Holocene year 3 issue 6

Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

The World After 5th Extinction Special Half Yearly Issue

Wildlife Corridor Designing for Conservation in India Using Computational Aspects: A Preliminary Interaction Model (Part – IV)

Wildlife Telemetry…

Your GOD is not GREEN… The Global Situation – The West

Diary of a Highland Scout…

(Part – 2)

Bako National Park…

Monthly Newsletter of

Land Of the Primate Proboscis...

Inquisitive Unicorn…

Cover Photo : Dwaipayan Ghosh

Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

“The Bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation” ~ Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Common Redshank Photograph by Md. Akhtar

Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

The Holocene is the geological epoch that began after the Pleistocene at approximately 11,700 years BP and continues to the present. As Earth warmed after the Ice Age, the human population increased and early man began to change the planet forever. For Exploring Nature, our newsletter Holocene is our platform to convey our concerns on human threat to biodiversity. We will use our newsletter as a media to highlight the current local and global issues which could impact biodiversity of Mother Nature and promote awareness of biodiversity in alignment with our group’s mission of promoting awareness of different aspects of Mother Nature among people.

In this newsletter our readers will get information and periodic updates on.

Recent significant discussions on biodiversity, going on across the world.

Major recent research and studies on biodiversity.

Biodiversity explorations planned and conducted by national and international groups as well as Exploring Nature.

Information and interesting readings on wildlife photography and biodiversity modelling etc.

Holocene Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

Content: Cover Story Inquisitive Unicorn… by Anwesha Ghatak 4|Page Editorial Conservation turns into Arctic 7|Page Experts’ Voice Wildlife Corridor Designing for Conservation in India usin Computational Aspects, A Preliminary Interaction Model (Part–IV) by Saurabh Shanu & Sudeepto Bhattacharya 10|Page Voice of Nature Wildlife Telemetry… by Vrushabh Borkar 12|Page Your GOD is not GREEN… The Global Scenario – The West by Arnab Basu 15|Page

© Exploring Nature Cover, Design and Illustration © Exploring Nature All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without proper prior permission in writing from Exploring Nature.

Editorial Board Editor in Chief : Co–Editors :

Anwesha Ghatak Samiran Halder, Vrushabh Borkar

Story Room Diary of a Highland Scout… (Part – 2)

by Arnab Basu 18|Page Bako National Park… Land Of the Primate Proboscis... by The Outlander 20|Page Theme Poster Camping at 4436 mtr. By Nilanjan Paul 23|Page

Social Media Coordinators Koushik Mondal, Basu Deb Kar, Lina Chatterjee Logo and Title Design Arijit Das Majumder and Saikat Chakraborty Website www.exploringnature.org.in

The Monthly Newsletter of

e-mail info@exploringnature.org.in

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Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

Anwesha Ghatak

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, amidst the Indian one-horned rhinoceroses……

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 sq kms. Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, alluvial grassland and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment.

The Indian rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced their range drastically to 11 sites in northern India and southern Nepal. The modern scientific designation Rhinoceros unicornis is adopted from the Greek: ρινό ("rhino" — nose) and κερος ("keros" — horn of an animal) and Latin: "uni" meaning single and "cornis" meaning horn.

Though my “partner in crime” Dwaipayan is fantasized by felines, unique unicorns had its own appeal and Pobitora was the chosen park to with family of three generations. Kanchanjunga express from Sealdah staion was an hour late. A wait on the platform no 6A, on a chilling morning of January 5th seemed prolonged and we all, aged 66 to 6, clinged to woollen clothes and steaming coffee.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is nestled in the grasslands of Assam which is the dwelling place of the Greater Indian One-horned Rhinoceroses with its highest population in the whole world and conveniently located, just 48 kms by road from Guwahati. When the train arrived at the station, early morning of January 6th, and our pre-reserved pick up was already parked. Dwaipayan, now being an “official” resident of the state of Assam had been waiting in Guwahati station with his gears on the shoulders, he had come from Balipara, a town in Assam. On our way we stopped at a shelter for a 3|Page

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cup of tea overlooking lush green cultivations. The first bird we observed on an electricity pole was a white-throated kingfisher, the state bird of our birth-place West Bengal and a neighbor of Assam. The state bird of Assam is white-winged wood duck and the state animal is certainly one-horned rhinoceros.

Pobitora is situated in the Morigaon district of Assam, bordering Mayong (or Mayang) village, the Land of Black Magic, on the banks of river Brahmaputra. Mayong, termed as the witchcraft capital of India, is a place where wild beasts are rumored to be tamed. Just after crossing the village, we entered through the gates of our accommodation, “Maibong resort”. The cottages were immaculate and cozy, ideal for short stay with loved ones. Wild at heart Dwaipayan was anxious to go on a safari, so was our little Joy. We decided to delay breakfast as the jungle beckoned us. My mother had little difficulty hopping on the safari jeep wearing sari, but once her and my father were on board, we were all ready to enter the park. An armed guard accompanied us in the jeep. Dwaipayan positioned his bean bag and started adjusting his camera lenses. Minutes after entering through the gate, a jungle owlet acknowledged us followed by a tree full of yellow footed green pigeons. And then our first sight of a unicorn, robust and busy foraging, was not so distant. The child and the grown-ups of our group were all enthusiastic. The safari was going to be interesting.

Another conspicuous big mammal of the terrain is wild water buffaloes (Bubalus arnee). Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild Asian buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List since 1986, as the remaining population totals less than 4,000. A population decline of at least 50% over the last three generations (24–30 years) is projected to continue.

The global population has been estimated at 3,400 individuals, of which 3,100 (91%) live in India, mostly in Assam. The wild water buffalo is the probable ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. We spotted them aplenty in each safari. But the first encounter was the best, a mother buffalo with her cub, protective of all kinds of invasions. Then we had sightings of the males of the herd, dunked in swamps; their enormous horns exceeding in size the horns of any other living bovid.

The wild boars were not particularly photogenic and willing, so we decided to let them be. There were rhinoceroses roaming near and far grasslands. They posed for us proudly with their noses held high.

The “certified” wild-life enthusiast and my co-passenger in this journey and forever, Dwaipayan could capture two big mammals; one-horned rhinoceroses and wild buffaloes together in the same frame. My dad is a bird lover and there were several provincial and migratory birds to attract our attention. Our safari guide and driver stopped the jeep to give ample opportunity to identify and click the birds in action. A magnificent changeable hawk was waiting patiently on a tree top, probably eyeing on a prey. We glanced few lesser adjutant storks on the ground and also on flights. Northern lapwings covered an extensive trajectory from Eurasia wintering this part of our Mother Earth. An osprey flew over the water-bodies; and then caught hold of 4|Page

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a fish with élan. The bird of prey, a killing machine stole our hearts with its grab. The 40 sq km drive through the park was quite eventful with its prosperous exhibits of mammals and avifauna.

The quintessential East-Indian breakfast is a combination of “luchi” (puri) and potato curry and we were starving after a memorable jungle safari. Joy found a play-mate, a cute little puppy, which was a pet at the resort and named it “Bingo”. Soon after Bingo’s parents joined and the family played together. The canines were no different than us displaying love and affection for the offspring. Truly this holiday was all about family time. A warm shower washed away all the enervation and we were ready for an afternoon safari post lunch. Food served here are organic, fresh out of the resort’s own produce. The lunch spread with fish curry was delightful. The shutterbug Dwaipayan hoped to get silhouettes of the big mammals and so we commenced our second safari well before sunset.

Jungles unveil different moods and shades by the day-break. When our guide stopped the engine, a sudden quiet filled us. By the setting sun in the backdrop, we witnessed great Indian one-horned rhinoceroses wandering. May be it was our spectre, that the inquisitive unicorns were averse to traverse the road to their abodes. We dallied awhile, till the sun’s last glory, but the giants did not appear at a vantage point. We did not get the shots but were spectators of a sublime sunset in the jungle. Content, we headed back to our rooms. By the nightfall, the temperature dropped steeply and spicy pork curry was the perfect dish to savour at dinner. And then we, two love-birds took a stroll in nearby village, like a pair of nocturnal creatures, till it was too cold to bear; and we were seeking a warm niche, where our hearts would melt and souls would meet.

Mellow beams of the dawn came through the windows. The veterans and the junior were arrayed for an elephant ride to the park. Though unethical, elephants should not be interned for our amusements; but elephant ride is still very common in our national parks. Like all other beasts, rhinoceroses are subdued by the tuskers and mounted on them allows tourists to amble through the jungle. Our boy joy and his grand-parents had close encounters with the mammals, one-horned rhinoceroses and wild water-buffaloes.

We, like the winter morning, were torpid. Mr. Nripen Nath, founder of the Eco-friendly resort was an ardent bird-watcher. It was his recommendations that we got out the snug of our blankets and sauntered towards a “machan” (a platform erected for avifauna aficionados) by a lake. And we were not complaining as thousands of birds flocked from all over the globe. Lesser whistling ducks, grey herons, intermediate egrets, little egrets, cattle egrets, grey-headed lapwings, bronze winged jacanas, common coots, white crested water-hens, common merganser male and female; were on the islands, in water, on the tree-branches and logs; gliding by in groups designing different shapes in the sky.

Not too far were the mammals, the wild boars, wild water buffaloes, rhinoceroses joining the winged beauties to quench. It is thirst that brings different species together near water and we all quaff to live and thrive. The morning sun was shining bright and cold of the night was and we all assembled at the breakfast table to reciprocate our stories.

We decided to spend the evening by the banks of river Brahmaputra, flowing through the veins of Assam. A boat took us to an island, formed by alluvial soil deposition of the mighty river. Our boatman, an energetic local chap chaperoned us, chasing the fading light of the day. The twilight had a melancholy; the gulls found their way to the nests, the anglers wrapped their fishing nets; diurnal life reclined when darkness impended. And then the sun split into thousand sparkles emblazoning the water, an illustration that will be sketched in my mind for long.

Late evening was all about “Bhogali” or “Magh” Bihu, the paramount festival of Assam. Bhogali Bihu (came from the word “Bhog” meaning food) is all about celebrating traditional cuisine. Youngsters from the hamlets around dared the chill and performed at our resort lawn. Girls decked in “Mekhala chaddar”, customary Assamese attire and boys in traditional “Dhoti”, sang and danced in passionate 5|Page

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folk tunes. The night was young and so were we! The special dish that we relished at supper was duck curry, tender and spicy, it tantalized our test buds. The cold of the night was vanquished with affectionate cuddles and a new dawn was assured.

In the morning of January 8th, we bid goodbye to Pobitora and Joy had a sad depart from Bingo, the puppy. We lodged in a motel in Guwahati and reposed. Next day morning Dwaipayan saw us off at Guwahati station and we wound up our vacation with heavy hearts; till we eat, travel and love again‌..

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Editorial

How Green Our National Budget Is!!

If we consider the recent National Budget presented by Mr. Jaitley is the last budget by current NDA Government in centre before next general election, then we have to say, environmentalists didn’t get much from Modi government’s finance ministry in their term as ruling power of the biggest democracy of the world.

Last year, those expecting a big boost in the Budget for environment and climate change were in for a surprise when the Finance Minister did not even mention the sector except the second phase of the national Solar Mission. Solar power has become India’s priority since 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Global Solar Alliance in Paris to create India as manufacturing and research hub for solar technologies.

The Finance Minister is expected to make some definite announcements to tackle environmentrelated issues. The Paris Agreement has set the limit of global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century.

Global average temperature has already gone past 1 °C and expected to exceed the lower limit by middle of the century. Climate actions by India to counter are expected to exceed Rs 150 lakh crore at 2014-15 prices by 2030.

All of it will not come from budgetary allocations alone, say officials, while debunking the contention that last year’s Budget figures did not reflect the government’s ambitions regarding Intended Nationally Determined Contributions.

Last year, allocation for the Environment Ministry increased by Rs 300 crore to Rs 2,657 crore. The Ministry saw an increase of almost 70 per cent in three years, say environmentalists. However, most of the budgeted amount catered to administrative costs and not much was left to address the issues concerning the environment, they added.

When Modi chose Varanasi for his Lok Sabha debut in 2014, he promised to turn around the fate of Ganga. Soon, his government launched Rs 20,000-crore Namami Gange plan.

However, a year before General Elections, environmentalists claim rather than improving matters have worsened. Three-fourth of the waste from northern plains continues to flow into the holy river untreated.

“Another five years is what he (the PM) will ask when he goes to Varanasi next year,” says environmentalist Himanshu Thakkar.

Recently at the Global Economic Forum in Davos, Modi made a strong pitch for climate change, terming it the “first challenge” facing civilisation. “Glaciers are melting and Arctic ice caps are retreating,” he said taking on countries like the US for ditching the Paris Climate Accord of 2017.

Back home environmentalists wonder about efforts his government had made to control air and river pollution in the past three years.

As the BJP-led NDA approaches its last opportunity to highlight priorities on climate change and environment in the 2018 Budget, it should keep in mind some harsh realities.

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Air Pollution In the last few months, the environmental status of the country has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Delhi’s air pollution became an international incident when Sri Lankan cricketers wore face masks during the third Test against India at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Some of the players vomited on the ground due to noxious smog.

At the World Economic Forum meet in Davos, Switzerland, where Prime Minister Modi gave the opening address, a report on the environmental performance index of countries published by the Yale and Columbia Universities, ranked India as 177th out of the 180 countries. Only Burundi, Bangladesh and Congo were found worse than India.

Lastly, the Economic Survey 2018 found that climate change is now hurting Indian agriculture and farmers considerably. The survey found that the effect of extreme temperature shocks on productivity in un-irrigated areas, which account for more than half of our agricultural land, is significant. An extreme temperature shock in unirrigated areas reduces yields by 7 per cent for Kharif and 7.6 per cent for Rabi. Similarly, extreme rainfall shocks lead to 14.7 per cent and 8.6 per cent reduction in yield for Kharif and Rabi, respectively. These losses could rise significantly in the coming years as the warming level reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next 10 years.

With the country in the throes of an impending crisis, one was hoping that the Mr. Jaitley would give due recognition to the environmental challenges in his last full budget before the general elections next year. Alas, it was a damp squib.

Environment issues were largely ignored in the budget. Except for tackling the issue of air pollution due to crop burning in Delhi-NCR region, there was little mention of anything else. For air pollution in Delhi-NCR, the finance minister announced a special scheme to subsidise machinery required for in-situ management of crop residues. But crop burning is not restricted to only Delhi-NCR and the surrounding states; it is happening in large parts of the country. Similarly, air pollution is a panIndia issue. Most cities do not meet the ambient air quality standards. A national action plan to combat air pollution backed with significant budgetary allocation would have been an appropriate response to the challenge.

Climate Change The budget is completely silent on climate change. In fact, the budget for the climate change action plan and the adaptation fund has more or less remained the same as the last year at about Rs 150 crore. The low budget for climate change indicates lack of ideas to address this issue.

The budget is also silent on various environmental cesses. Due to the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), all environment-related taxes have been withdrawn. The National Clean Energy Fund, financed through a cess on coal consumption, has been diverted to compensate states for losses incurred due to GST. The water cess, which charged industries for water consumption, was withdrawn. The water cess was the major source of funds for the state pollution control boards to monitor and control pollution. In the budget there is no mention of how these cesses would be replaced or compensated. This budget, therefore, is unique; it has actually taken away money from clean energy and environmental protection instead of investing in them.

In his speech, Mr. Jaitley mentioned that the government is focused on 'Ease of Living'. He defined ‘Ease of living’ as providing water, roads, electricity, Wi-Fi, and building Smart Cities. He has put huge money behind these schemes. But ‘Ease of Living’ is not only about infrastructure; it is also about a clean and healthy environment. Mr. Jaitley lives in Delhi but conveniently forgot this point.

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This is practically the second consecutive year, when Mr. Jaitley had an epic failure to deliver as promised to ensure greater focus to reverse both inadequate budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Environment and its under-utilisation.

In 2017, the union budget made a broad-brushed allocation of ₹2,675.42 crore to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), an apparent increase by 18.88% from previous year. Worryingly, the devil is in the finer details that mirror casual indifference shown to specific issues of wildlife conservation, pollution abatement and related areas demanding immediate policy interventions by the state.

Prima facie the budgetary approach to environmental protection appears to be as fragmented and flawed as the legal approach. Even as the issues of forest management, resource conservation, pollution control and wildlife protection are manifest to be increasingly interconnected, they are treated in isolation with attention paid only at the macro-level. Often proactive measures for environment are disproportionately counter-balanced by lax regulation in other sectors such as energy and large industries. Illustratively, dedicating funds, however large or small, for the Environment Ministry, in the complete absence of corresponding measures to boost alternative energy sources, place curbs on polluting industries and vehicles and adopt sustainable development approaches to economic growth is a farcical exercise. In the current Budget too, while there has been an increase in allocation to the MoEFCC, funding for renewable energy forms, solar use in rural areas, etc. has been reduced. The pluses of additional funding have been offset by paltry efforts at consolidating environmental conservation.

Meagre budgetary allocation In light of the increasing challenges faced by environment in India, budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Environment under various heads is palpably inadequate. There has been superficial renaming of ‘Clean Energy Cess’ levied on coal, lignite and peat as ‘Clean Environment Cess’ with an increase in the rate of levy to ₹400 per tonne. Even as climate change and increasing pollution have been matters of great concern, a measly sum of ₹40 crore and ₹74.30 crore have been allocated to the Climate Change Action Plan and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), respectively. While the national capital reeled under the heavy effects of air pollution, triggering heated debates on spiralling pollution levels in prominent urban pockets, the funding received by the CPCB is visibly unremarkable. Similarly, heads of environment and ecology, coastal management, environmental monitoring and governance, National Afforestation Management have received funds sketchily with no accompanying rationale for such allocations or a clear framework for their utilisation. The treatment of wildlife conservation has been no different, with ambitious projects like Project Tiger having the budget slashed by ₹30 crore and Project Elephant receiving a marginal boost of ₹2.5 crore.

Priorities and problems In the Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, the envisaged outlook for the financial plan states that the “government will aggressively focus on the objectives of pushing economic growth… (and) has the prime responsibility of providing a safe and stable environment for the private sector to create wealth.”

However, the need to rein in mindless propulsion of industrial growth at the cost of environment is obvious, to address the problems of disappearing wildlife, increasing conflicts, deterioration of ecology and habitat destruction. For this, scientific, sustained and intensive measures of conservation are required. A small step in this regard would be to acknowledge the role of the environment in budgetary allocations and ensure rational dedication of funds.

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Experts’ Voice

Saurabh Shanu

Depertment of Virtualisation School of Computer Science and Engineering University of Petroleum and Energy Studies Dehradoon, Uttarakhand

Sudipto Bhattacharya

Depertment of Mathematics School of Natural Science Shiv Nadar University Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttarpradesh

Continiation from the last issue…

Based on the above criteria of scoring, the various factors with respect to tiger using the strategy pair of Prisoner’s Dilemma game the following cost matrix is obtained, with scores for the edges entered in the matrix only when there does exist an edge in Fig. 5, connecting any two of the vertices of the graph: The pseudo code for Kruskal’s algorithm for generating the minimum spanning tree is as below:

Procedure Kruskal (Γ , c ) START DECLARE E = set of Edges A = vertex value F = storage set for edges a, b = initial vertices with minimum cost n = number of vertices e = edge between two considered vertices BEGIN 10 | P a g e

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1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

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Fig. 7 Cost matrix of the tiger for using existing corridors between different habitat patches in the complex

F := E; A =ϕ Set initial e = min (all the weights) Set the vertices containing the initial cost as the initial vertices

(a – b)

while |A| < n – 1 loop find e ∊ F э c(e) is minimum

F := F – {e} if Γ(A◡{e}) acyclic then

A := A◡ {e}; end if; end loop Γ (A) is a minimum spanning tree end Kruskal; END A minimum spanning tree (MST) for the focal complex, obtained on using Kruskal’s algorithm, with its optimality guaranteed by Theorem 3, is shown in Fig 7: To be continued…

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Voice of Nature

Vrushabh Borkar

• Radio Collaring Collars are the most common form of transmitter attachment for animals, a valuable tool to track the movement and behaviour of animals often used to obtain location data on the animals’ preferred habitat, home range, and to understand population dynamics. It generates signals like pulse rate which can be picked up oridentified and traced from a distance. It consists of plastic fibre; miniature radio and a pair of battery being strapped together at the middle of the belt, an antenna protrudes out of this radio. It has 4 essential components: transmitter (or radio collar), antenna, headphone and detector (or receiver). Loteka, a manufacturing company provides RC in 2 series: 1. LMRC (Large Mammal Radio Collar), useful for large mammals; e.g. elephant, rhino, bison, etc.

2. SMRC (Small Mammal Radio Collar), useful for small mammals; e.g. lynx, cat, civet, etc.

• Working Principle The transmitter is tuned to a certain frequency, mostly VHF 30 HZ-300 MHZ (TV, FM radio, most Bio-telemetry). Each animal is tuned to different frequency. Receiving antenna is thus, matched to the frequency transmitted by transmitter to locate a specific transmitter of known frequency and hence the location of animal can be found.

• Transmitter Consists of an antenna, power source and a transmitter unit.

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• Antenna Propagates the signals over long distances. The 2 most common transmitting antennas are: 1. Whip antenna Characteristics: A harness loop antenna design, implemented for small birds, involves a transmitter being wrapped around the body.

2. Loop antenna Characteristics: Whip antennas are an Omni-directional transmitter design that produces more signals over a greater distance.

• Power source: Common power sources: 1. Lithium and silver batteries 2. Solar Cell • Components of a receiver set: 1. Recorder Dial: the indicator bounces with the frequency of signals received 2. Band switch: for tuning the required band- 4 in number 3. Channel: for adjusting channels-12 in number 4. Fine frequency tuner: (for fine adjustment) 5. Gain control: (analogous to volume control) 6. Ear phone: (to connect earphone if the animal is very close) 7. Antenna knob: (to hold the antenna) 8. Off-on-switch: (to switch the set “on” and “off”) 9. Speaker: (for the signals)Mains: (to connect to the external power source) 10. Red and Green eye: (to ascertain the battery condition. Viz., charged or uncharged) 11. Note: Each band has 300 kHz speed and 12 channels; each channel in turn has 25 kHz frequencies.

• Bands Frequencies 1. 150.700-151.000 2. 151.000-151.300 3. 151.300-151.600 13 | P a g e

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4. 151.600-151.900 • Data Collection Different data on physiological characteristics (vital signs and measurement ofexternal form information), visit characteristics (date and environmental characteristics), observation characteristics (information on animals) and habitat informationis collected in data form.Different information collected from the collared (or captured) animal is entered into computerdata file on an ongoing basis to study trends, wrong data points, number of fixes needed, appropriate time intervals etc.

• Radio collaring Technique: The girth of the animal is measured with the help of a tape which is loose enough to dig one’s palm under. The collar should be smallest as possible i.e. it should not exceed 5% of the animal’s body weight. The collar shouldn’t be too tight; otherwise it might cause suffocation and discomfort. If the collar is too loose it gets snip (in case of carnivores). Further the collar is bolted and taped with adhesive plastic of same colour of the collaring, so that the colour of the collar doesn’t look artificial.

Furthermore, the receiver and antenna are then set up at the given frequency of the collar. Also, the transmission from the collar should be loud and clear. The animal’s code number and its radiofrequency are then labelled, viz. A 08-232. An investigator is now all set for animal monitoring.

• Homing The method by which an operator uses information about the signal’s strength and direction of the antenna to move close to the animal; fitted with the transmitter to find the animal or the transmitter is called homing.

• Triangulation The process of taking bearing from 2 or more signal receiving sites, based on direction to locate a radio collared animal is known as triangulation. The crossing point of the bearing gives the locations of the radio collared animal.

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Arnab Basu

In first two parts of this series, we discussed about the distress Hindu religious festivals bring upon environment. Along comes orthodox Christianity (mixed with vested political interests), which indoctrinates people to deny the immediate devastation man-made global warming could cause or is already causing. In previous part, we started looking at global religious and cultural practices that impact the natural habitat and with this respect we focused on some of the Far East countries. In this part we will focus on west.

For too many years Denmark has been allowed to carry on a barbaric and meaningless tradition that involves the brutal slaughter of over 1000 dolphins and whales annually.

The hunters first surround the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. Then they drive the whales and dolphins slowly into a bay or to the shallows of a fjord. When a whale is in shallow water a hook is placed in its blowhole so that it may be dragged ashore. Once on land or immobilized in knee-deep water, a cut is made across its top near the blowhole to partially sever its head. The dead animals are then dragged further to shore after the remaining whales have been likewise killed.

This happens every year in Faroe Island in Denmark. In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.

WHY? A celebration to show that they are adults and mature! - These intelligent mammals don't die instantly and suffer a long death in the red stained waters.

Whaling in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic is the slaughter of long-finned pilot whales when they swim near the islands, and has been practiced since about the time of the first Norse settlements on the islands. The whaling is mentioned in the Sheep Letter, a Faroese law from 1298, a supplement to the Norwegian Gulating law.

It is regulated by the Faroese authorities. Around 800 long-finned pilot whales and some Atlantic white-sided dolphins are slaughtered annually, mainly during the summer. The hunts, called grindadrĂĄp in Faroese, are non-commercial and are organized on a community level. Anyone who has 15 | P a g e

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a special training certificate on slaughtering a pilot whale with the spinalcord lance can participate. This was not necessary earlier, but because of constant criticism from animal welfare organizations, the Faroese people try to improve the slaughtering methods in order to make them more humane. The Grind law was updated in 2015, where one of the regulations demanded that the whalers followed a course on how to slaughter a pilot whale with the spinalcord lance.[6] The police and Grindaformenn are allowed to remove people from the grind area.[2] The hunters first surround the pilot whales with a wide semicircle of boats. The boats then drive the pilot whales into a bay or to the bottom of a fjord. Not all bays are certified, and the slaughter will only take place on a certified beach.

Many Faroese consider the whale meat an important part of their food culture and history. Animal rights groups criticize the slaughter as being cruel and unnecessary. In November 2008, Høgni Debes Joensen, chief medical officer of the Faroe Islands and Pál Weihe, scientist, have recommended in a letter to the Faroese government that pilot whales should no longer be considered fit for human consumption because of the high level of mercury, PCB and DDT derivatives. However, the Faroese government did not forbid whaling. On 1 July 2011 the Faroese Food and Veterinary Authority announced their recommendation regarding the safety of eating meat and blubber from the pilot whale, which was not as strict as the one of the chief medical officer. The new recommendation says only one dinner with whale meat and blubber per month, with a special recommendation for younger women, girls, pregnant women and breastfeeding women. From 2002 to 2009 the PCB concentration in whale meat has fallen by 75%, DDT values in the same time period have fallen by 70% and mercury levels have also fallen.

Archaeological evidence from the early Norse settlement of the Faroe Islands c. 1200 years ago, in the form of pilot whale bones found in household remains in Gøta on Eysturoy, indicates that the pilot whale has long had a central place in the everyday life of Faroe Islanders. Records of drive hunts in the Faroe Islands date back to 1584. The meat and blubber of the pilot whale have been an important part of the islanders’ staple diet. The islanders have particularly valued blubber: both as food and for processing into oil, which they used for lighting fuel and other purposes like medicine. The blubber of the bottlenose whale is not fit for food, as it gives diarrhea. In older days, it was used for medicinal purposes. People also used parts of the skin of pilot whales for ropes and lines, while utilising the stomachs as fishing floats.

Laws have regulated rights in the Faroes since medieval times. References appear in early Norwegian legal documents, while the oldest existing legal document with specific reference to the Faroes, the Sheep Letter from 1298, includes rules for rights to, and shares of, both stranded whales as well as whales driven ashore.

Pilot whale hunt is an integral part of Faroese social culture. As the attenders of a grindadráp usually 16 | P a g e

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are men, women do usually not actively take part in it, but are bystanders or onlookers. This is part of the traditional division of labor concerning pilot whaling which is centuries old, and has only changed little over time, though the method has changed quite a lot, considering that the boats nowadays have engines and most of the original weapons used to slaughter the whales are now forbidden. It is not allowed to hurt the whales in any way, and the killing must be done as fast as possible and can according to the new grind law only be done by using a new kind of weapon which in Faroese is called mønustingari. Another tool which is allowed and must be used is a round hook, which is put into the blow hole of the whale in order to drag the whale ashore. The whale must be ashore or at least be stuck on the seabed before it can be put down.

In Faroese literature and art, grindadráp is an important motif. The grindadráp paintings by Sámal Joensen-Mikines rank internationally as some of his most important. They are part of a permanent exhibition in the Faroese art museum in the capital Tórshavn. The Danish governor (amtmand) of the Faroe Islands, Christian Pløyen (1803–1867), wrote the Pilot Whaling ballad, a Faroese ballad written in Danish entitled "Grindavísan". It was written during his term of office (1830–1847) and was printed in Copenhagen in 1835.

The Danish chorus line is Raske drenge, grind at dræbe det er vor lyst. In English: Tough boys, to slay the grind that’s our desire. or Healthy lads grind to kill - That's what we like.

These old verses are still sung by the Faroese today along with the traditional Faroese chain dance.[56] In recent years the grindavísan has been sung in a more modern way by the Faroese Viking Metal band Týr, the melody is the same and the verses are the same, only much shorter version of the ballad and with instruments.

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Year 3/Issue 06/Februaryâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;March 2018

Story Room

Arnab Basu

With Craig Round and John Grierson 9th October, 2017: Hunting and Migration 9th October at 9:00 AM, we started our exploration of day two, we drove out over to the Black Isle, and its lovely, sunny and warm there as we made our first stop just the other side of the Kessock Bridge at Inverness. Here we got some spellbinding views of a hunting juvenile female Peregrine repeatedly stooping at incredible speed right overhead and finally catching a small bird which it then ate on the wing! What an awesome sight!

From there we followed a road which crossed some farmland on the Black Isle and got great views of at least five Red Kites soaring over the fields, there were also masses of Skylarks in the fields along with flocks of Linnets and Goldfinch, and a female Sparrowhawk glided low over the fields hunting the many birds up there.

Near Avoch we passed flocks of Redshank along the shore, and also lots of roosting Common Gulls before we headed to Chanonry Point and walked out along the shingle beach to sea watch across the firth. There we saw several Bottle-nosed Dolphins just offshore as well at least five Common Seals.

Our next stop was at Udale Bay RSPB reserve for high tide and as we arrived there are masses of Scandinavian migratory birds - Pink-footed Geese calling and dropping into the bay in front of us, as well lots of birds out on the estuary, including thousands of Wigeon as well as Teal, 18 | P a g e

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Oystercatchers, Redshank, Curlew, Lapwing, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit and a few Knot. Scanning through the goose flocks we also saw Canada Geese and Greylag Geese mixed in with the many Pinkfeet as well as two Barnacle Geese and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose. A Little Egret was spotted feeding in one of the channels, which was still a scarce bird up there in Highland Scotland, as well as a Kingfisher which flies past calling, before perching on a fencepost nearby for some time, and giving us some lovely views through the telescopes and camera lenses.

At least 4,000 species of bird are regular migrants in UK. That’s about 40 per cent of the world’s total. But some parts of the world have a higher proportion of migrants than others. In far northern regions, such as Canada or Scandinavia, most species migrate south to escape winter. In temperate regions, such as the UK, about half the species migrate – especially insect-eaters that can’t find enough food during winter.

As the tide drops again we drove around the coast following the shore alongside the Cromarty Firth.

Here we stopped to look at a stunning close flock of around 160 Scaup and got lovely views in the calm conditions, and scanning further out we counted at least 500+ Scaup in total out in the Firth!

We also picked out three Slavonian Grebes offshore as well as two male Long-tailed Ducks, a few Eiders and a distant group of three Red-throated Divers from there.

Species spotted on Day Two: Birds: Red-throated Diver, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Pink-footed Goose, Grelag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Scaup, Eider, Long-tailed duck, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Knot, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black0backed Gull, Woodpegion, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Northern Wheatear, Wren, Duncock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Redpoll, Kingfisher, Chiffchaff, Brunt Goose, Canada Goose, Little Egret.

Mammals: Roe deer, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Seal

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Year 3/Issue 06/February–March 2018

The Outlander

After three failed attempts, this time I was determined to view the famous sand cliffs on Indian Ocean and catch glimpses of the famous primate, Proboscis Monkeys in their habitat.

I was on an official tour to Kuching and wouldn’t miss the opportunity for the world. It was only half an hour journey from Kuching city to Bako. I planned my day trip minutely and on one fine morning our journey started.

We were literally a multi-national team consisting of pairs of English and Italian, one German and French, one Malay guide and me, an Indian.

After reaching Kampung, Bako village, there was an official formality to enter the “Bako National Park”; and our voyage by the Indian Ocean commenced.

Bako is the oldest and the smallest National Park in Sarawak; maybe small-scale but really luxuriant with its flora and fauna diversity and the panorama, the seascape.

Merely 40km away from Kuching, Bako is the oldest national Park in Sarwak, a state in Malaysia, established in 1957. At the tip of Muara Tebas peninsula, by the watersmeet of Bako and Kuching River, the area is relatively small with a radius of 27.27 sq km.

Salty waves swayed to the rhythms of the wind and erected steep cliffs around the coastline, which were painted by iron deposition, sculpting wondrous landscape. A cobra head cliff at Teluk Assam beach is an iconic site in that area.

The tiny National park is a haven for beach and cliff plant life; mangroves, grassland, swamp forest, several carnivorous plants are major attractions in the area.

The park is also rich with its faunal species.

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Bearded Pig are the showstoppers of the park. Around 150 Proboscis primates find their way home safely here. Long tailed macaque, Silvered langur, plantain squirrel, monitor lizard, otters roam here freely. Existence of around 150 species of Avifauna is evidenced in this area. It is also realm for some nocturnal species like Colugo, Pangolin, Mouse deer, Tarsier, Slow loris and Palm civet.

While entering the Park the jungle greeted us with a loud calling of hill mayna and adrenalin rushed through my veins; I was prepared to be amused by the dramatics of the jungle.

Our guide Robinson briefed us on safety precautions on our way to a jungle trail. While my feet rambled, eyes gazed on the offerings of nature; my mind was awry, inundated with the surroundings. The trail was a narrow pathway inside the forest and mountain peaks were playing peek-a-boo with the act of appearing and disappearing with bends. The long trees with roots wrapped around old stones, reminded me of the portion from a famous song of John Denver: “Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze”. In the moist jungle a deep silence was fervent, but when I heeded, chirps of insects, currents of wild streams orchestrated a subtle hue.

During our trek we traced a Proboscis monkey reluctant to model for our cameras and then a group of long tailed macaques. These distant relations of ours were quite friendly to pose and did not shy away. They were not bothered by our intrusion and after few clicks the clan went by their way into the jungle.

The jungle was intense and humid and the trails were the only ways through. Trails were well managed – almost natural; only when required, there were wooden steps or bridges, provided for convenience of the commuters. It was quite amazing that the minuscule park was not congested by whole lot of tourists and on the trails we found no other group rather than our own.

When we arrived at the famous sand cliff of Bako, nothing else could be discerned, only the blue, blue sky, deep blue sea, faraway blue mountains; like there was nothing beyond and the world ended right there. The Cobra-head shaped sand rock, formed by salt water and wind is a masterpiece of natural phenomenon.

And then the tropical weather started pouring, drenching us. With no other option we started enjoying the rain until we had to retreat. On our way back, we penetrated through a small cave exhibiting different forms of mangrove trees. Heavy rainfall hindered photographic opportunities. While on the shore dead trees and sandpipers unveiled their beauty, my camera lenses stayed wrapped. The mangrove caves were not muddy as the sea was nearing and were easy to move around. We came across two horseshoe crabs, my first wild encounter with the species.

A sudden noise and our guide alerted us; a Proboscis was only 50-60 meters away. Though it was down-pouring, I could not resist and started shooting. The long-nose male could feel my excitement and was willing to oblige. And then beneath, a Bornean Bearded Pigon foraging on the mangrove ground was captured by my shutters.

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It was lunch time and after an extensive hike, a yummy buffet was all we could ask for. Thus we had all our senses appeased and we were content with our expedition. A troop of long-tailed accompanied us; a fairly blue bird sang for us; an unidentified raptor flew over us. I was witnessing the consonance of all living creatures on earth and liberty to live in harmony; us, seeing them and them, seeing us; the unison of all species.

We came face to face with few reptiles – two pit vipers and one bronze back tree snake.

We continued our journey inside the jungle on a different trail anticipating glances of one of the elusive primates, silvered langur. We traced some movements but they maintained their distances from us. On the ground, two little hermit crabs, red and blue crabs and a mudskipper gave us company, though.

Our adventure came to an end reaching the base. Few Bornean beared Pigs were waiting to snort us goodbye: “selamat jalan” (meaning “happy travel”).

It was low tide and we had to get the boat; we were to move a distance through the rivers.

This time the water was not calm, as if the tides were trying to hold us back: “do not drift away from nature-dance with the tides”.

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