“Bambb! Bambb! Bambb!” The alliterative sound blares from a trumpet-shaped loudspeaker tied to a bicycle, and fills the evening air around the 400 household Lohara village in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. As twilight falls, men assemble at the office … Read More
The pandemic has forced much of humanity to retreat in the hopes of containing the virus. On March 25, 2020, India announced the world’s largest lockdown in a massive effort to combat the spread of the infection. While most citizens … Read More
On the fateful night of April 26, 1986, as the world slept, a nuclear disaster of unimaginable scale unfolded in northern Ukraine. One of the nuclear reactors of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded spewing radioactive substances over the next … Read More
From the confines and safety of our homes, as we express gratitude to medical staff, police, and other essential service providers, let’s not forget our forest guards. These earth protectors, who work tirelessly to safeguard our forests and wildlife, are … Read More
The wounds reappear every winter,” said Sabulal Kasdekar, and pulled up his pants to his thighs. His legs, discoloured by burn scars, were painful to look at. The story behind the scars was equally painful. Kasdekar lived in the Mangia … Read More
The web of an orb-weaver spider is a giant sensory organ, a deadly trap, an architectural wonder, and a spectacle of elegance. Members of this group build large, intricate, concentric webs using a toolkit of different special-purpose threads produced from … Read More
The first time I visited Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Mumbai was during the monsoon of 2018. Light showers made it look as inviting as ever. It was quite an experience to be walking on trails which, in certain … Read More
As man-animal conflicts get increasingly common, Dr. Anish Andheria stresses the need for action and why there’s still hope for both sides. Recently, I was part of a team investigating the death of a 21-year old tribal youth, presumably trampled … Read More
Early June 2010. Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. The forest is monsoon green. With me in the legendary ‘Main Watchtower’ is Chikanna, caretaker of the Kalhalla Forest Resthouse. From my vantage point, I am gifted with clear visibility thanks to three … Read More
Satish Shendre heard gunshots in the middle of the night. It was one of his first nights at the camp. A forest guard with Maharashtra’s Special Tiger Protection Force posted at the Pench Tiger Reserve, he was recently assigned additional … Read More
Soil. Have you ever, even for a brief moment, stopped to wonder about this fundamental resource? How easy it is to overlook the omnipresent soil, because, hey, it is always there, inert and infinite. I will have you know that … Read More
In August 2016, we finally decided to fulfill our longstanding dream of spending quality time observing the herpetofauna of the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of Tamil Nadu. It took us seconds to convince Vishnupriya Sankararaman (Shashank’s wife), who is … Read More
Meet Dr. Anish Andheria, President, Wildlife Conservation Trust, who speaks to Bittu Sahgal about how nature took over his life, his inspirations and the conservation challenges ahead of us all at a point in time when climate change is rapidly … Read More
Rizwan Mithawala breaks down a cutting-edge forest protection mechanism being implemented in central Indian tiger forests. Webs made by spiders trap unwary insects, bringing an end to their life. Such predation is essential for the functioning of the food web … Read More
On a night walk in the Doyang Valley, Dr. Anish Andheria stumbles upon a rarely recorded phenomenon – a four-party association between three insects belonging to three different orders (Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Hemiptera)… and a plant! Photo: Dr. Anish Andheria … Read More