Mind boggling connections have emerged in the course of evolution of species. Innumerable species have established a multi-faceted range of partnerships with each other. There are mutualistic (or symbiotic) partnerships, as well as parasitic and commensal (an organism benefitting from … Read More
September of 2016. A brief break from the rains, a bit of sunshine. Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park shimmered with various shades of green. Being a naturalist partial to the understory, I found myself in the Nagla Block, the northern … Read More
Those of us who co-occur with domestic felids either in the capacity of pets or tolerate their occasional visits to our abodes, know about their great affinity for fish. But we also know that they hate water and the thought … Read More
On rocky shores, we walk past them, oblivious. Tide pools are microcosms of the sea, teeming with life. From just a few inches to a few feet in depth and diameter, these shallow pools of seawater are found in the … Read More
Understanding the threats invasive species pose to native biodiversity We, humans, are unarguably the biggest agents of change on the planet, today. Many of our actions, even smallest of them, tend to leave in their wake much unpredictable, magnified, chaotic … Read More
Comprehending Non-human Intelligence “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Illustration credit: Lisa Gonsalves Albert Einstein is believed to … Read More
My fascination for the most unlikely associations in nature continues. Upon digging deeper into the reasons and causes behind various natural phenomena, highly interesting linkages between unexpected entities emerge, reasserting the deep interconnectedness within nature’s design. In the previous and … Read More
More than a forest… a miracle The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a vital source of water for the city of Mumbai, with the Tulsi and Vihar lakes located within its protected confines. Dr. Anish Andheria has known this city-forest … Read More
Dozens of Blue Tiger butterflies jostle for space on a few bruised leaves of rattlepod. Each square centimetre on these blackening, bleeding leaves is precious, enough for four claw-tipped legs and a proboscis. The claws scratch the leaf, the proboscis … Read More
“It is hard to believe that since life began nearly 3.8 billion years ago, 99 percent of all living things that have ever lived on Earth have become extinct. What we see today is just a minuscule 1 per cent … Read More