Sanctuary Asia – July 2019

(lu) #1

More at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com |Readers’ Forum


Next Issue


AN ANDAMAN ENCOUNTER
It is always a special feeling to sight an animal high
on your wish list. Especially when the said species is
uncommon, near-threatened and a specialist. Santhosh
Krishnamoorthy shares anecdotes from his fateful
tryst with the Beach Thick-knee Esacus magnirostris,
one of the largest shorebirds in the world, in the
Andamans!

BRINGING TIGERS BACK TO THE MUKUNDARA HILLS
Tiger conservation is a complex endeavour and in
the face of increasing biotic pressures, novel
and urgent measures are called for. Veteran fi eld
biologist Dr. A.J.T. Johnsingh writes of eff orts being
undertaken in the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve,
Rajasthan and he suggests ways to improve the
habitat and genetic diversity of this new tiger haven.

MANNAR
Sri Lanka’s island of Mannar is rich in antiquity,
myth and natural history. Ian Lockwood explores
the wildlife and landscape of this far-off land that
is a crucial transit point for species migrating back
and forth between the Indian peninsula and its
southern neighbour.

SANTHOSH KRISHNAMOORTHY

IAN LOCKWOOD

cost of the Bullet Train
Project. Mumbai is one of
the very few mega cities
with a forest. Over time, it
has been sacrifi ced in the
name of development and
this project could be a death
knell for what remains.


Pankaj Vijayan,
Mumbai
[email protected]

MUD ON BOOTS


Great work! I would suggest
to also focus on the
Northeast. It’s a landscape
that is left to itself and
needs hand holding. If
champions can be created
from there (there is enough
potential) then there is
hope. It’s a possibility as a
lot of these areas are under
nobody’s watch. Rest of
India proportionately has
more conservationists, plus a
good civil society, legal and
institutional framework -
all of which are absent in
the Northeast.


Ramki Sreenivasan,
Bengaluru
[email protected]

MY CARBON
FOOTPRINT
I went to NASA and UNFCCC’s
website (https://climate.nasa.
gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/)
to calculate my life in CO 2. Here
is what I learnt:
Born (1992): 356.97 ppm
(parts per million);
Kindergarten: 359.83;
Grade 1: 365.15; Grade 10:
384.83; high school graduation:
388.23; college graduation
(2012): 395; master’s degree:
402.61. Global CO 2 levels went
past the safe limit (350 ppm)
before I was born and it’s been
400+ since 2015. The planet
topped 415 ppm few days
ago – for the fi rst time in a
million years.
Sara Mahdi,
Mumbai
[email protected]
ERRATA
In Sanctuary April 2019
(Vol. XXXIX No. 3), the image
on page 51 (top) was wrongly
credited to Anne Wright;
credit for this image belong
to Dr. Rashid Raza. The error
is regretted.
Free download pdf