newsletter of the nature conservation foundation

He is nimble-footed and soft-spoken. His smile has an elder’s warmth, with a child’s spirit. His knowledge is vast, derived from hundreds of hours of meticulous observations and in-depth knowledge of wild animals in their natural habitats. He has over five decades of experience, working in regions as varied as Alaska, Africa, India, Iran and Tibet. He has contributed to the conservation of a large number of species, a number more than we would have the privilege of even sighting in a lifetime! Yet, he continues to be humble and curious – and at 75, never fails to surprise and inspire us. It was with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, therefore, that he agreed to keep his identity a secret from the participants of a nature education camp that we were conducting.

The twenty five ninth standard students who attended this three-day camp, were undoubtedly very fortunate. The camp was conducted at the pasture of Chomoling, nestled among high peaks, at an altitude of 4,500 metres above the Kibber village in Spiti Valley. The students had been told that “a famous scientist” would be visiting the camp and a letter from the scientist about his visit had been read out to them. The purpose behind this visit was “to inspire and form a local student force for the conservation of the

endangered snow leopard”, said the letter. But, there was a catch. The students were told that if they wanted to be part of this force, they would need to locate fifteen messages hidden in the pasture of Chomoling.

This “scientist” came, as promised, and was introduced to the students. Each day, he spent a few hours observing the children and taking notes of the camp activities. Each night, he would sit on an old oil drum, turned into a makeshift stool, and watch the camp fire. Being the camp organizer I had the privilege of watching this scientist and was amazed at his ability to interact and enthusiastically communicate with these young citizens of the Indian high altitudes, the future guardians of local wildlife. As Karma, our field coordinator from Ladakh, aptly described, “It was like being with a Rimpoche (literally meaning ‘precious one; a reincarnated Buddhist monk).” The camp fires would start with the children sharing their day camp experiences, and this would gradually become noisier with the din of enthusiastic songs, dance and prayers.

On the last day, it was finally revealed to the children that the “scientist”, silently observing and interacting with them, was none other than Dr. George Schaller! They were extremely excited and happy with this revelation and wrote long, effusive letters to him describing what they learnt during the camp. The children wished him well on his noble mission of conserving wildlife around the world. Dr. Schaller gave away certificates to all the participants and Nono, the Snow Leopard storybooks to students who discovered the most number of hidden messages. His penned message to the students, while signing the storybooks, may well be the message to all of us inhabiting the earth - “Remember to always have love, respect and compassion for all living beings.”

indomitablespirit

natureconservationfoundation

To

send us feedback and suggestions at

3076/5, iv cross, gokulam parkmysore 570002, india

t +91.821.2515601f +91.821.2513822e ncf@ncf-india.org

w www.conservation.in

bu

shc

ha

t

page 4 volume 5 issue 1 mar 2009

new

s

This issue of BushChat is dedicated to Dr Ravi Sankaran one of the most inspiring and dedicated wildlife biologists India has seen. He passed away suddenly in January, leaving a huge void in the wildlife conservation community. Ravi, we will always keep you alive in our memories. We pledge to lend a helping hand to all your unfinished dreams and in your honour rededicate ourselves to conserving India’s wildlife.

Individual donors and well-wishers play a crucial role by supporting (even in these times of recession!) NCF’s work and we would like to say a big thank you to them – Hemant Katoch, A L Somayaji, V Jaggannathan (Ramaniyam Real Estates Pvt. Ltd), Progressive Constructions and M/s Pinakini Industries Pvt. Ltd. And as always, the newsletter production is sponsored by long-time supporter Karnum Shashidhar - many thanks to you too!

- Editors

Pranav Trivedi, NCF’s education and outreach head, narrates a short story of how a legendary field biologist, and one who many wildlifers consider their ‘hero’, pays a visit to the village of Spiti and participates incognito in a wildlife education camp for children.

Charudutt Mishra, Senior Scientist with NCF and Director (Science and Conservation) with the Snow Leopard Trust, has added another feather in his already overcrowded cap by becoming the recipient of the 2009 T N Khoshoo Memorial award. The award which recognizes and honours young individuals in the field of conservation and sustainable development was set up by ATREE, Bangalore, in memory of the great scientist and visionary, Dr. T N Khoshoo. Dr. Khoshoo was the first Secretary for the Department of Environment in the Government of India and was responsible for developing India’s environment policy.

Ravi was larger than life. Funny, exasperating, articulate, argumentative, warm, generous, wild, wise and child-like. Wacky one moment, dead serious the next.

Many of us first met Ravi as students, and listened in awe when he spoke about his work on Lesser floricans, Nicobar megapodes and Narcondam hornbills. The edible nest swiftlet project was possible only because of his drive. When people warned him of the problems of working in Nagaland, he listened, but carried on regardless.

Ravi was among the few wildlife biologists who understood the problems of ‘doing’ conservation because he had faced them all. He was an impatient man, always concerned that he had not done enough. Ravi often took strong positions, but despite his bluntness, he won friends with his charm, honesty and passion. With Ravi around, there was never a dull moment - lots of argument and banter. And above all, laughter. In his short life, he made each moment count.

At NCF, we feel privileged to have known Ravi - it’s hard to accept that he is no more. Yet, amidst the sorrow, we always remember Ravi with a smile. We miss you, Ravi…. you will shine on, you crazy diamond.

- Aparajita Datta, Senior ScientistPhot

o: S

ACO

N

page 2 page 3

Every once in a while, we see a sudden and welcome rise in the number of new faces around our office. Many of these are students who join our research and conservation programmes but there are also others, like adminstrative staff who grease the NCF wheel and make it run smoothly.

Kulbhushan Suryavanshi I am from the historical town of Ajanta and have completed a Master’s degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at NCBS Bangalore. For my dissertation, I studied bharal overwintering strategies and demography in Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. Since then, I have been involved in surveying the upper Spiti landscape of Himachal Pradesh and developing the management plan for it. My other interests include Behavioral and Population Ecology.

Suma When we require our caffeine fix, the ever-smiling and happy Suma is the NCF genie, who magically appears with a cup, or many cups in hand. Visit our office some day to see Suma churn out constant requests of coffee, tea and lime juice! Suma also makes sure that the office remains neat and clean and when she gets a bit of spare time she loves to potter in a small garden she has created, around the NCF office.

Havaldar Biglu Singh We grudgingly admit that he really belongs to Aparajita and Charu, but from the day he arrived as a squat, clumsy and over-energetic little pup, he began working his charm and is now eagerly claimed by every one of us!

Shivakumar joined NCF in January as our Office and Accounts Assistant. He has a Bachelors degree in Arts from the University of Mysore and is an eager and enthusiastic learner. He does a lot our running around, including numerous visits to the post office and bank, and also helps the accounts and administration team with various tasks. As the picture probably tells you, he is also rather quiet and shy, although we are doing our best to change that!

S A Rahman I graduated in business administration and began my career in the hospitality industry. Although I enjoyed my work, I yearned for something more exciting and adventurous. In 2008, I joined NCF in their high altitude program, to assist in the administrative tasks of the research projects. I currently assist with various tasks associated with the daily functioning of the NCF office, while waiting to get a glimpse of the high altitude Himalayas.

Rishi Kumar Sharma I obtained my Masters degree in Wildlife Science from Wildlife Institute of India in 2005, evaluating mark-recapture population estimation approaches, for tigers in Kanha Tiger Reserve. I continued my research on tigers and worked in several tiger landscapes before settling down in Sundarban mangroves for a long term study. I joined NCF in 2008 in the high altitudes program. My research interests include application of mark-recapture models in the estimation of population-density and demographic parameters of wildlife populations. I am also keen on exploring the patterns and processes governing the abundance and distribution of mammals at the landscape level. I am currently designing a long term study for Snow leopards in the Himalayas, a part of which will be for my PhD work.

Rajeev Pillay I obtained a Masters degree in Zoology from the University of Calcutta. I worked with the Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi managing large mammal conservation projects of the Wild Rescue program. I joined NCF in November 2007, and am involved in mapping and assessing the ecological potential and conservation prospects of biological corridors in the southern Western Ghats for large mammals.

My major academic interests include ecology, population dynamics and conservation of large mammalian carnivores. I am also interested in studying human impacts on large mammals and the biology of human-wildlife conflict. Academics aside, I like to indulge in philately, photography and motorcycling; one of my delights being to hit the road and burn rubber on my newly-acquired Bullet.

Umesh Srinivasan My childhood has been somewhat nomadic, so I can claim to come from several cities all across India. Having completed my bachelor’s degree in medicine and realising that a career built on poking about other people’s body parts did not excite me, I did my Master’s in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from NCBS in Bangalore. For my thesis I studied species associations in multi-species bird flocks in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh. I went on to conduct a bird survey in the relatively unknown mid and high altitudes in and around Namdapha, geared toward identifying areas with potential as community-based bird tourism sites. I am interested in bird community ecology, mixed-species flock dynamics and Led Zeppelin.

peo

ple

page 2 page 3

Every once in a while, we see a sudden and welcome rise in the number of new faces around our office. Many of these are students who join our research and conservation programmes but there are also others, like adminstrative staff who grease the NCF wheel and make it run smoothly.

Kulbhushan Suryavanshi I am from the historical town of Ajanta and have completed a Master’s degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at NCBS Bangalore. For my dissertation, I studied bharal overwintering strategies and demography in Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. Since then, I have been involved in surveying the upper Spiti landscape of Himachal Pradesh and developing the management plan for it. My other interests include Behavioral and Population Ecology.

Suma When we require our caffeine fix, the ever-smiling and happy Suma is the NCF genie, who magically appears with a cup, or many cups in hand. Visit our office some day to see Suma churn out constant requests of coffee, tea and lime juice! Suma also makes sure that the office remains neat and clean and when she gets a bit of spare time she loves to potter in a small garden she has created, around the NCF office.

Havaldar Biglu Singh We grudgingly admit that he really belongs to Aparajita and Charu, but from the day he arrived as a squat, clumsy and over-energetic little pup, he began working his charm and is now eagerly claimed by every one of us!

Shivakumar joined NCF in January as our Office and Accounts Assistant. He has a Bachelors degree in Arts from the University of Mysore and is an eager and enthusiastic learner. He does a lot our running around, including numerous visits to the post office and bank, and also helps the accounts and administration team with various tasks. As the picture probably tells you, he is also rather quiet and shy, although we are doing our best to change that!

S A Rahman I graduated in business administration and began my career in the hospitality industry. Although I enjoyed my work, I yearned for something more exciting and adventurous. In 2008, I joined NCF in their high altitude program, to assist in the administrative tasks of the research projects. I currently assist with various tasks associated with the daily functioning of the NCF office, while waiting to get a glimpse of the high altitude Himalayas.

Rishi Kumar Sharma I obtained my Masters degree in Wildlife Science from Wildlife Institute of India in 2005, evaluating mark-recapture population estimation approaches, for tigers in Kanha Tiger Reserve. I continued my research on tigers and worked in several tiger landscapes before settling down in Sundarban mangroves for a long term study. I joined NCF in 2008 in the high altitudes program. My research interests include application of mark-recapture models in the estimation of population-density and demographic parameters of wildlife populations. I am also keen on exploring the patterns and processes governing the abundance and distribution of mammals at the landscape level. I am currently designing a long term study for Snow leopards in the Himalayas, a part of which will be for my PhD work.

Rajeev Pillay I obtained a Masters degree in Zoology from the University of Calcutta. I worked with the Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi managing large mammal conservation projects of the Wild Rescue program. I joined NCF in November 2007, and am involved in mapping and assessing the ecological potential and conservation prospects of biological corridors in the southern Western Ghats for large mammals.

My major academic interests include ecology, population dynamics and conservation of large mammalian carnivores. I am also interested in studying human impacts on large mammals and the biology of human-wildlife conflict. Academics aside, I like to indulge in philately, photography and motorcycling; one of my delights being to hit the road and burn rubber on my newly-acquired Bullet.

Umesh Srinivasan My childhood has been somewhat nomadic, so I can claim to come from several cities all across India. Having completed my bachelor’s degree in medicine and realising that a career built on poking about other people’s body parts did not excite me, I did my Master’s in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from NCBS in Bangalore. For my thesis I studied species associations in multi-species bird flocks in Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh. I went on to conduct a bird survey in the relatively unknown mid and high altitudes in and around Namdapha, geared toward identifying areas with potential as community-based bird tourism sites. I am interested in bird community ecology, mixed-species flock dynamics and Led Zeppelin.

peo

ple

newsletter of the nature conservation foundation

He is nimble-footed and soft-spoken. His smile has an elder’s warmth, with a child’s spirit. His knowledge is vast, derived from hundreds of hours of meticulous observations and in-depth knowledge of wild animals in their natural habitats. He has over five decades of experience, working in regions as varied as Alaska, Africa, India, Iran and Tibet. He has contributed to the conservation of a large number of species, a number more than we would have the privilege of even sighting in a lifetime! Yet, he continues to be humble and curious – and at 75, never fails to surprise and inspire us. It was with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, therefore, that he agreed to keep his identity a secret from the participants of a nature education camp that we were conducting.

The twenty five ninth standard students who attended this three-day camp, were undoubtedly very fortunate. The camp was conducted at the pasture of Chomoling, nestled among high peaks, at an altitude of 4,500 metres above the Kibber village in Spiti Valley. The students had been told that “a famous scientist” would be visiting the camp and a letter from the scientist about his visit had been read out to them. The purpose behind this visit was “to inspire and form a local student force for the conservation of the

endangered snow leopard”, said the letter. But, there was a catch. The students were told that if they wanted to be part of this force, they would need to locate fifteen messages hidden in the pasture of Chomoling.

This “scientist” came, as promised, and was introduced to the students. Each day, he spent a few hours observing the children and taking notes of the camp activities. Each night, he would sit on an old oil drum, turned into a makeshift stool, and watch the camp fire. Being the camp organizer I had the privilege of watching this scientist and was amazed at his ability to interact and enthusiastically communicate with these young citizens of the Indian high altitudes, the future guardians of local wildlife. As Karma, our field coordinator from Ladakh, aptly described, “It was like being with a Rimpoche (literally meaning ‘precious one; a reincarnated Buddhist monk).” The camp fires would start with the children sharing their day camp experiences, and this would gradually become noisier with the din of enthusiastic songs, dance and prayers.

On the last day, it was finally revealed to the children that the “scientist”, silently observing and interacting with them, was none other than Dr. George Schaller! They were extremely excited and happy with this revelation and wrote long, effusive letters to him describing what they learnt during the camp. The children wished him well on his noble mission of conserving wildlife around the world. Dr. Schaller gave away certificates to all the participants and Nono, the Snow Leopard storybooks to students who discovered the most number of hidden messages. His penned message to the students, while signing the storybooks, may well be the message to all of us inhabiting the earth - “Remember to always have love, respect and compassion for all living beings.”

indomitablespirit

natureconservationfoundation

To

send us feedback and suggestions at

3076/5, iv cross, gokulam parkmysore 570002, india

t +91.821.2515601f +91.821.2513822e ncf@ncf-india.org

w www.conservation.in

bu

shc

ha

t

page 4 volume 5 issue 1 mar 2009

new

s

This issue of BushChat is dedicated to Dr Ravi Sankaran one of the most inspiring and dedicated wildlife biologists India has seen. He passed away suddenly in January, leaving a huge void in the wildlife conservation community. Ravi, we will always keep you alive in our memories. We pledge to lend a helping hand to all your unfinished dreams and in your honour rededicate ourselves to conserving India’s wildlife.

Individual donors and well-wishers play a crucial role by supporting (even in these times of recession!) NCF’s work and we would like to say a big thank you to them – Hemant Katoch, A L Somayaji, V Jaggannathan (Ramaniyam Real Estates Pvt. Ltd), Progressive Constructions and M/s Pinakini Industries Pvt. Ltd. And as always, the newsletter production is sponsored by long-time supporter Karnum Shashidhar - many thanks to you too!

- Editors

Pranav Trivedi, NCF’s education and outreach head, narrates a short story of how a legendary field biologist, and one who many wildlifers consider their ‘hero’, pays a visit to the village of Spiti and participates incognito in a wildlife education camp for children.

Charudutt Mishra, Senior Scientist with NCF and Director (Science and Conservation) with the Snow Leopard Trust, has added another feather in his already overcrowded cap by becoming the recipient of the 2009 T N Khoshoo Memorial award. The award which recognizes and honours young individuals in the field of conservation and sustainable development was set up by ATREE, Bangalore, in memory of the great scientist and visionary, Dr. T N Khoshoo. Dr. Khoshoo was the first Secretary for the Department of Environment in the Government of India and was responsible for developing India’s environment policy.

Ravi was larger than life. Funny, exasperating, articulate, argumentative, warm, generous, wild, wise and child-like. Wacky one moment, dead serious the next.

Many of us first met Ravi as students, and listened in awe when he spoke about his work on Lesser floricans, Nicobar megapodes and Narcondam hornbills. The edible nest swiftlet project was possible only because of his drive. When people warned him of the problems of working in Nagaland, he listened, but carried on regardless.

Ravi was among the few wildlife biologists who understood the problems of ‘doing’ conservation because he had faced them all. He was an impatient man, always concerned that he had not done enough. Ravi often took strong positions, but despite his bluntness, he won friends with his charm, honesty and passion. With Ravi around, there was never a dull moment - lots of argument and banter. And above all, laughter. In his short life, he made each moment count.

At NCF, we feel privileged to have known Ravi - it’s hard to accept that he is no more. Yet, amidst the sorrow, we always remember Ravi with a smile. We miss you, Ravi…. you will shine on, you crazy diamond.

- Aparajita Datta, Senior ScientistPhot

o: S

ACO

N