such experiment of satellite tracking with other migratory crane confirmed the suspicion of the birds being intercepted by tribal hunters on the way to Ihdia. But due to non-cooperation by respective authorities, the conservation plans hav got stuck. Though Siberian cranes have two other migratory places, the one in china is in danger due to urbanization, while the one in Iran is at mercy of hunters. Recently they were spotted at grasslands of a place called Mathura, India. But no news since. Hope the spotting was correct and we get some gud news next time around. fingers crossed...!!!

Fast and furious..........

Cheetah....supposed to be the fastest animal in the world.....but still could not run faster then man and his wildness. Difficult to conceive, its the same animal who are said to tamed in thousands, for hunting antelopes, blackbucks, deers etc, by Mughal Emperor Akbar.

But time and man have taken heavy toll of these unique animals.Only 50-60 survive in wild, primarily in Iran in a vast fragmented desert. The Asiatic cheetah also seem to survive in open Balochistan province of Pakistan, where adequate prey is available including small antellopes, gazelles, evan hares and rodentsetc.



But its habitat is under threat from desertification increasing agriculture, residential settlements and declining prey caused by hunting and degradation in pastures by overgrazing from livestock. They are also not helped by the fact that their genetic prints are similar among all which makes them susceptible to dieseases. Once ranging from Arabia to India through Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan & Pakistan, but poaching, shooting hobby, desertification has led to chronic decline of Asiatic cheetah. The low priority given to wild life conservation, given by the authorities early on has resulted in its name being included in Critically Endangered Species.


Though it may not be possible to re-establish them completely in near future. We may hope to atleast conserve whatever trail left of this magnificient cat.


for more info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Cheetah

on top of the world.....

Mountains are not the easiest of places to live on. But these cats, with their thick coats, heavy fur lined tails and their paws covered with fur are perfectly dry regions in which they dwell.


Their main diet include the wild sheep and goat. Generally found between altitudes 9800 -17000 feet, ranging from Central Asia to east china, they prefer to inhabit cliff areas. During winter , when they come down to lower altitude in search of prey, they are most vulnerable to poachers. Due to high demand for their coats, they are illegally hunted for the fur trade.


This little wonder's exact population is still unknown due to its shy nature. But poaching has ensured entry of this cat into the list of highly endangered species. Though they choose the mountains as abode, they could not hide from men. Let's join hands to save them along with millions of others who are on the verge of extinction, thanx to man. !!!!!

for more info : http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/snow_leopard.php

tranquill......

                      Its a capture from 'Planet earth' series...pole to pole....the first episode i saw of the series. Its a series on the vast, diverse, deep and almost magical form of ecolology that has has evolved over earth in span of crores of years. Nature has selectively nutured its treasure of life and found ways to sustain it, so abstract and unique that would dodge any stretch of imagination.
                       

                   The extreme weather, which the penguins have to withstand all winter,  is the ultimate test for survival. Female emperor penguins after laying eggs go out in search of food. So male penguin takes care of the egg. The whole community remains in a huddle,with younger ones in the middle to counter freezing temperatures and dry winds at around 144 km/hr, protecting the eggs from freezing while the female penguins go to oceans to feed themselves. The male take care of egg virtually fasting the whole winter, losing almost half their weight. The female arrive around time of hatching with food stored in stomach for the chicks, and now is male's turn to enter the open seas.....
                   With the onset of summer, penguins feel as if a new life is bestowed upon them, especially the young ones just born, fighting against the odds along with their parents for somethig every being on this planet struggles for .......  ' EXISTENCE '