Mornings at the field station are a rare delight now that I have become familiar with the vibrant bird life of Siddapura. Early in the morning, a familiar cackling call stirs me from sleep. A hornbill - probably a Malabar grey hornbill - and by the sound of it, it's right by my room. I…
The crik-crik-crik of the Malabar gliding frog fills the still air of the Forestry College Horticulture Garden. We skirt around the pond in our pyjamas, the dogs sniffing busily at our heels, taking care to not startle any snake that might be out on the hunt. Up ahead is a palm with lovely arching fronds.…
Mudskippers look like an odd mix of tadpoles that are just beginning to grow limbs and fish flopping about on the exposed mudflats. These tiny fish are known as the fish that climb trees. They hop about using tiny jumps and are amphibious in nature, able to survive both on land and in the water.…
We putter down the river, the famed Bhitarkanika that lends its name to the national park. The water is murky under the hot sun, swirling occasionally as fish disturb the surface. An estuarine crocodile suddenly surfaces, its tail acting as a rudder steering it towards the shore. As our boat draws parallel, the crocodile sinks,…
The kuk-kuk-kuk of the swamphen carves through the otherwise-silent night. The Phragmites rustles in the gentle breeze, creaking like old wooden stairs. We pad along the bundt, silent as panthers, flashlights off, Subas da in the lead. Himaja yawns, already bored before the watch has begun. Slowly, my eyes adjust to the lack of light;…
Little silver fish skip across the water's surface, so light and quick they might as well be flying. Like silver bullets, they cleave the waves effortlessly, skipping like stones. Fishermen spin their nets once, twice, and let them go. The nets flare as they descend. A meal secured. The terns flap noisily around the nets,…
The waves roll and rush around us, silvery-grey, tipped in gold. The lagoon is tumultuous, the skies cloudy enough to bear the promise of rain later in the day. On the boat, we are blissfully enraptured by the water surrounding us. I try to catch a wave with my toe and fail; the boatman calls…
Learn about the dark forest, Kathalekan, and how this paradise may soon vanish with encroaching human land use in the wild heart of Karnataka...
Sacrality is a fascinating concept to explore, and many swamps in my study area of Uttara Kannada are considered sacred by local communities. One of these swamps is Chaare, a lovely, fenced swamp nestled in the crook of wet evergreen forest and (surprise, surprise) an arecanut plantation. Named for the small village that borders it,…
When interviewing locals to learn about their knowledge of swamps, Rohan and I stumbled across the legend of the krishnasarpa. But what is the krishnasarpa?
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