Country elephants having the toughest time ever! Special edition (Laxmi)

Author : Pawan Sharma 

We all saw how Bijlee 58 year old elephant suffered begging on the streets of Mulund, she collapsed on 11 June 2013 and died on 30 June 2013 this all happened due to the negligence towards her health by her owners.
Many NGOs, animal lovers and individual came forward to help her and performed the best possible tasks to save her life. The most unfortunate of all was that the city as well as the state had no infrastructure for the treatment of such a large animal.
So the biggest question that comes forward is what are these animals doing here if there are no proper provisions for them ?
Elephants are protected under the schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act WPA, 1972 and thus have the largest priority when it comes to the protection of these animals. But then what is actually happening ?
We all know the answers and it is the poor management of wildlife of the country.
The captive elephants come under domesticated wildlife and we should wonder why were these protected animals allowed to be owned by people. Adding to the motivation of elephants being owned, the government also allowed ownership certificates to the owners which in simple words were license to exploit!
The owners of these elephants used them to generate money through begging, entertaining and performing in the circus, giving joy rides or using the religious sentiments of the people and keeping them near temples and so on.
The concerned authority who is incharge of these animals are the real people who are at fault and there is a urgent need of changing the existing protocols in the country. It is believed that people can not purchase new elephants, but the more contemporary issue is of the existing domesticated ones.

Laxmi 18 year old elephant was a companion of late Bijlee, was rescued in July 2013 and was taken to a rescue center of Wildlife SOS after her license was canceled by the concerned forest department.
She was having a better life there and had improved her health complications under the care and treatment of Wildlife SOS.
We all know the fact that there are many loopholes in our system which has made us helpless at many places. Using those loopholes today the past owner of Laxmi is trying to get her custody back which has disappointed many animal lovers and organizations.
Infact it was expected that an offense against the past owners should have been booked by the state forest department for violating number of rules with addition to ignoring and neglecting the health and making the elephants beg within the city limits with a very strong follow up.
It is very unfortunate to witness the current happening, organizations and individuals who work for the betterment of animals and regulation of rules are having a tough time and the speechless animals suffering.
If this attitude and behavior towards protected wildkinds will keep taking place then it will not be a false statement that protection and conservation in the country is a total myth!

Other than Laxmi, there are many other elephants in different places in the country one of them is Sundar of Kolhapur and many more.

Big cat conflicts of Mumbai

An injured dog which survived  a leopard recently at Mulund 2014,

Dogs population is abundant in the city, also easy prey for leopards and are thus called its favorite food.  

Photo credits : Meet Shah @ RAWW

Author : Pawan Sharma @ RAWW

 Dog survives big cat attack.

A dog was attacked by a leopard at Rahul Nagar - Mulund - west. A group of boys were playing cards near a pipeline where this (in the above pic) dog too accompanied them. 

After sometime the dog started barking in an uncertain manner which alarmed the group that there was something around, soon many other dogs near the area started barking in a pattern which indicated the presence of a big cat, according to the residents with whom we interacted and who added that they rely on the dogs for such indications since years.  

After sometime the group herd the cry of the dog and spotted that a big cat pounced on the dog (in the above pic) and was trying to maul it. 

The situation had created distress in the area, on responding to this a group of residents decided to scare away the leopard and save the dog. The group was successful in scaring away the big cat and saving the dogs life.
The residents of Rahul Nagar and the adjoining padas and slums are used to leopard sightings since they live in the area. A leopard is sighted almost every day in and around the area by someone or the other and this thus indicated that the cat is a resident leopard of that area.
I have also requested some stray welfare organizations and individuals for the treatment of the survivor dog and have also discussed on making the people aware and targeting on the control of stray population around these areas and thus reduce the attraction of the big cats towards easy prey.
It also feels great see the support and motivation of some stray welfare organizations and individuals, and hope such people keep on adding here and every where.
After this I felt to extend my words and expressions about the wild cat.

A leopard  looking at the group of people opposite to it  at a defunct mill - Borivali 2013, clicked by me (Author) while attending a distress call with the forest department officials.

Over the years leopards have developed and are still developing the skills of survival in urban forests. But in return we have always tried to exploit them as much as we could. Every action in and around its habitat highly affects and influences the behavior of the leopard. This includes both permanent and temporary encroachment in the forest, but the actual concerned authorities who have the power to act are actually not worried.
I call and recall wildlife as smallest or tiniest minority in our country after understanding and witnessing its management and concern of the concerned. To focus on the island city, wildlife management is very poor from infrastructure to administration which needs to be changed as soon as possible. But we all know change is not an overnight occurrence and will take time, however indications should atleast be indicated form the managers.
About human-leopard conflict, it is not actually a human-leopard conflict because maximum human deaths happened because of human errors, majority attacks happened inside the forests and on the ones who were in the wrong place/position at the wrong time. It is actually a human-human conflict between which the leopard is stuck and striving hard for its survival.
According to me the big cats of Mumbai have become bold towards humans, where as scholars always defined it as a shy animal, there are no intentions to prove them wrong its pure expression of individual observation. The reason for me quoting them bold comes with the reference to the existing scientific study done on them in the city.
The latest census of leopards declared that there are 22 to 24 leopards living in and around SGNP (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) which I learned in 2012 through leading tabloids and broadsheets. And from then till date I came across 9 different individuals at different locations all near the human habitat in and around the periphery of the park.
I have seen leopards mating for hours, sitting/staring/walking for minutes, jumping in seconds other than the rescued or trapped ones and the best part of seeing them was that I was not in the forest illegally and they(leopards)  were not straying but visiting the city legally. The credits for this contrasting statement goes to the contrasting system within which we exist, and the complex issue will be understood by a very few.
The biggest game according to me is the word 'buffer zone' which actually does not exist between the city and the forest. There are many such issues and concerns which I will be raising from time to time on the right time. Highlighting problems is a part of the solution, but finding, executing and regulation of it from time to time is the real or actual solution.
Both humans and animals in this city are struggling for shelter and space to exist, but in this race of seeking space humans are taking on the animals and the most exploited category of the animals is wildlife. The destruction of their habitat will win mankind space for itself and may provide happiness but i ll coin such happiness as temporary happiness because nature always replies and will reply. And the time when we will understand or decode the hidden messages of nature it may mostly be too late.
Everybody likes to see wildlife on their television sets out of which maximum today are in a sorted and scripted manner, and fail maximum times in raising/projecting real issues and concerns while covering/representing the urban wildlife. And when it comes to provision of solutions very few options are provided in such manners that common people can not either understand or practice it to co-exist and are resisted from entering/participating in conservation no matter direct or indirect.
Appreciating the native wildlife of the city and spreading a word for its protection, conservation and welfare which is actually its right is the need of the hour.
Supporting and helping the likeminded individuals and organizations while they perform welfare tasks should be motivated and encouraged.

Pawan S. Sharma
Founder & President - RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare) 

"Its too hot! Make it cool, please fill the pool"

                       Photo credits: Sagar Pandhi  

 

                         Author: Pawan Sharma 

           
      A cobra posing infront of our camera lens @ Yogi Hills Club House- after being                                                      rescued by our  team.

5/3/2014 

A cobra was rescued from the swimming pool of a clubhouse at Mulund, the snake had entered the club house premises through a pipe which was connected to the SGNP (Sanjay Gandhi National Park) and had fallen inside the swimming pool after watching the security guard watching it. 

A distress call was made on our helpline number by the concerned authorities of the club house after the security guard reported the scene. 

Our rescue team soon reached the location and found the hooded reptile hiding in a corner as our team reached near the snake it entered a pipe and refused to come out, although it had no way out. The reptile was rescued safely after a long rescue operation. It was soon registered with the forest department and released back to wild.

I was not a part of the rescue team during this rescue but I have been visiting this area since 2008 and this specific club house since 2010 and have always rescued amazing reptiles ranging from a few inches long Kukri to six to ten feet long Indian rock pythons and thus wanted to write about this place. 

Snakes and other wild animals are frequent visitors in this area as it is very close to the forest, but snakes are more regularly found here in almost all the seasons of the year because of many natural and man-made reasons. Initially people used to kill them, but with the help of some real genuine residents and my team mates we made the people aware about the importance of snakes in the surrounding, we provided them with basic safety measures using which human reptile conflict could be avoided and rescued the snakes which were stuck or were found in areas where children played or the areas which had more potential for a conflict. 

Today the people are much aware about the concept of co-existing with the wild, today even if there is a snake inside a house, residents do not kill it, they safeguard their children and pets,  patiently keep an eye on the reptile and wait with full trust till rescue help reaches. Many residents and security guards are so comfortable with the presence of rat and cat snakes in and around them that they do not call us or raise threat alarms after spotting them.  I highly appreciate this level of participation, support and co-operation from the residents and proudly say that we (Mulundkars) have set an example among all the people living around the periphery of the national park.

Human wildlife conflict management strategies of a developing country represents the level of wildlife conservation a nation conducts and supports, and for that we need to aware and involve more and more people, thus make the complicated relation between man and wild simpler. 

After performing thousands of rescues, out of which each one was a different situation and experience  kept on adding to the count, hundreds were discussed with my team and other like minded individuals it makes me feel great to share the first story. Hope I keep finding time and space to convert some good stories into readable material and publish it in #TheRAWWFiles.

Youth supports wild for a better future.

Photo credits:RAWW

Author: Pawan Sharma

Adwait Jadhav (Member - RAWW Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare)  with Jeet Gunaji Sawardekar ( Student of class VI - Hiranandani Foundation Thane , and a resident of Hiranandani Meadows Thane)


Jeet is an example of the young ones of our country who will be spreading a word for wildlife conservation in the near future and support the only minority of the country ie the wildlife and its habitat.
Our team had visited Jeet's residence for few days last year when there was a distress at his complex (Hiranandani Meadows) regarding a wildlife distress situation. Where a leopard was frequently visiting the area and hunting dogs due to which there was a fear among the residents that the leopard could attack small children mistaking them for a easy prey and lead to a human-wildlife conflict.
As a part of human wildlife conflict management the leopard was trapped by the forest department but the impact of the wild cat was still in the mind of the young child.
As a part of his academic proceedings Jeet had participated in a Homi Baba initiative where 40,000 students  of English, Hindi and Marathi mediums from the state had taken part. Students were told to choose different topics and conduct a survey on the same and submit a report of the same. Jeet decided to choose leopards of SGNP( Sanjay Gandhi National Park) as his topic and soon exchanged his ideas with his father.
Mr. Sawardekar (Jeet's father) recollected our interaction with them during the leopard distress situation where we had helped many residents by making them aware about the behavior of the wild cat and ways to deal with them, so he soon approached Adwait Jadhav of our organization for helping and guiding his child in the topic he selected. As the mentor for Jeet, Adwait helped him in the best possible ways with his technical guidance and expertise gained while working with forest department and dealing with human leopard distress situations.
Adwait is a student of science and his procuring his masters degree in environmental science from Institute of science affiliated with University of Mumbai and is currently working on human-leopard conflict as a part of his academics. Adwait helped Jeet in designing the survey questionnaire and gave tips on compiling data while representing the report and also different ideas to make more ad more people aware about the leopard, its behavior and importance in our forests.
Few weeks ago we had a call from Jeet's father that he won a silver medal with a lot of applause and appreciation from his near and dear ones including his school and the hosts of the initiative. This was not only a good news but also the positive impact of raising such contemporary issues on academic level. We hope that youngsters keep coming forward and undertake such initiatives and represent the wildlife on every available platform that one gets, this will not only lead to welfare of wildlife but also to the welfare of human kind as co existence with the wild is the only key to live a better and sorted life.