Indian Wildlife Club Forum

When I was a kid nothing fascinated me more than flying high so much so that I was an inch close from becoming an air hostess thinking that she gets to fly for free. But then I landed into medical profession out of nowhere but that’s another long story.

I have been dreaming of the Malabar Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros coronatus) the day I stepped into their area, the Malabar region. I came to study in the Manipal University around three years back which lies along the beautiful Southern coasts or the Malabar coasts. Malabar is derived from the Malayalam word Mala for hill and vaaram for range. Malabar, as we all know it today was changed due to the British-East Company governance.

Female and Male Malabar Pied Hornbills

The Malabar pied hornbill is a bird endemic in the region. Though some are as well found along the central belt of Maharashtra. This large black and white stunning bird has an enormous yellow bill with a large hollow bony extension over it, which is known as casque. Due to its resemblance to a crown, the bird is also called as the “crowned hornbill”. In spite of the male and female looking similar few differences are noted. While the female has a white eye liner around her eyes the males have a larger casque. The casque bills make these birds look unique, comical though gorgeous at the same time.

The Crowned beauties on a berry tree…

The striking hornbill has not escaped our funny Indian superstitions. It used to be called as “Dhanchidiya” as the earlier tribes believed that hanging the hornbill’s skull brought wealth. Funny!

Another fascinating feature of this bird is its nesting. The female traps herself into a hollow of a tree while the male walls the hollow with mud and cement. This is so that only a small hole is left for the male to feed the female. The female lays two to three eggs and incubates. Once the chicks have grown a little older leaving no space in the hollow the wall is broken and rebuilt. These birds mainly feed on fruits and play a major role in seed dispersal.

I must say that I was very lucky to have these beauties here in my small educational hub Manipal, a visit in the winters may give you an opportunity to see them. But, I am worried about the massive deforestation, human development and the ever-increasing need of human accommodation. Thus taking away their rights to live and breed. Today the status of these birds is near threatened and it won’t take much time to title them as endangered.

It is never too late to change and bring about a change. As human beings it’s our responsibility to give a chance to every creature to survive. Roger Tory and many others have aptly quoted that birds are indicators of the planet’s health, if they are in danger, you are indeed in danger!

Save the Environment, birds furthermore hold on to our green planet. Happy Birding!

 Janahit bahu uddeshiya gramin vikas sanstha, Telang Takali affiliated to  Nisarg Mitra Manch, Pandharkawada from 4 years we have worked on slogan of "Protection of water,land & forest" we one devoted for the protection 

      in yavatmal districts there is one villege Tipeshwar sanctury. in that to survival all animals, plants & other activity done by theme.

       we have to plant the plant & also we have to survive it. by celebrating Environmental Day, Welfare day, forest & life weekend , world water day earth day etc.we have to celebrates all these days by surviving forest & to have to spread to all villages to survive forest by all means.

       to deny the problems of environment, we have eco friend ganesha, eco friend dipawali, environment news paper are also giving to our villages friends. in cities & towns many posters are also there for survival of environment.

JAMNAGAR: Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has asked the Jamsaheb of erstwhile princely state of Jamnagar, who privately owns and maintains Sir Peter Scott Nature Park, to spare wild animals for other zoos in the country.

The CZA officials have asked various zoos across the country to spare their surplus animals for other zoos to facilitate an exchange programme. The CZA's website said the nature park in Jamnagar has several surplus animals, including 121 blackbucks, 200 spotted deer, 215 nilgai, four great Indian hornbills, five lesser whistling teals along with one albino, white pelican, nukta, west African crowned crane and marsh crocodile each.

The present Jamsaheb Shatru Shalyasinhji said there is an ambiguity about when and how the CZA will take away all these animals.

He said he has nurtured all these wild creatures with utmost care and it is sad to be parted from them.

"It is not clear who will bear the cost of the upkeep of these animals till they are distributed," he said.

----------Jamrunmahali is part of the Adarsh Gaon Yojana (AGY), Maharashtra’s Ideal Village Scheme, made famous by its patron activist Anna Hazare​, and practicable by its charismatic figurehead, Popatrao Pawar, sarpanch (village council head) of Hiware Bazar, Ahmednagar. The scheme has been running since the 1990s in Hazare’s hometown, Ralegan Siddhi, and nearby Hiware Bazar, but Jamrunmahali is one of the newer recruits to the project.

--In the absence of groundwater, local women would have to walk 2km to fetch water during winter. Ninety-eight per cent of the population would migrate from the village seasonally. “The village was a sort of punishment posting for government servants,” Pawar says, describing a community alcohol addiction so bad that teachers would be found getting drunk with their students during lessons. “Families would marry a daughter off with a bottle of booze as dowry.” --

------------To provide the out-of-work villagers with employment, Pawar approached the forest planning department and implemented a tree-planting scheme in the hills around the village. “We ensured that the money came to us to help the local people,” he says. In the process, the new trees would help prevent further soil erosion and retain water in the rocky soil. In 1992, the state government announced AGY for 350 blocks. Hiware Bazar was quick to apply and became the designated ideal village for its block. It began to access funds for education, roads and sanitation. --------

Read more at
http://www.livemint.com/2011/08/16223046/Following-Hazare8217s-devel.html?h=B

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