Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Why Is America's Youth Staying Indoors?

•80 percent said it was uncomfortable to be outdoors due to things like bugs and heat
•62 percent said they did not have transportation to natural areas, and
•61 percent said there were not natural areas near their homes.

Read an interesting article at the link

http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/kids-in-nature/kids-in-nature-poll.xml?src=gp

Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary near Bassi in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan, India.

5 kilometers from the Bassi Fort Palace.

1.5 hours of small journey from nearest Airport Maharana Pratap Air Port , Dabok , udaipur

It covers an area of 15,290 hectares and was established in 1988.

It has series of tableland, gentle slopes and vast stretches of large lakes, water channels of which penetrate into the forest.

Placed itself at the backdrop of lush green forests of Vindhyachal ranges, it is a noticeable wild life protection place, providing a natural habitat for varied species of wild life.

Orai dam and Bassi dam form part of this nice wildlife sanctuary. Antelopes, Leopards, mongoose and wild boar are some of animals inhabit the sanctuary.

Many migratory birds are spotted in the seasons.

No doubt, it’s a haven for wildlife enthusiasts.

Our one day experience to sanctuary was mind blogging ..as per photography level it was quite challenging that day because of heavy clouds..

01. Rock Eagle Owl or Bengal Eagle Owl (Bubo bengalensis)

02. Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense )

03. Savanna Nightjar, Caprimulgus affinis...ID nor confirmed..

04. Indian Pitta, Pitta brachyura

05. Jungle cat (Felis chaus)

06. Blue Bull

07. White-eyed Buzzard (Butastur teesa)

08. Painted Spurfowl (Galloperdix lunulata)

09. Black Francolin, Francolinus francolinus

10. Black-headed Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina melanoptera)

11. Asian Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)

12. Oriental White-eye, Zosterops palpebrosus

13. Knob-billed Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)

14. Lesser Whistling Duck

15. Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

16. Asian Openbill Stork, Anastomus oscitans

17. Asian Brown Flycatcher, Muscicapa dauurica

18. Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)

19. Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)

20. Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)

21. Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)

22. Shikra (Accipiter badius)

23. Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

24. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Pterocles exustus

25. Brown Fish-owl (Bubo zeylonensis or Ketupa zeylonensis)

22. Oriental Honey Buzzard, Pernis ptilorhynchus

23. Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

24. Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala)

25. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)

26. Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)

27. Rufous-tailed Lark (Ammomanes phoenicura)

28. Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis

29. White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

30. Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)

31. Spotted Owlet (Athene brama)

& ETC ETC ETC...

Last not least KING OF SAARNA( LEOPARD) from Rishiraj Deval...

For snaps from sanctuary plz look at the link bellow

http://www.indianaturewatch.net/view_cat.php?tag=BASSI%20WILDLIFE%20SANCTUARY

For more details on BASSI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY plz call shri Rishiraj Deval ..his cell no. are +91 7891100000

Regards & regrets for mistakes

Sharad Agrawal

with many more to explore yet..

Vultures in our eco system
"They process certain bacteria and fungi present in carcasses, which otherwise form spores when brought in contact with a healthy human or animal, and become almost immortal.  In the absence of vultures, dogs end up eating the dead animals and the bacteria spreads thereafter. " Dr. Vibhu Prakash

Here is a link to a comprehensive article on vultures in our eco system, which makes for fascinating reading

The title is "India's Vanishing Vultures" written by Meera Subramanian in the Virginia Quarterly Review

http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2011/spring/subramanian-vultures/

Sounds in a National park

............The impact of noise on wildlife ranging from birds to whales to elk has been a growing focus of scientific study. Increasing evidence suggests that animals in natural settings modify their behavior, though sometimes only briefly, in response to human commotion..........

One of the first things that a visitor to Muir Woods National Monument sees is a monitor that measures sound levels.....

Once the diesel engines had been stilled, visitors began falling into line, heeding a subtle signal that human noises are superfluous here.

But some of the signals are hardly subtle: signs posted near Cathedral Grove in the heart of the park call for silence. Near the entrance to the food and gift shop close to the park’s entrance, a decibel meter measures the sound of a visitor’s voice.

Read more at the link   http://tinyurl.com/3h4qn2o

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/earth/22sound.html?_r=1&ref=nationalparkservice

"The contribution of nutrients from animal pollinated world crops has not previously been evaluated as a biophysical measure for the value of pollination services. This study evaluates the nutritional composition of animal-pollinated world crops. We calculated pollinator dependent and independent proportions of different nutrients of world crops, employing FAO data for crop production, USDA data for nutritional composition, and pollinator dependency data according to Klein et al. (2007). Crop plants that depend fully or partially on animal pollinators contain more than 90% of vitamin C, the whole quantity of Lycopene and almost the full quantity of the antioxidants β-cryptoxanthin and β-tocopherol, the majority of the lipid, vitamin A and related carotenoids, calcium and fluoride, and a large portion of folic acid. Ongoing pollinator decline may thus exacerbate current difficulties of providing a nutritionally adequate diet for the global human population."

Citation: Eilers EJ, Kremen C, Smith Greenleaf S, Garber AK, Klein A-M (2011) Contribution of Pollinator-Mediated Crops to Nutrients in the Human Food Supply. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21363. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021363

Read more at

#PLoS: Contribution of Pollinator-Mediated Crops to Nutrients in the Human Food Supply http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021363

Bhatti Mine Sanctuary-The tale of a new forest
" ....Twenty years ago, Bhatti, located on the south-eastern part of the southern ridge of the Aravali range .. was a ruin that had been plundered for its red silica and sandstone.  in 1991, fearing further loss of green cover, the Delhi state government, with the help of a Supreme court order, stopped mining in the area. .....A new threat cropped up last year when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it wanted to use Bhatti Mines as a landfill site, a move scotched by the courts.

Read more

http://epaper.livemint.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=22_08_2011_024_002&mode=1