Wildlife conservation, for citizens. How a WII course is changing the way I think of conservationists.

January 19, 2017June 18, 2017 ~ Lalitha Krishnan ~ Leave a comment

A year ago I realized I want to spend the rest of life working for wildlife conservation. It wasn’t a midlife crisis moment. On the contrary, what should have been obvious all along dawned on me rather slowly.

How does one begin to live the dream?

My new wannabe goal lacks the prerequisite academic backing. I don’t know anyone influential enough to open doors for me. Nor am I a donor. Scientific papers are mostly beyond my realm of understanding. I don’t recognize every other bird or ungulate. What I do know is that it’s not too late.

I want to get up close and personal with wildlife. Go out on field trips. Be involved. Inspire. Document. Help a researcher. Assist a vet. Be better informed. Tell the world. Invest in serious skills. Attempt to bridge that gap between scientists and citizens. Do what needs to be done 101%. For the rest of my life!

A friend, also a WII alumnus, happened to mention Wildlife Institute of India’s IV course on Wildlife Conservation for Wildlife Enthusiasts. It’s exactly what I was looking for. They hadn’t put in an age limit, so I applied. I was selected and it was everything I hoped it to be. And more. The ten-day course was divided into lecture-style classes and a field trek/trip into a core forest area.

Indispensable. Mules make it all possible.

A second revelation

I hate stereotyping but in startling contrast to the ‘government babus’ in my head, WII staff were a breath of fresh air. I interacted with charismatic and enterprising individuals from various departments. Their passion is admirable, their involvement, inspiring and their generosity in sharing, genuine.

The path of an environmentalist, as you and I know, is not an easy one. A few of our mentors joined WII as students and chose never to leave. 15-20 years on, these research scientists continue to battle on at great personal cost. Graciously, they make time to motivate ordinary people like myself. It’s humbling.

“When someone has spent decades devoted to observing certain creatures, their observations are not to be taken lightly.”-Carl Safina

I agree. If there’s one way to learn, it’s to walk with the experts. As a trekker, the highlight of the course for me was visiting core forest areas on foot. After a few days in the field with Dr. R Suresh Kumar and Dr. Lakshminarayana—both storehouses of information—my respect for conservationists has risen several-fold.

It’s one thing to learn in the classroom about how elephants communicate. It’s another, to be startled awake by trumpeting a few yards away from where you lie, trapped in a flimsy sleeping bag.

Fresh prints are evidence of high traffic in the forests.

This course is undoubtedly a significant one. The WII campus, tucked away in a green haven, hosts a great number of wild inhabitants. I am honestly astounded by WII’s collective wealth of expertise and by the impact they’re making, unknown to the rest of the world. I’m sure my course mates echo my sentiments. We’re a mixed bunch of adults from diverse professional backgrounds, different states, and varying ages. We were a rather enthusiastic and animated bunch: absorbing, theorizing, questioning and arguing. I can now say with conviction that there are 14 more Indian citizens in this world, who are better informed, convinced, and committed to saving our natural wealth.

Scope of conservation lectures

Biogeography of India/History of Indian Natural History/Achievements/Challenges and opportunities in wildlife conservation /Wildlife of Himalayas: conservation through science/ Large carnivore conservation in India/Saving Tigers in a human-dominated landscape/Science and management of tiger reintroduction/ Elephant conservation challenges/ Wetland conservation in India/Saving our sea turtles/ turtle trade/ Fish conservation in India/Dealing with wildlife crimes/A need for developing wildlife forensics/ Managing wild animals in distress/ Dealing with snakes, venomous and non-venomous in India/ Introduction to classic natural history books.

And that’s the tip of the iceberg.

If you’d like to read more of my blog posts:

http://bit.ly/reserveclosetohome

http://bit.ly/HimalayanWolves

http://bit.ly/8LifeSkillsFromABird

http://bit.ly/WildernessFirstAidMussoorie

Do visit me on Instagram @lalithainsta

Back to basics. Wilderness first aid is about paying it forward.

August 29, 2016August 30, 2016 ~ Lalitha Krishnan ~ 1 Comment

I have in my possession two little cards that slide into my wallet that qualify me to administer CPR and first aid. These will stay put, unseen for another two years, till I do a refresher. It’s nothing to crow about but I silently feel empowered with life-saving skills.

I live in the hills where like anywhere else, emergencies are aplenty but opportunities like this course, rare and far in between. When Hanifl Centre for Outdoor Education in partnership with Aerie Backcountry medicine offered this course, I enrolled immediately.

“Do no harm.”

Wilderness First Aid (WFA) makes sense because of where I am. It would make as much sense in an urban setting. The difference as far as I can see is the high-caliber of the course for a reasonable price. The idea, I think, is to make it affordable for everyone – paying it forward right there. The other huge advantage of this wilderness first aid training is that it teaches you to be resourceful. To make do with what you have or what is around you, in order to prevent serious injuries from potentially becoming deadly. I especially like the emphasis on “do no harm” while doing good!

Unlike first aid courses often held in air-conditioned conference rooms, this one also exposes you to the elements, where scenarios, complete with blood* and gore, make it scary-real. It’s also a very interactive course (with many light moments thrown in) that builds confidence to go solo and work as a team. What really sticks is the creative use of the body as a teaching aid and unconventional props.

Hanifl Centre has trained 370 people in small batches across India, in 1 1/2 years including professionals from the outdoor/tourism industry, corporate world, housewives, university students, and teachers. I would highly recommend it. Take it forward. Share.

Write to info@haniflcentre to know more.

*Realistic makeup

8 life skills to be learnt from a crafty little woodpecker.

April 29, 2016June 29, 2018 ~ Lalitha Krishnan ~ Leave a comment

Never disclose your location to just anyone.

For the past month or so, every time I leave the house, I’ve been hearing a rapid flutter of wings accompanied by a slightly high-pitched screech, followed by gentle tapping. I spent weeks looking for what I recognized to be a woodpecker but never caught it perching in one place for too long. It seemed strange; I kept hearing it in the middle of the afternoon when sane birds take cover. So what was this pesky little bird up to? It was doing nothing but distracting me and probably warning its mate of imminent danger.

P1160032-2 — The brown fronted woodpecker (female) is cautious at all times.

Be conscious of your surroundings.

Blame it on the fact that I am a wildlife enthusiast of sorts and curious enough to spend the better part of my day looking for anything that I can digitally capture. Luckily, I do not have the distractions of employment interfering with my rambles; and so it came to be I noticed an old hollow with fresh drilling marks.

P1160135 — The female brown fronted woodpecker drills its nest out of a hollow.

Be ready for contingencies.

Feeling like a photojournalist about to enter the NG hall of fame, I started by keeping my camera cleaned and charged, my SD card empty, played my music real low and kept an ear out for any tapping throughout the day.

P1160109 — I was surprised by the size of some of the wood chips the woodpeckers cleared out.

Keep your house clean.

In the meanwhile we were expecting houseguests and as is the norm at our home, just before their arrival we conducted a monumental clean-up effort. As you can guess, this included wiping our windows clean. And we have a lot of them! As I drew the curtains to proceed, I realised I was standing four feet away from the tree hollow. And lo and beyond there was the brown fronted woodpecker sticking its little head out.

Always work in good light.

Whilst spying on the woodpeckers, I noticed they were most active when the sun lit up the inside of their hollow. They were using natural light to their advantage and mine. Though I was photographing them from behind a dark glass window, they were perfectly lit up as I captured their activities.

P1160444 — Woodpecker using its bill to disperse wood chips to the wind.

Share responsibilities as a team.

Though the pair worked together I rarely saw them both at the hollow at the same time. One of them would spend a few minutes inside the hollow carving out the nest and then would take time clearing out the wood chips before starting again. Reminded me of me cooking while my spouse did dishes later. An arrangement that always works out well!

I also noticed the woodpecker pick up wood chips and with a quick shake of the head and bill, disperse it to the wind instead of just dropping it off like dead weight. They left no trace of their nest building that way.

Use all the resources you can.

In my enthusiasm, I shot a lot of shaky movie clips at different times of the day before I realized I could just as well have planted my tripod in place. I found better use of ankle weights (which I never use) for weighing down the tripod in the hope my mountain dogs wouldn’t topple it over. They have the uncanny knack of snuggling up by my feet just when I don’t want them to!

P1160472 — The old tree hollow was refurbished with a lot of skill and effort to make a new nest.

Whatever you do, give it your best shot.

These minuscule woodpeckers have been drilling out their home to perfection for a few weeks now.

I tried to get a glimpse of the inside of the nest but it was deep and cleverly spiralled out. Making it relatively safe from larger predators! They had functionality and safety all figured out! Makes you wonder why the word birdbrain has such negative connotations. Seriously!

Be patient.

As you can see, I was rewarded with a private viewing of the secret life of the yellow-crowned woodpecker.

Woodpecker chicks are hopefully on their way soon. Their intelligent parents are bound to teach them more than 8 life skills to survive. I have seen timber martens claw away at a woodpecker nest before and I’m hoping they never sniff this one out. Hope you enjoy the photos. All of them were shot through my (recently cleaned) window.

I would love to hear your comments.

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A related article about bird intelligence via HuffPost India