Sunil Limaye (ex- Forester and Wildlife Conservationist) is a tad amused when we say that forest rangers have occupied a larger-than-life persona in pop culture for years. From ‘The Forest Rangers’ (1942) starring Fred MacMurray to ‘Sherni’ (2021) starring Vidya Balan, forest officers in their myriad roles have captivated viewers as they tackled conflicts in deeply hostile forests. Limaye agrees that most forest rangers deal with intense pressures and obstacles of all kinds which is probably why they are amazing role models across generations, but his own role as an Indian Forest Service Officer involved a good deal of administrative duties, instilling awareness in rural and urban groups about conservation and sustainability, and devising strategies to mitigate human-animal conflicts.
Category: Blog
What Lies Ahead for the Royal Bengal Tiger?
In 2023, India celebrated 50 glorious years of Project Tiger. When the nation became independent in 1947, the tiger count in the country was estimated to be between 40,000 – 50,000. But, when the first official tiger census took place in 1972, the results were appalling – the animal was tethering on the brink of extinction with an abysmal count of less than 2000. The first all-India tiger census figure via pugmark tracking identification, the traditional method used at the time, put the number at 1827.
WHEN URBANIZATION INVADES THEIR HABITAT, CAN SNAKES COHABIT WITH HUMANS?
On one rainy Sunday afternoon aptly termed “Snake Season” by one speaker, herpetologists, scientists, conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts gathered together at Holiday Inn Airport, Kolkata to attend “Let Us Co-live Together” by Jain Group.
Dazzling Western Ghats
India’s famous ornithologist and naturalist flopped down on the protruding roots of a giant tree and reached for his bottle of orange juice that he was carrying with him. After all the tiring work he had done over the past couple of hours, it was nearly a tumble. Dr. Ali was thirsty and gulped down the fluid. The year was 1987 and this was just a few months before the “Bird Man of India” breathed his last at the age of 90.
Butterflies of North Eastern INDIA
Kaiser-i-Hind. Great Archduke. Chocolate Tiger. Punchinello. Indian Purple Sapphire. If you are thinking these are names of some exotic dishes or even flowers, we forgive you. They are, in fact, names of some charming butterfly species that are found in Northeast India. The Northeastern part of India contains some of the world’s most northernly tropical rainforests. This region, that stretches across the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Manipura, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh receives substantial rainfall – often exceeding 2300 meters – that enables several lush, dense evergreen and semi-evergreen ecosystems to thrive in the region.
Experiencing the Ocean’s Major Wildlife Spectacle – Olive Ridley Turtle Mass Nesting
The combined length of the world’s coastline is typically estimated to be 3,56,000 kms as per the CIA World Factbook. Every year, a little part of it – the quiet coastline of Odisha in India to be precise – becomes the arena of an extraordinary natural event. What unfolds here is the spectacular phenomenon of mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles known as arribada (Spanish for “arrival”). This occurrence, where lakhs of female turtles come ashore simultaneously to lay eggs, is a remarkable sight to behold.
