Life for us has been easy and we all prefer living a comfortable life; be it staying in a comfortable room or owning a luxury suite with animal leather couches and ivory based crockery, be it showing off those leopard skin handbags or wearing a crocodile skin waist belt. A man/woman owning such items is usually considered to belong to a high class society. But, do we see what is on the other side, besides seeing the pride in owning such things ? I'm sure the answer is No.
Based on a recent article published in "Science Advances", there is a catastrophic mass extinction of many earthly species, and it seems to be looming large and it is us (humans) who are directly to be blamed for this. Be it deforestation, and taking away homes of forest animals or polluting the water bodies and intoxicating other species, in every aspect we are to be blamed.
Today we stand at a point, where we cannot retrospectively look back at those species which we have lost, just because there are many more that we are losing with time. In this blog post I will throw some possible light on three wildlife species which are nearing the dusk of their existence..
A Royal Cat, a symbol of bravery
Our Nation's pride, But,
Poaching men, reduced its density
For long, The Bengal Tiger is seen as India's national animal; But sadly, what have we done to protect it.? Sign a petition and forget, or just adopt a tiger cub, pay some money and forget. It's sad to say, only minimal efforts have been taken to save our Nation's pride. The count has gone down and I'm sure there will soon be a time when we'll crave to hear it roar. Caging them and keeping them away from their habitat won't really work. They need a homely environment, where they add a balance to the ecosystem living a life where they can hunt of their choice, breed with a comfort and live with comfort.
After recently hearing about the 60% reduction (reduction to 1400 from 3500) in tiger population over the last decade, It is shocking that none of the policies made to protect the tiger has ever worked. Should it go this way - their dawn isn't far. Its time we need to help strengthen the "project tiger program" under the national tiger protection authority and see to that we help build more tiger reserves and maintain our nation's pride
2) Lion Tailed Macaque
Away from Humans, in the upper canopies,
Swinging across evergreen tress,
soon nearing the tragedy of extinction.
Before I comment on the endanger that the Lion Tailed Macaque is in, let me tell you - a majority of this nation doesn't know that we are supposedly blessed to have one of a kind of this species, which is exclusively found in the western ghats of this our country. To add more, they are very well known to dwell amidst the moist evergreen forest where they survive eating fruits, flowers or sometimes prey upon birds or birds eggs. They usually prefer to have a life of their own and feel comfortable staying away from human habitat. I'm not sure why, but I seem to have a special liking for this animal ever since I remember seeing it on my trip to ooty (Ootangamandalam) a few years ago. Sadly, over the last decade many of those places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where these Lion Tailed Macaque used to dwell has showed a poor census.
Tell me, what did this innocent faced ape do face such a destiny ? Does it deserve this fate for just trying to live away from human habitat. Its time we look up to build a better ecosystem for these Macaques and stop involving in their lives and let time swing across those tall evergreen trees.
3) Indian Peacock
Dancing in joy, with a crown on its head,
with its iridescent tail feathers spread
will it catch our attention again
A fascination in every poets eye, a peacock or its peahens is usually a metaphorical representation of color, joy and happiness that has never failed to highlight the poem. Be it medieval history or the cultural significance you can always find the beauty of a peacock everywhere. They seem to catch everyone's attention when in joy. Seeing a peahen spread its feather and dance is something one cannot forget for life; but, what we have forgotten to see - is that the so called the national bird, is yet another species on the list of endangered species cause of weather changes, domestication, illegal poaching or stealing away its eggs.