January-February 2024 Bimonthly Magazine Updates
Following a year of successfully stocking and raising wild mahseer at the Humpback Mahseer Repository at Bheemeshwari (Mandya, Karnataka), on February 14, 2024, Project Leader Jesu Das assisted Forest Department personnel in transferring eight of these fish to the mahseer hatchery in Haringi (Kodagu, Karnataka), where they will undergo genetic studies, sexing and conditioning. As the second phase of the project commenced in January 2024, 18 new mahseer were restocked at Bheemshwari, to be raised by Das and his colleagues from the Karnataka Forest Department.
Project Leader Jesu Das trains a local in tracking fish using a radio telemetry device, in January 2024. Photo Courtey: ACRMC.
Das also led a team of six volunteers as part of the Mahseer Radio telemetry study and safely captured, tagged and released seven wild adult mahseer ranging between 7 and 23 kilograms! Currently, he is working with volunteers and frontline staff at the Wildlife Association of South India (WASI) to document the fish’s movement patterns in relation to changing environmental parameters. He is also training Ramachandra, a local youth, to track fish as part of the study. An expert at cast netting, Das also assisted the Bandipur Tiger Reserve management and researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India and National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in conducting humpback mahseer surveys along the Moyar and Shimsha rivers respectively.
Das’s understanding of river ecology, keen observation skills, and accurate species identification have paved the way for the rediscovery of a fish that was once believed to be locally extinct!
In Jharkhand’s Koynardih village, Project Leaders Chamru Bediya and Sahebram Bediya have been utilising parent-teacher meetings held by Ekastha Foundation to push for biodiversity conservation-related conversations among locals. In January and February, they attended six such meetings and discussed ways to boost local livelihoods through their responsible tourism model, leaf-plate making, mahua collection and marketing. As their model steadily picks up pace, many locals have begun earning direct economic benefits, sparking overwhelming participation. They now plan to extend this support to their conservation efforts, aimed at banning wildlife hunting and halting deforestation.
Children identify birds during a nature education session led by Project Leader Saddam Husain. Photo Courtey: Maee.
They also led three nature trails for 42 visitors, conducted eight nature education sessions for 25 children, and documented 60 birds, seven mammals including sloth bears, and 25 species of trees.
A trained birdwatching guide and an expert at identifying plants, Project Leader Saddam Husain has been leading nature education sessions for Van Gujjar children of Gujjar Basti and Gaindikhata in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. In 2023, while leading a nature education session for children from communities living within the Rajaji National Park area, Saddam noted that they were comparatively more aware of native biodiversity than Gujjar Basti and Gaindikhata children. He has therefore incorporated discussions on the conservation of native trees, sustainable harvesting techniques, and the role of forests in the lives and livelihoods of locals. Simultaneously, his nature education sessions have been able to highlight the impacts of plastic pollution on the environment.
A rare sighting of a mother and baby pangolin in the Asukhomi Community Reserve, Zunheboto, Nagaland. Photo Courtey: ARMC.
Saddam led three nature trails involving bird walks for 29 children in January 2024, to help identify birds, butterflies and native trees near their own villages. He and his friends at Maee collaborated with the Uttarakhand Forest Department and devoted time to the Great Backyard Bird Count and the Asian Waterbird Census, documenting 154 and 109 species of birds respectively.
Spread across 280 hectares, the Asukhomi Community Reserve was notified in 2020 under the patronage of the Asukhomi Community Reserve Management Committee (ACRMC). In May 2022, guided by the ACRMC, the people of Asukhomi village voluntarily surrendered their guns and hunting weapons at a public meeting organised by the village council.
In January, Project Leaders Ghokivi Yeptho and Katoshe Chisi, spent 11 days patrolling the reserve. The team put to rest speculations about hunting, confirming that they found no such evidence in the reserve. In February, while laying camera traps, they were treated to the rare sight of a mother-baby pangolin duo!
Project Leaders Kanhaiyalal and Shashank lead a conservation education session for 150 children in Gondia, Maharashtra, on February 2, 2024. Photo: Kanhaiyalal Udapure and Shashank Ladekar.
In Gondia, Maharashtra, Project Leaders Kanhaiyalal Udapure and Shashank Ladekar continued working with locals in 10 villages in an effort to strategise wetland management techniques capable of supporting wildlife while offering livelihoods. The duo collaborated with the Forest Department and a local NGO called Sustaining Environment & Wildlife Assemblage and led 85 college students and birders in documenting 37 migratory and 21 local bird species in four wetlands for the January 2024 Asian Waterbird Census. They also organised a celebration on World Wetland Day for 150 students of Orchid International School (Gondia) by conducting a biodiversity conservation-themed drawing competition, quizzes and games. They believe conservation awareness sessions will gift children a lifetime of appreciation and an understanding of the importance of protecting wild nature. They also held vital consultations with Gram Panchayats in six villages to form biodiversity committees and strengthen existing ones to manage wetlands in their respective villages.
