It has been a long association with India and her wildlife.....
Yes! Ever since 1957, I have been involved with Snakes crocodiles and other reptiles in India. On the way there have been many memorable movements and I have been able to witness firsthand the good news and the bad news in India's environment.
. What is the research agenda of the rain forest centre?
The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was created as a base for research, conservation and education to do with rainforests. We are creating a biodiversity data base for Agumbe and carrying out a telemetric study on the ecology of the king cobra. We are also encouraging researchers in all natural history disciplines, from frogs to flying foxes, to use ARRS as their base. The aim is simple to document and highlight the bio diversity some of which is unique to the Western Ghats and then to build on solutions for the protection of this area.
2. How critical is the fact that only 200 pairs of garial are now in the wild?
The gharial is now listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, it is the most endangered large animal on the Indian subcontinent and because our rivers are in deep trouble from pollution, overuse, dams and barrages, interlinking and climate change everything that lives in them: otters, mahseer, turtles, river dolphins and gharial are under threat for their very survival. This is a time when political will has to be forced by a people's movement to save our rivers, literally to save ourselves! The problem is not in the media glare but it is real. These magnificent creatures as we all know have been with us since the time of the dinosaurs and it would be a great pity should they now disappear. Captive breeding can augment some numbers but without proper habitat and cleaner rivers it is not going to be a sustainable way to protect the Ghariyal.
3. Which states in your experience have been more sensitive towards investing in preserving their wildlife?
Right now we have collaborative projects with the Forest Departments in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobars. It is very much up to the officers in the Forest Departments as to whether interest and action takes place. Some of them are visionaries with a strong desire to do the right thing and understand that partnerships with NGOs such as our Madras Crocodile Bank and Agumbe station will reap benefits both for wildlife and habitats as well as for local people in the long run. They have their expertise and we have ours, put the two together and we are able to make considerable strides in species and habitat conservation.
4. You have pointed out that the larger picture esp. that relating to the water sources of the Western Ghats?
We treat our water sources as sewers and dumping grounds in India. This MUST STOP! Our precious water sources need maximum protection and rehabilitation if we are to have enough water to sustain our children and grandchildren. Everyone must be urged to be part of the solution to our increasing water problems, it can be done and it has to be now, without delay.
5. How would you classify the king cobra in India in terms of its numbers reviving n the near future? Are you an optimist on the king cobra’s future in India?
King cobras are dependent on the sanctity of the rainforests in the Western Ghats and in the Northeast. We have already done away with up to 80% of Indias rainforests, thanks to the creation of tea and coffee estates over the past 150 years and the massive deforestation for settlement, agriculture, dam projects and the like, much of it in the past 50 years. We still have some quite large contiguous chunks of protected forests, such as the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Agumbe Rainforest Complex, but there are greedy eyes out there, totally ignorant of the priceless value of these forests as water sources and only interested in squeezing whatever profits can be made from mining, electricity production, timber and other forest produce. The king cobra and all the denizens of the rainforest can survive if we allow their habitat to survive. It's an uphill struggle and the only way to remain optimistic is to be part of this struggle to make sure we win.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
India's snake man Romulus Whitaker
Romulus Whitaker is famous in India as the “snake man” this devoted conservation specialist is India’s foremost expert on reptiles. He is a man of many parts having worked, among other things, with the US Army. He has survived many poisonous snake bites and has discovered on the way that he is allergic to anti venom treatment! He has received the Whitley Fund for Nature award in 2005, and a Rolex Award for Enterprise in November 2008. He spoke to Ninad D Sheth.
It has been a long association with India and her wildlife.....
Yes! Ever since 1957, I have been involved with Snakes crocodiles and other reptiles in India. On the way there have been many memorable movements and I have been able to witness firsthand the good news and the bad news in India's environment.
. What is the research agenda of the rain forest centre?
The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was created as a base for research, conservation and education to do with rainforests. We are creating a biodiversity data base for Agumbe and carrying out a telemetric study on the ecology of the king cobra. We are also encouraging researchers in all natural history disciplines, from frogs to flying foxes, to use ARRS as their base. The aim is simple to document and highlight the bio diversity some of which is unique to the Western Ghats and then to build on solutions for the protection of this area.
2. How critical is the fact that only 200 pairs of garial are now in the wild?
The gharial is now listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, it is the most endangered large animal on the Indian subcontinent and because our rivers are in deep trouble from pollution, overuse, dams and barrages, interlinking and climate change everything that lives in them: otters, mahseer, turtles, river dolphins and gharial are under threat for their very survival. This is a time when political will has to be forced by a people's movement to save our rivers, literally to save ourselves! The problem is not in the media glare but it is real. These magnificent creatures as we all know have been with us since the time of the dinosaurs and it would be a great pity should they now disappear. Captive breeding can augment some numbers but without proper habitat and cleaner rivers it is not going to be a sustainable way to protect the Ghariyal.
3. Which states in your experience have been more sensitive towards investing in preserving their wildlife?
Right now we have collaborative projects with the Forest Departments in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobars. It is very much up to the officers in the Forest Departments as to whether interest and action takes place. Some of them are visionaries with a strong desire to do the right thing and understand that partnerships with NGOs such as our Madras Crocodile Bank and Agumbe station will reap benefits both for wildlife and habitats as well as for local people in the long run. They have their expertise and we have ours, put the two together and we are able to make considerable strides in species and habitat conservation.
4. You have pointed out that the larger picture esp. that relating to the water sources of the Western Ghats?
We treat our water sources as sewers and dumping grounds in India. This MUST STOP! Our precious water sources need maximum protection and rehabilitation if we are to have enough water to sustain our children and grandchildren. Everyone must be urged to be part of the solution to our increasing water problems, it can be done and it has to be now, without delay.
5. How would you classify the king cobra in India in terms of its numbers reviving n the near future? Are you an optimist on the king cobra’s future in India?
King cobras are dependent on the sanctity of the rainforests in the Western Ghats and in the Northeast. We have already done away with up to 80% of Indias rainforests, thanks to the creation of tea and coffee estates over the past 150 years and the massive deforestation for settlement, agriculture, dam projects and the like, much of it in the past 50 years. We still have some quite large contiguous chunks of protected forests, such as the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Agumbe Rainforest Complex, but there are greedy eyes out there, totally ignorant of the priceless value of these forests as water sources and only interested in squeezing whatever profits can be made from mining, electricity production, timber and other forest produce. The king cobra and all the denizens of the rainforest can survive if we allow their habitat to survive. It's an uphill struggle and the only way to remain optimistic is to be part of this struggle to make sure we win.
It has been a long association with India and her wildlife.....
Yes! Ever since 1957, I have been involved with Snakes crocodiles and other reptiles in India. On the way there have been many memorable movements and I have been able to witness firsthand the good news and the bad news in India's environment.
. What is the research agenda of the rain forest centre?
The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was created as a base for research, conservation and education to do with rainforests. We are creating a biodiversity data base for Agumbe and carrying out a telemetric study on the ecology of the king cobra. We are also encouraging researchers in all natural history disciplines, from frogs to flying foxes, to use ARRS as their base. The aim is simple to document and highlight the bio diversity some of which is unique to the Western Ghats and then to build on solutions for the protection of this area.
2. How critical is the fact that only 200 pairs of garial are now in the wild?
The gharial is now listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, it is the most endangered large animal on the Indian subcontinent and because our rivers are in deep trouble from pollution, overuse, dams and barrages, interlinking and climate change everything that lives in them: otters, mahseer, turtles, river dolphins and gharial are under threat for their very survival. This is a time when political will has to be forced by a people's movement to save our rivers, literally to save ourselves! The problem is not in the media glare but it is real. These magnificent creatures as we all know have been with us since the time of the dinosaurs and it would be a great pity should they now disappear. Captive breeding can augment some numbers but without proper habitat and cleaner rivers it is not going to be a sustainable way to protect the Ghariyal.
3. Which states in your experience have been more sensitive towards investing in preserving their wildlife?
Right now we have collaborative projects with the Forest Departments in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobars. It is very much up to the officers in the Forest Departments as to whether interest and action takes place. Some of them are visionaries with a strong desire to do the right thing and understand that partnerships with NGOs such as our Madras Crocodile Bank and Agumbe station will reap benefits both for wildlife and habitats as well as for local people in the long run. They have their expertise and we have ours, put the two together and we are able to make considerable strides in species and habitat conservation.
4. You have pointed out that the larger picture esp. that relating to the water sources of the Western Ghats?
We treat our water sources as sewers and dumping grounds in India. This MUST STOP! Our precious water sources need maximum protection and rehabilitation if we are to have enough water to sustain our children and grandchildren. Everyone must be urged to be part of the solution to our increasing water problems, it can be done and it has to be now, without delay.
5. How would you classify the king cobra in India in terms of its numbers reviving n the near future? Are you an optimist on the king cobra’s future in India?
King cobras are dependent on the sanctity of the rainforests in the Western Ghats and in the Northeast. We have already done away with up to 80% of Indias rainforests, thanks to the creation of tea and coffee estates over the past 150 years and the massive deforestation for settlement, agriculture, dam projects and the like, much of it in the past 50 years. We still have some quite large contiguous chunks of protected forests, such as the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Agumbe Rainforest Complex, but there are greedy eyes out there, totally ignorant of the priceless value of these forests as water sources and only interested in squeezing whatever profits can be made from mining, electricity production, timber and other forest produce. The king cobra and all the denizens of the rainforest can survive if we allow their habitat to survive. It's an uphill struggle and the only way to remain optimistic is to be part of this struggle to make sure we win.
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