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Four Lionesses and Lady Luck
In a thrilling and intimate account, Stotra
Chakrabarti, a Senior Research Fellow with the
Asiatic Lion Project, refl ects on the four years she has
spent tracking four lionesses and their prides, which
inhabit the human-dominated landscape that lies
outside the safe haven of Gujarat’s Gir National Park.Dissecting Threats to the Spadenose Shark
Even as Divya Karnad banters with fi sherwomen
who have just landed a heap of small spadenose
sharks, she worries about the future of this near
threatened species whose meat is consumed, fi ns
are coveted and whose bodies are placed in front of
dozens of Zoology students each year to be dissected.
Exploring Wild Yercaud
From discovering invasive fi sh species to close
encounters with a bamboo pit viper and watching
gambolling gaur calves, Eric Ramanujam takes us
on a rollicking jaunt across the the Eastern Ghats in
this witty recollection of a vertebrate survey he and his
team undertook between 2011-2012.
My Kanha
In 1943, fi ve-year-old M. K. Ranjitsinh was devastated
when his parents visited Kanha without him and vowed
to take his revenge by becoming the Collector of
Mandla one day. He did, and though he would go on
to travel the country and world as one of India’s most
effective wildlife conservationists, he remains besotted
with this central Indian wild haven to this day.I just heard about the
various road projects
that are planned under
your leadership in and
around Corbett National
Park, namely the Kandi
Highway, and the road
connecting Marchula to
Bhikiyasain. These projects
go against the 2013
formal recommendation
of a committee from the
Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate
Change to ban all new
roads and the expansion
of existing roads within
the country’s Protected
Areas. Uttarakhand is such
a wonderful state and is
lucky to have the renowned
Corbett National Park
within its boundaries. All
projects that could harm
it and threaten its future,
should be stalled and then
shelved. We owe that to
our children.
Philipe Malet,
SuresnesI am deeply concerned
about the government’s
plan to construct a highway
connecting the Kumaon and
Garhwal divisions. Why are
we considering destroying the
country’s fi rst national park?
If the Kandi road
is opened to vehicular
traffi c, it would go against
a decision taken by the
VIVEK SINHAMinistry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change.
A less damaging, alternate
option must be found to
prevent irreparable damage
to this great state’s rich
fl ora and fauna.
V. Ravi,
Navi Mumbai
FLOODS IN MUMBAI
During the recent deluge
in Mumbai, everyone as
always, talked about the
Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation’s incompetency,
and the government’s
lackadaisical attitude.
However, they are missing
the point. The larger issue
is choking caused by
plastic and the destruction
of mangroves. We really
need to protect Mumbai’s
mangroves if we want to
survive the increasingly
frequent onslaught of rains
and fl oods.
And as they say, one
must ‘strike while the
iron is hot’. I don’t see
anyone else, but Sanctuary
to start a campaign on
saving mangroves. You
can be the purveyors to
remind citizens about their
importance. Otherwise, we
will continue to face this
problem year after year.
Pramod Sharma,
MumbaiANJALI ANANTHARAMSTOTRA CHAKRABARTIGAURAV SHIRODKAR