Tiger Legends – The Undoing?

Two years ago around this time I wrote a blog called ‘Building Tiger Legends’. The blog talked about how tiger legends were created and the impact they had on tourism and toward tiger conservation. However, in the last two years of my travel through tiger country I was quite taken aback to hear how this was negatively impacting protection of these legends.

In my recent trip I came upon a relatively young tigress with cubs. On questioning the lineage of the tigress and that of the cubs, my driver reluctantly gave me the information requesting me not to discuss the same with other tourists or on social media. This was as per the instruction given to them by the forest department in an effort to protect tigers that have been given a name rather than a number – a usual process of the forest department.

People named tigers based on their stripe markings, character, area that they commanded and more. Tourists from all over the world came looking for these magnificent cats and even the forest guards, drivers and forest guides seemed to take an extra effort to track movements of these big cats. I’m not too sure about others but I rather enjoyed going to a park and try and find a particular individual and see how they are doing, gather information about their last litter, areas that they like to move about in and on some occasions make special efforts to track grand children of the individual that I had been tracking. Following their lives let’s me connect more deeply with not only the individuals but also to the forest, its ever-changing environment and the challenges. I still know people that talk fondly about ‘Charger’ and ‘Sita’ of Bandhavgarh or ‘Machli’ of Ranthambhore or even ‘Ustad’ – the handsome male tiger that was moved to Udaipur zoo after he attacked and killed a forest guard a few years ago.

It was really sad to learn that poachers are now actively targeting these big cats. If rumours are to be believed, mafias today are looking for skins of these specific tigers. I’m not sure if any of this is true but if it is, this is truly depressing that one would prefer to have a skin of a particular wildcat when you can rather enjoy it alive and cherish watching the various facets of its wonderful and wild life and that of the generations that follow. I hope all of this is temporary as it is hardly as exciting to search for a T-91 when you can be tracking a tiger called ‘Charger’ or ‘Zalim’!

 

 

A Hostile Takeover

It is beginning October again and the National Parks all over the country start opening for tourism. Like each year I explore a park or two in different regions to see what changes the monsoons have brought with them. This year took me to Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve & Pench Tiger Reserve. Monsoons impacted both the parks quite differently this year – Ranthambhore received a very poor monsoon this year which led to very little swelling of water bodies, most of the park is still quite dry and with cubs in most zones within the park this should turn out to be a year of difficulties (in terms of water supplies) for the wildlife, however, very fruitful in terms of wildlife sightings for the park visitors. Though my visit to the park was short (just 1 day) I managed to sight 6 tigers with sightings for 3 hours of the tiger, I saw a sloth bear as he climbed up a tree to pick off the colony of ants, a desert fox, Indian gazelle, blue bulls, sambar deer, axis deer and a whole diversity of summer birds such as the paradise flycatcher and the Indian Pitta. Overall a more than fruitful day in the park.

Pench however, was quite a contrast to Ranthambhore. The monsoon rains had transformed the dry teak forest into an ocean of green. Everywhere you looked it was just green. The ground which is usually brown from the fallen dry leaves and dried out grass was covered in weeds. Lantana as usual had taken over part of the forest and with this much foliage I did not see the big cat. Those who were lucky caught a glimpse of ‘Collarwali’ tigress with her cubs at a distance too far to be covered even by a 600mm prime (not that I had one handy 😉. But my highlight during the couple of days that I was in Pench was the dhole (Asiatic wild dogs) sighting. For those of you who do not know these whistling dogs are perhaps the most successful hunters in the Indian jungles with a 75% success rate on their hunts – much higher than that of any big cat. What made this sighting exciting was that this was the first time that I got a chance to study a hostile takeover of one packs territory by the other. Pench has two popular packs within the main tourist zones – A pack of 11 dogs whose territory ranges south of Kalapahad area to Turia gate and the other a pack of 5 dogs that range from Sita ghat down to Alikatta grasslands and close to Joda Munara to the east. The territory over which this fight took place was the Alikatta grasslands a prime prey area next to the Pench river.

Since Kalapahad and almost the entire territory of the pack of 11 was closed for tourists as the road network was still damaged from this year’s monsoons, I spent most of my time with the pack of 5 dogs. We spent hours observing their social behaviour, how they communicated with one another through yelps and whistles and when on a strong trail they spread out and through the thick foliage and coordinated their efforts to find prey. Till last year this pack was a strong pack of 7 dogs. It stands today at 5 as one dog was cast out of the pack as he reached maturity and wanted to mate with the females of the pack a right remains entirely with the Alpha male within the wild dog society – thus he was cast out of the pack. The second dog was killed last season by Collarwali tigress who is raising another litter – probably her last one. She is still formidable and probably has the record for raising the largest number of litters and cubs. Her last few litters were raised in record time of 15-18 months where most cubs stay under their mother’s care and protection till they are about 2-2.5 years old.

Day 2 we found the pack early morning and somehow, they seemed more excited / nervous. 2 members of the pack constantly were sniffing and were on some sort of the scent trail whereas the other three kept a lookout on all sides and trailed behind. Even the large number of tourist vehicles that were looking out for the tiger and had settled for wild dog sightings did not bother them or get in their way as they weaved through the jeeps completely focussed on the scent trail. I thought I will get be the unlucky one to witness a gruesome murder of an axis deer as dogs, who are not the top predator in the forest often start eating their prey even before they have killed it as tigers and leopards often steal their prey from them. Yet I could sense some tension /excitement amongst the pack and continued to follow them as most fell away after hearing some alarm calls on the other side of Alikatta grasslands which seemed most likely for a tiger. With just a couple of jeeps we stayed with the pack that seemed to cover ground at a relatively fast clip. The chase took us towards Joda Munara cross section where the dogs stopped tracking and fanned out for what seemed to be a long silence without much communication. Just the Alpha came close to the track and then within seconds we saw 11 wild dogs attack from the other side. More than 4 km north of their territory this pack wanted to take over the grasslands where visibility and prey base was too much of a temptation. In the next couple of minutes, the Alpha dogs of both packs commanded their soldiers who chased and fought each other. 16 dogs running, chasing and biting each other amongst yelps and shrieks in all directions. Then as soon as it started it was over – there was no dog in sight, you could only hear a couple of painful yelps from either side of the road. For close to forty minutes we looked for the dogs but none could be seen then we saw two emerge on the side of the road. They seemed to be searching for others, I thought it was the pack of 5 that got scattered and were looking for their companions. The Alpha – darker in colour with beautiful white marking on the neck was nowhere to be seen. Even though survival of the fittest is the norm of the jungle I was hoping not to find any dogs dead or fatally injured. These search dogs made no sounds they made no attempts to communicating verbally with their packs making us doubt that this was the same pack. We drove further east and found 5 dogs by the roadside along with the Alpha and very skittish. Although most of them seemed to have no injuries the Alpha had a nasty gash around the collar area. He went around checking the pack for injuries but every sound, even that of our jeeps made him jump around. After spending a few minutes with them we left the pack resting by the roadside not wanting to stress them any further. Unfortunately, the pack that I spent the last few days with and somehow managed to bond enough to get close to lay there defeated.

I will probably have to visit Pench a couple of time during the season to see how they fare, but as of now I am happy that they all made it even though their pride was severely hurt having lost one of the best hunting grounds within the park. This was one of my most memorable wild dog experience in the Indian jungles. There was literally no disappointment about the fact that I didn’t see a tiger or a leopard as what I witnessed was something truly rare and not witnessed by many.

The Chase

There are days in a jungle that only promise tracks of several animals; recent ones to couple of days older. On such days a sighting of an occasional Sambar or a sprinting Nilgai extracts an admira…

Source: The Chase

The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India – The Slow Loris

Last month while researching for a primate tour in India I came across a unique primate – The Slow Loris. Not only are these one of 10 smallest primates in the world, they are also the only venomous primate in the world. Yes! Venomous primate!

With my interest piqued, I started studying more about this close cousin of ours. The Slow Loris comes from the genus Nycticebus which consists of four species: Pygmy Slow Loris, Javan Slow Loris, Sunda Slow Loris and our very own Bengal Slow Loris. The Bengal Slow Loris has the largest distribution of all the slow lorises and can be found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, southern China, Northeast India, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It is nocturnal and arboreal, occurring in both evergreen and deciduous forests. It prefers rainforests with dense canopies, and its presence in its native habitat indicates a healthy ecosystem. It is a seed disperser and pollinator, as well as a prey item for carnivores such as Pythons and Hawk eagles. Its diet primarily consists of fruit, but also includes insects, tree gum, snails, and small vertebrates. The species lives in small family groups, marks its territory with urine, and sleeps during the day by curling up in dense vegetation or in tree holes. It is a seasonal breeder, reproducing once every 12–18 months and usually giving birth to a single offspring. For the first three months, mothers carry their offspring, which reach sexual maturity at around 20 months. The Bengal Slow Loris can live up to 20 years.

Now since we have already told you that this is a venomous primate let us understand a couple of things: How does the ‘venom’ work? Are they venomous or poisonous? And what’s the difference between the two.

To begin let us first understand “brachial glands”. The flexor surface or the ventral side of the elbow has a slightly raised but barely visible swelling termed the brachial gland. Observations from captive slow lorises show that when the animal is disturbed during handling, they secrete about 10 microliters of clear, strong-smelling fluid in the form of an apocrine sweat (exudate) from their brachial gland. Usually, male and female slow lorises assume a defensive stance when disturbed. They bend their heads downwards between uplifted forelegs, rubbing the brachial gland exudate onto their head and neck. Slow lorises frequently lick their own brachial gland regions and wipe their brachial gland against their head. The brachial gland is active in lorises as young as 6 weeks old.

 The main difference a venomous and a poisonous animal is that a venomous animal injects toxins into its victim’s body by bite or sting. A poisonous animal, on the other hand, produces toxins that are poisonous once inhaled or ingested like a Puffer Fish. Medical literature shows that human – Slow Loris injuries come from Slow Loris bites and not from ingesting their toxins. So, are slow lorises venomous? Well, not quite….

Lorises have got strong jaw muscles and pointed teeth with cutting edges easily piercing human skin or thin gloves. Health problems after Slow Loris bites may be either due to presence of a toxin produced by the animals, due to bacteria and viruses transferred by bites or due to an anaphylactic shock (extreme allergic reaction). Loris brachial gland secretion includes two toxins, made inactive by inhibitors; when mixed with saliva, after licking of the brachial glands, the enzymes from the saliva break down the inhibitors and make the saliva-secretion mixture toxic.

Anaphylactic shock: in people, regularly in contact with slow lorises, saliva may repeatedly come into the body through tiny, maybe invisible wounds. If the Loris keeper develops an allergy against this saliva, an allergic shock is possible (independent from the quantity of substance causing it, within seconds to minutes, in one case described lasting two hours), although this is a rare disease. Symptoms of anaphylactic shock may be: initially burning tongue and throat, a sensation of heat, red, itching skin, wheals, very low blood pressure, shock, convulsions of muscles (pain), pain in the heart and kidney region, respiratory problems (constriction of airways), heart problems, and possibly unconsciousness. Occurrence would make an immediate call for medicinal help necessary; first aid: measures against shock such as lying posture with legs a bit higher, assuring sufficient blood supply for necessary organs.

Slow lorises have needle-like teeth called dental combs or tooth combs on their lower jaw. Paired with the constant licking of the brachial gland, it is not surprising that one would assume the dental comb plays a part in injecting brachial gland exudate into unsuspecting victims. However, this is not the case, based on these published reports, it seems that Slow Loris bites are not venomous the reaction is largely to the exudate’s allergen secreted by the brachial glands which is like the Fel d 1 allergen in domestic cats… just more potent I guess.

The biggest challenge that these beautiful creatures face today is the meat and pet trade. People will often buy Loris as pets as they look adorable however, as in the case of all exotic pets most of these pet owners do little to no research about the species and have no clue about how to raise one in a home environment often unknowingly creating an environment or a situation harmful for the species. 

The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India – The Ganges Shark

Many of us who know sharks largely know them from the various movies that have been made on them be it the “Jaws” series or “Deep Blue Sea”. A lot of us often feel the fear of coming across one of these predators of the oceans when we go snorkelling or swimming in the sea, but not many realize that there are sharks lurking in our rivers as well. In fact, there are very few who are aware of this fact. Of the 440 species of sharks known to man there are only 6 species that are known as “River Sharks” or are of the “Glyphis” genus. India with its ever surprising bio-diversity is home of an endemic river shark known as “The Ganges Shark”.

The Ganges shark inhabits the River Hoogly in West Bengal, as well as the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi in the states of Bihar, Assam and Orissa. While some of the other river sharks are also known to inhabit saltwater, the Ganges shark is only found in rivers and possibly estuaries, with no confirmed records from oceans or seas. It is amongst the 20 most threatened shark species and is listed as a Critically Endangered species in the IUCN Redlist.

Ganges sharks are extremely rare species known from only three museum specimens, all collected in the 19th century from fresh water in the lower reaches of the Ganges-Hooghly river system. There were no records between 1867 until 1996, although 1996 records have not been confirmed as Ganges shark. Ganges shark was lastly reported in 2001 from the upstream of the mouth of Hooghly River at Mahishadal in West Bengal.

Although very little is known about it, the Ganges shark has a grey to brownish colouration without any discernible pattern or markings. It is stocky with a short, broadly rounded snout and a small wide spaced nostril. The eyes are small and dark. Ganges shark has broad, serrated upper teeth. Cusps of lower teeth protrude prominently when mouth is closed. The small eyes and teeth of Ganges shark suggest that they are primarily fish-eaters that have adapted to hunting in turbid water of rivers and estuaries. The eyes of Ganges shark are tilted upward rather than laterally or ventrally as in most requiem sharks indicating that this species may swim along the bottom and scan the water above it for potential prey back-lit by the sun.

The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India – The Red Panda

Portrait of a Red Panda

As some of you who follow this blog know I have started this series to showcase that when we talk about wildlife in the Indian Subcontinent we are referring to a diversity beyond tiger, leopard, lion, elephant and the one horned rhino. I’ve had endless discussions with so many on this subject that I decided it might be more effective to showcase how cool each of these lesser sought after species are and why one should actually be traveling just to catch a glimpse of these marvelous creatures that are just as important to our eco-system as the tiger. Today I would like to showcase a real cutie-pie – The Red Panda.

Parti-Coloured Bear (Giant Panda)

I think for most people when you say panda literally everyone thinks of the Giant Panda, but did you know that the only true ‘Panda’ is the Red Panda. Confused? Well here goes the story:

The red panda was discovered in the 1820s; at the time it was just called the Panda. The name Panda has its origin in Nepal where it is known by many names – The Lepcha people call it sak nam, it is also called bhalu biralo (a bear-cat) and habre. The Sherpa people of Nepal and Sikkim call it ye niglva ponya and wah donka. In 1821, the English Naturalist Major General Thomas Hardwicke made a presentation on the creature at the Linnean Society in London. That is typically regarded as the moment the red panda became known in Western science. In his presentation, titled “Description of a new Genus of the Class Mammalia, from the Himalaya Chain of Hills Between Nepaul and the Snowy Mountains,” he argued that the animal be called a “wha,” explaining, “It is frequently discovered by its loud cry or call, resembling the word ‘Wha’, often repeating the same: hence is derived

Raccoon

one of the local names by which it is known. Unfortunately, Hardwicke’s paper wasn’t published until 1827, by which time the French zoologist Frédéric Cuvier had already published a description of the species along with a drawing. Naming rights, therefore, went to Cuvier. He named the species Panda derived most likely from its local name Ponya meaning a bamboo eating animal. But the giant panda is not the only species that red panda has given scientists taxonomic fits, they have also been compared extensively with raccoons because

Binturong

of its ringed tail and to Binturong (Bear-cats) that are found in similar habitat.

In the late 19th century, scientists noticed that the parti-coloured bear (that’s what giant panda was called initially as it had two colourations) and the red panda were very similar. Their jaws were more like each other than they were like any other animal, they lived near each other, they both had false thumbs, and their diets were similar. The decision was made to officially consider the (red) panda as a type of bear. By the early 20th century, that decision was reversed: Parti-coloured bears were declared bears, and (red) pandas were classified as cousins of the raccoon. Then, in the 1910s, it was decided that parti-coloured bears weren’t actually bears at all, but were actually large pandas, and also distant relatives of the raccoon. But because parti-coloured bears weren’t classed as bears anymore, they had to have a name change. They became giant pandas, while the one true panda was renamed the red or lesser panda. By the 1980s, genetic evidence indicated that giant pandas actually were a type of bear, and red pandas belonged in their own family, the Ailuridae. They might seem similar, but they’re not related.

Although they are different from Giant Pandas The red panda shares the giant panda’s rainy, high-altitude forest habitat, but has a wider range. Red pandas live in Eastern Himalayas – mountains of Nepal, eastern India, Bhutan and northern Myanmar, as well as in central China. They spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn.

Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and sometimes eggs and insects. Talking about their diet they are often categorized as vegetarian carnivores. Confused again?  🙂

Don’t worry all of us do when we first hear it. Carnivore is a biological order that includes groups like bears, dogs, and cats, and while these animals are generally carnivores, some are omnivores, and some are vegetarians. Red pandas are classified as carnivores because they’re descended from the same ancestors as the other carnivores, but they rarely eat anything other than bamboo and a few insects. And while giant pandas eat all of the bamboo plant, red pandas eat only the young leaves. Because this is nutritionally poor food source, they need to spend 13 hours a day eating and looking for food and can lose upwards of 15 percent of their body weight in winter.

As for temperament and nature Red Pandas are shy and solitary except when mating. Females give birth in the spring and summer, typically to one to four young. Young red pandas remain in their nests for about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them. Males take little or no interest in their offspring.

Although not sought after or as popular as the giant panda that today is the inspiration of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as their logo and is the star of the movie series Kung-Fu panda, Red Panda too has been the inspiration of a brand that a lot of us use on a daily basis – any guesses?

It’s Mozilla’s flagship browser – Firefox. Yup, it’s not the red fox as most people think. Originally, Mozilla wanted to name the browser Fire-bird, but found that another open source project was using that name. Not wanting to upset anyone, they decided to go with Firefox, another name for the red panda. And in 2010 Mozilla adopted two baby red pandas that had been born at Tennessee’s Knoxville Zoo. In fact, in Chinese, “fire fox” is another name for the red panda.

Oh! Hey before I end this, for all you Kung Fu Panda fans, don’t be disappointed that ‘Po’ is not a real Panda…. the movie does have a real panda as well and it is none other than ‘Master Shifu’

 

I hope this inspires you enough to travel in search for the beautiful Red Panda.

The Great Migrations – Indian Subcontinent

Its that time of the year when the “Great Migration” takes place. Anyone interested in wildlife and wildlife photography can be heard talking about the same. This is what everyone thinks about when one says the words – Migration. Millions of Wildebeest and Zebras cross Serengeti to Masai Mara with the great crossing at the Mara River. But did you know some of the craziest wildlife migrations involve different species to migrate from / to / across India.

But let us begin with what is a migration and why does it take place?
Well migration is a relative long distance movement of species. This migration is not exclusive to wildebeests and zebras alone. In fact all major animal groups, including birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and crustaceans migrate on a regular basis. The trigger for the migration is usually one of the following:

o Local climate or Season of the year
o Local availability of food
o Breeding – Spreading the gene pool.

Some interesting migrations that one usually do not know about are:

The largest insect migration in the world:

How many of you have seen a dragonfly – small aren’t they? But did you know that there are 2 species in the insect group that migrate all the way from Africa to India. This is an 11,000 – 14,000 miles or 17700 – 20,000 km long round trip migration over the Indian Ocean. This is the migration is of the Globe Skimmer dragonfly. It includes a visit to Seychelles and Maldives on route and back from India. So each year in October you will find millions of these in Maldives and from April to August they can be found in Peninsular & Southern India before they start their journey back to East Africa. What is interesting is that it takes four generations to make the full round trip each year. What makes this physically possible is the ability of this dragonfly to fly at high altitudes (6300m above sea level) on monsoon winds that carry them across with tail winds reaching as high as 10m per second.

 

Bird Migrations: Although each year for a large number of birds, India is wintering grounds, however I will write about a few of those that I find interesting:

Jacobin / Pied Cuckoo: The pied cuckoo flies /migrates to India from Africa on the
monsoon winds. This migration of course is a result of the dragonfly migration as they follow this food source across the Indian Ocean. The pied cuckoo in India for a long time has been considered a harbinger of the monsoons and very much the part of folklore and poetry where it is referred to as ‘Chatak’ – one who live on drops of rain.

Bar-headed Geese: The migration of this bird is amazing because they achieve physiological feats that seem impossible – flying at extreme altitude, where there is less than 10% the oxygen found at sea level. With the help of a GPS tracker, researchers recorded one bird flying at 24,000 ft. The implanted devices also measured the acceleration, body temperature and heart rate of seven geese, caught in central Mongolia. Lead researcher Dr. Charles Bishop, from Bangor University in Gwynedd, said that the geese also appeared to take advantage of deflections of wind off ridges to gain extra lift. Even more remarkable, Dr. Bishop says, is that the birds do not seem to benefit from any tail winds, and they do not soar. “They never stop flapping their wings,” he said. “And one or two [of the flights we tracked] were up to 17 hours long.” He also added that these geese might represent “the limit” of what birds are capable of. “They have found a way to cross the world’s longest and highest land mass – over 1,500 km [930 miles] – relatively easily.” “They don’t train or acclimatize,” he said. “They could walk on the top of Everest and have no problem at all.” This migration takes place from Mongolia to India and back each year.

Amur Falcon: This is a small bird of prey and is a long distance, trans-equatorial migrant. This migration has been researched recently and great efforts are being made to protect this species, as these falcons were being hunted and killed in thousands as they pass through the Indian state of Nagaland. The migration starts from Russia and China, which are the breeding grounds for these birds to Africa that is the wintering grounds. On route they pass through India. Towards the mid of November each year thousands of falcons arrive in Wokha district of Nagaland. This is perhaps one of the top 10 longest bird migrations in the world.

Marine Migrations: This migration too is amazing and literally no one really talks about it. The best place in the Indian subcontinent to observe this migration is in Sri Lanka. This is where the whales migrate from the west coast to the eastern coast and back as monsoon hits the coast. Traveling or occasionally diving to observe these huge mammal pods move is as mesmerizing as watching the wildebeest cross the Mara River.

Elephant Migration: As mentioned before most herbivores migrate in search for food, however, we are talking about elephant migration not because its really long migration or there is something spectacular to see but only to use this gentle giant to showcase mammal migration. Although there are many parts of the country where it takes place but for me this migration is always something to look forward to between Rajaji Tiger Reserve and Corbett Tiger Reserve (being in the state I hail from ;)). Each year elephant will migrate between March & April to Corbett and will head back to Rajaji in September / October. What is interesting is that about 50-100 years ago these forests were connected with forest corridors that today have given way to villages, towns and even cities and the animals today face great challenges completing this migration – an essential part of their survival. A large number of challenges today can largely be contributed to disturbance by man be it man-animal conflict, cutting down forest corridors and road accidents as they need to cross national highways to complete the same. As our forest shrink into pockets of unconnected protected areas it is not only the herbivores but also magnificent predators such as tigers, lions, leopards and many others that face this challenge. Parks today are overpopulated and the younger sub adults need to venture out to find their own territory. Another more gave problem is that of in-breeding which will definitely become a huge cause for concern in times to come, however, if not addressed today it will be a problem too big to overcome in the future.

In the meantime we can enjoy these amazing migration, spend time with a herd and observe them as they make this journey each year. Hopefully in the due process also list the challenges and suggest solutions to the concerned authorities. It is only be our intervention can these beautiful species continue to survive today.

This blog is just a teaser to showcase that unique migrations are taking place all over and round the year and are an essential part of survival for these species and we can all preserve dwindling numbers of these species by creating awareness, observing and taking necessary steps to reduce the number of hurdles that these species face in their journey for survival.

The Honey Badger – The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India

There are so many of us who are attracted to fierce animals and for lot of people there is no better wildlife high than “the chase & the hunt”. This article might interest at all those people who are seeking this high coz I think there is nothing fiercer than the Honey Badger in our jungles. These tough animals can quite easily put tigers, leopards, poisonous snakes, scorpions, predatory birds and even humans to shame when it comes to toughness.

Honey Badgers or Ratel belong to the weasel family. They have a stocky build and they are silver grey on the top of their head, back and tail and black elsewhere. They have a body length between 23.5 – 30 inches, a tail length between 8 – 12 inches and they weigh between 7 and 13 kg. Though there are 15 subspecies, Honey Badgers can be found in the dry grasslands and moist deciduous forests of Africa and western and southern Asia.

These guys are seriously tough. They have no natural predators. They have a reputation of being fearless and few animals will enter into a fight with a fully grown Honey Badger. Because of the toughness and looseness of their skin, honey badgers are very difficult to kill. Their skin is hard to penetrate, and its looseness allows them to twist and turn on their attackers when held. The only safe grip on a honey badger is on the back of the neck. The skin is also tough enough to resist several machete blows. However, they are not aggressive towards humans and they retaliate fiercely only when attacked.

Next to the wolverine, the honey badger has the least specialized diet of the weasel family. They are fierce predators and they feed on snakes, porcupines, hares, scorpions, termites, earthworms, tortoises, amphibians, lizards, fruits, berries, honey and carrion. Honey badgers are able to feed on tortoises without difficulty, due to their powerful jaws. They kill and eat snakes, even highly venomous or large ones, such as cobras. They devour all parts of their prey, including skin, hair, feathers, flesh and even bones.  Honey badgers have even been known to chase away young lions in Africa and take their kills.

Honey Badger subspecies that is found in India is Mellivora capensis indica and these can be found throughout western, central and south India. This amazing animal should definitely be on your list of species to lookout for next time you visit a national park.

The Atlas Moth – The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India.

I have been wanting to write about the Atlas Moth for a while now but have sort of avoided it so far as the subject of insect itself kind of creeps’ people out. Surprising as it may seem a large number of people are even scared of the colourful and pretty butterflies (my own daughter often gets freaked out by them). Anyway since I was writing about remarkable and yet unknown species I thought this will be a great opportunity to showcase this amazing species. Now interacting with a lot of people I realized that there are still a lot of people who cannot differentiate between moths & butterflies so let me begin with some basic information:

Moths & Butterflies

Butterflies and Moths both are from the Lepidoptera order. There are many more species of moths than butterflies. Butterflies and skippers make up 6 to 11 percent of Lepidoptera order, while moths make up 89-94 percent of the Lepidoptera order. Both have many things in common, mainly scales that cover their bodies and wings. These scales are actually modified hairs.

However, there are also many differences:

• One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth is to look at the antennae. A butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end. A moth’s antennae are feathery or saw-edged.
• Butterflies tend to fold their wings vertically up over their backs. Moths tend to hold their wings in a tent-like fashion that hides the abdomen.
• Butterflies are typically larger and have more colourful patterns on their wings. Moths are typically smaller with drab-coloured wings.
• Butterflies are primarily diurnal, flying in the daytime. Moths are generally nocturnal, flying at night.
• A moth makes a cocoon, which is wrapped in a silk covering. A butterfly makes a chrysalis, which is hard, smooth and has no silk covering. Lot of moth species are thus used to develop silk. Although this practice started in China, today India is home to many silk farms producing unique silk and over a period of time different species have been domesticated for this purpose.

The largest known butterflies in the world are the birdwings. The Queen Alexandra Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) from the rain forests of Papua New Guinea has a wingspan of 11 inches. It is the rarest of all butterflies.

India is home to one of the largest moths in the world – The Atlas Moth. These moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, and are common across the Malay archipelago.

In India the Atlas Moth was recently found in the Western Ghats. This find is particularly exciting as due to the Atlas Moths’ tough life cycle and sheer struggle for survival in nature and the availability of a mate in the open forests since it’s a rare species with one the largest wing-size in the Lepidoptera group of insects. Their caterpillars are the favourite prey of other larger creatures, but its presence in this particular location shows richness of biodiversity of the flora and fauna in the Western Ghats – a mega-diversity hotspot in India that is often not explored by a lot of Indians let alone the wildlife enthusiasts traveling to India.

Some interesting fun facts about these winged giants are as follows:

• These moths were often considered the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area,but recent sources confer this title upon the Hercules Moth from New Guinea and northern Australia. The Atlas Moth has wingspan that are also among the largest, reaching over 25 cm (9.8 in). Females are appreciably larger and heavier than the males. They are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns. In Hong Kong the Cantonese name translates as “snake’s head moth”, referring to the apical extension of the forewing, which bears a more than passing resemblance to a snake’s head.

• As a result of being so large Atlas moths are unsteady fliers, and the female does not stray far from the location of her discarded chrysalis: she seeks a perch where the air currents will best carry her pheromones. males detect and home in on with the help of chemoreceptors located on their large feathery antennae. 

• While the Silkwork Moth (used for making silk), which belongs to a different but related family, makes a cocoon out of one unbroken silk strand, the Atlas Moths caterpillar weaves its cocoon out of broken strands of silk. This brown, wool-like silk of Atlas Moths is considered very durable and is famed as Fagara silk. Local communities non-commercially collect this silk and turn it into usable products, including purses. In Taiwan some vacated cocoons don’t need to be deconstructed—they can be used “as found” as small pocket-change purses by simply installing a zipper!

• Amazingly these beautiful giants do not have a very long adult life. Despite their large size, they have no mouths and don’t eat once emerging from their cocoons, relying on fat storage from their immature stages of life as a caterpillar. Adult moths typically die within a week or two of spreading their wings. Although the Atlas Moth flies throughout the year but is most abundant from November to January.

Although the above is largely factual, however, if learning about these remarkable creatures excites you then you must plan a visit to the amazing Western Ghats that is home to more remarkable species than one can imagine. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the region is the last remaining treasure trove of unexplored wilderness within the subcontinent and we at JungleSutra are here to help you unravel these jungles and their gems.

The Remarkable Yet Unknown Species of India – The Dugong

India with its 7000 km of coastline is home to a unique creature – the Dugong. Dugongs living in Indian waters are on the brink of extinction. There are just 250 Dugongs in the Indian seas, according to a study by Zoological Survey of India in 2013. Due to conservation efforts in other places like Australia has seen their population crossing 85,000 and in the Arab Gulf an estimated 7300 Dugongs. A large majority of our population today doesn’t even know that such a creature exists. It is imperative that we save the Dugongs as each species in the world is dependent on one another and it will be a shame to lose such a remarkable creature from our eco-system.

What is a Dugong:

Dugongs are large sized marine mammals, however, they are very different from whales and dolphins. The biggest difference is that they are grazers. This is the reason why they are commonly referred to as ‘sea cows’. They live in shallow waters restricting their habitat to coastal areas. Like other marine mammals they need to come up for air. The peculiar sound they make while breathing, like notes of music has also given them the name Sirenades. They are big in size, have smooth thick skin and are cream grey in colour. They have scant hair on their body; hind limbs and dorsal fins are absent. They possess forelimbs devoid of nails. It has tails with flukes as in a whale that helps it to propel its large body. Since sea grass does not have a lot of nutrition they need to make up for this lack of nutrition by consuming a lot of grass thus spending most of their time grazing.

Characteristics:

They have very close family bonds and live in family groups. Dugongs take much longer to reach adulthood as compared to other mammals; it is between 9 – 18 years. In spite of 50-70 years of life span, females yield very few offspring during their life time. The gestation period for each calf is rather longer than usual; it is nearly 13 months. They take good care of their offspring. Female dugongs appear to be larger in size than males; so far, the largest female that reached the shores of Saurashtra coast, weighed 1018 kg with a measurement of 13.2 feet. Male dugongs might weigh as much as 400 kg and reach lengths of 8.9 ft. to 9.8 ft.

Dugongs though migratory are rather slow moving. They do move long distances, sometimes searching for food and mating. Recorded data shows some dugongs travelled up to a distance of 560 km whereas many of them travelled less than 15 km. They are not comfortable in water below 17 degrees centigrade and try to reach warmer locations. Owing to their big size, they have fewer predators like the killer whales, saltwater crocodiles and sharks.

Threats:

There are many threats to survival of the Dugongs – some of these are as follows:

• Dugongs are hunted for their meat and at times for their oil.
• They get entangled in fishing nets and can’t come up to the surface for air and drown.
• Fishing with the use of dynamite sticks has also contributed to the decline in its population.
• Dumping of waste and rubble impacts the corals and sea pastures and thus directly threatens the food source of the Dugong.

Where can you find Dugongs in and around India:

The largest concentrations of Dugongs in Indian waters can be found in between India & Sri Lanka, Pak Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. They are also reported to be sighted in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and off the coast of Saurashtra in the Gulf of Kutch. The above mentioned areas carry abundant food in the form of sea-grass meadows.

Through this series of blogs, we at JungleSutra strive to create awareness about some the lesser known and thus lesser sought after species that we share our space with. It is unfortunate that we today we have become the very reason that threatens their existence. We feel that it is awareness along with a very strong intent which will be the only way to save these natural treasures.