India is Wild. India is beautiful.

I had read these lines during my childhood days and had always imagined being in our forests, quietly listening to the roaring waterfalls, watching magnificent snow caped peaks, observing beautiful denizens of wild india – the tigers, leopards, rhinos, elephants – listening to the chirping of birds, watching dolphins diving and crocodiles lazily getting into water…

I have often been mesmerized by the beautiful vistas unfolding infront of my eyes. Several life threatening incidents haven’t deterred me from visiting various parts of Wild India again and again. I feel blessed again and again.

I have been capturing the beauty of Wild India through my photographs for close to two decades, and about five years back I decided to tap the power of moving imagery of films to promote awareness about our fast vanishing wilderness and wildlife. When you are in the jungle, you are oblivious to the happenings in the society. When I come back from such serene places of Wild India to our metro cities, the huge difference strikes me.

In the past few months, I have been deeply disturbed by the happenings in our society. The violations of women and children who are systematically hunted by pack of maniacs raises several questions for which I find no answer. The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has said that behaviour of police in trying to suppress the information of such crimes coming to light and beating up innocent protesters is worse than animals.

Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan, megastar of Indian Cinema, had said in twitter “Wanted to say so much of the day.. but so disturbed by the gang rape case in Delhi.. atrocious and unforgivable!!… The fear of system, of order, of conduct guided by justice, is fast disappearing. Is this the freedom that our elders fought for!! “On this public platform I dare not even attempt to mention the details of the rape case… even an animal would not behave so,”

This repeated assertion by people indicates that animals are worse than humans. Is it so?

Who is more human?

The female of the animal species choose their mate themselves from a host of suitable males of their species, who in turn try to impress the females by showing off their vigour. The peacocks display their feathers, the adult lions are known by their rich luxuriant manes, the deer stags have large antlers to display, some male birds build nest to impress the females, some sing, others display their spectacular colours, pouches, size etc.

A wild tigress turns her tail sharply to one side to facilitate entry when the male tiger is about to mount her.

The females in the non-human animal species are at a higher pedestal as they need not bring in any dowry or material goods to make the groom agree. As opposed to that we humans force the girls to bring in money and material goods. Else, they are tortured, burnt etc.

Our angry politicians are known to call each other dogs. Even wild dogs who live in packs, don’t team up to forcibly violate a female of their species.

A pair of dholes commonly known as wild dogs (Cuon alpinus)

Mating in non-human species is for reproduction, for passing off their genes to the next generation. Unlike humans, it is not about pleasure. Only when a female of the species comes in oestrus, other males line up as suitors and the most suitable one is selected. In ancient India, this tradition of Swayamvara was prevalent, where a princess used to select from a host of suitable kings and princes.

In this era of intolerance and violation of women, Love and affection seems to have become a huge casualty.  One sees unalloyed joy and happiness in the animals.

We never find any pretensions in the love and affection displayed by animals. Can we learn love and affection from the animals? I created a short film showcasing endangered wild animals nourishing their young. The bond between mother and child is the most sacred. I hope by watching calves of one horned-rhino, Asiatic wild ass, Asiatic wild buffalo, Asiatic elephant, gaur etc suckling milk and leopard cubs playing we can imbibe some love and affection from them.

Deer fawn suckles from mother in Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

India has a rich history. Several females like Gargee, Maitreyee etc used to be revered in the society. Only during a brief period of several hundred years when invasions by muslim/mongol tribes, who used violation of women as a weapon to shock, numb, humiliate, mentally break down and subjugate their opponents led to traditions of veils and pushing women behind the doors. Modern Indian should not be held hostage to those few hundred years as that is a spec compared to several thousands of years of rich history of this ancient civilisation.

Wildlife Preservation: A few good pointers from the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Judgment

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has rightly understood the survival challenges of the Asiatic Lion ( http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-ii/ published in Feb 2010) and has allowed the relocation of Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to the joy of conservationists who are interested in the welfare of the lions. The judgment contains many of the facts and logic which we had espoused. It helped that the original researcher Dr. Ravi Chellam had spent considerable time in the court to help with his inputs. Our wildlife need many such champions!

The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment is a landmark and is expected to make a paradigm change in conservation in India.

Asiatic lion needs a second home away from Gujarat. Photo: Anand Madabhushi

National Board for Wildlife:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has ensured the supremacy and relevance of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and has said that “NBWL is, therefore, the top most scientific body established to frame policies and advise the Central and State Governments on the ways and means of promoting wild life conservation and to review the progress in the field of wild life conservation in the country and suggesting measures for improvement thereto. The Central and the State Governments cannot brush aside its opinion without any cogent or acceptable reasons. Legislation in its wisdom has conferred a duty on NBWL to provide conservation and development of wild life and forests.”

However when we look at the working of the NBWL, we find that of late several projects have been hastily passed by the NBWL which impact our environment and wildlife. In those situations it has been found that the independent members hardly get time to go through the issues as the agenda and notes are sent hardly a day before the meeting. Also there have been allegations that the Hon’ble Minister has pushed through issues as accepted despite the protests of the members. In the recent judgment, the Supreme Court had noted that the decision to introduce the African Cheetah – an alien species – in India was not routed through the NBWL. During the course of the arguments the Hon’ble Supreme Court had also noted that a decision is not unanimous and had asked for another view by the NBWL. So experts in the NBWL should take note of this part of the Supreme Court’s judgment where in it has said “NBWL has a duty to promote conservation and development of wildlife and frame policies and advise the Central Government and the State Governments on the ways and importance of promoting wildlife conservation. It has to carry out/make assessment of various projects and activities on wildlife or its habitat. NBWL has also to review from time to time the progress in the field of wildlife conservation in the country and suggest measures for improving thereto.”

So the NBWL members should remind the chairperson about the duties of the NBWL and always record a dissent note if they don’t agree on any issue. In reality, members often take to the media to voice their dissension openly or simply leaking the proceedings without their name. A duly recorded official dissent note can be invaluable when the issue comes up before the court.

The Hon’ble SC has also mentioned that “This Court, sitting in the jurisdiction, is not justified in taking a contrary view from that of NBWL.” This is of great significance. When the Hon’ble Supreme Court is not taking a contrary view from that of NBWL, can the Hon’ble Minister for MoEF take contrary view and overrule the NBWL and pass destructive projects. It would be pertinent to mention that in the past, the Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests overruled the NBWL to allow mining in the dense forests of Chiria, which is a critical elephant corridor and is also home to mega carnivores.

After the SC judgment the decisions taken in the NBWL assume great significance. Hence, the non-official or independent members of NBWL have a great responsibility so they should diligently study the agenda and issues and contribute towards the successful working of NBWL. Since most of the time these members are busy in their respective fields, in case, personal commitments results in the members not being able to give time, then they should give up their positions and cease to become members of NBWL. It is not only an honour but also a grave responsibility to the Nation.

Development Vs Conservation Battle:

It is to be noted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has cited the Convention on Biological Diversity in the judgment to note that conservation of biological diversity is an integral part of our development process. “Conventions on Biological Diversity, signed in the year 1962 at Rio Summit, recognized for the first time in International Law that the conservation of biological diversity is “a common concern of human kind” and is an integral part of the development process.”

Unfortunately, the present UPA Government as well as the Hon’ble Prime Minister has several times made statements blaming the lack of economic growth to the infrastructure projects not being given environment and forest clearance by MoEF. The Hon’ble PM wants our environment and forests to be sacrificed for the needs of our industries. He has even constituted a National Investment Board which will overrule the MoEF and expedite clearances. For more details on National Investment Board check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-4-issue-x/

It is unfortunate that our planning is not taking into consideration the adverse ecological impact of our actions like deforestation, draining and drying wetlands, constructing dams and diverting flow of rivers, mining, , degradation of our fresh water resources, steep decline of the fertility of our soils, improper cropping patterns and their impact etc. India which was self-sustained in everything a mere century ago is now import dependent on virtually everything including various fruits and farm produce. In a knee jerk move, the Government is actively pushing for organized retail, rather than resolving the basic issues of production, storage and transport logistics. It is imperative that the Government has to take a holistic perspective and take into consideration the impact of our environment and forests before considering any move.

No Anthropocentric Approach:

Our approach towards wildlife preservation is flawed. Infact, instead of focusing on preservation, we talk of conservation, sustainability etc. This clearly views our environment and wildlife as a resource for humans. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment and has clearly defined that our view should not be anthropocentric but ecocentric. The judgement says “While giving effect to the various provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, the Centrally Sponsored Scheme 2009, the NWAP 2002-2016 our approach should be eco-centric and not anthropocentric.”

“Sustainable development, it has been argued by various eminent environmentalists, clearly postulates an anthropocentric bias, least concerned with the rights of other species which live on this earth. Anthropocentrism is always human interest focused thinking that non-human has only instrumental value to humans, in other words, humans take precedence and human responsibilities to non-human are based benefits to humans. Ecocentrism is nature-centred, where humans are part of nature and non-humans have intrinsic value. In other words, human interest does not take automatic precedence and humans have obligations to non-humans independently of human interest. Ecocentrism is, therefore, life-centred, nature-centred where nature includes both humans and non-humans.”

This clearly would become a paradigm shift as there have been too many destructive “infrastructure” projects like dams, canals, power plants, roads and sea route alignments which are approved on the basis of the already “sunk cost” ie. the already spent money in those projects. Henceforth, such projects cannot be pushed through. For example in the case of the Sethusamudram Project where the Government is arguing that they have already spent money in the project and the discussion is about the viability of the project (IRR ie. Internal rate of return not being good), this judgement will now focus on the plight of the seacows (dugongs) and other species in the Gulf of Mannar and it should stop the project. For more details on the Sethusamudram Project is here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-5-issue-iii/

If this principle would have been upheld then many destructive mining, port, road and other infrastructure projects would not have got permissions.

Statutory Status:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has further stated that “National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) 2002-2016 and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme 2009 relating to integrated development of wildlife habitats are schemes which have statutory status and as held in Lafarge case (supra) and have to be implemented in their letter and spirit.”

This is a very welcome judgement. The National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016 was created by the poet-Prime Minister Shri Vajpayee’s Government. Soon after his Government lost power and the UPA Government has virtually consigned the NWAP to the dustbins. With the Hon’ble Supreme Court now binding the Government to implement it, by virtue of giving it statutory status, I am sure the Government will be forced to act. Moreover, when the Hon’ble SC has said that it needs to be implemented in “letter and spirit”, it portends of a beautiful future, provided we check the progress of its implementation and be ready to knock the doors of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

There are several areas where immediate action can be taken based on the NWAP 2002-2016:

• Need for realignment of roads, railways, shipping routes cutting across wildlife habitats.
• Restoration of degraded habitats outside our protected area network with only native vegetation.
• Document and assess damage done by large projects and intrusions, such as dams, mines, canal systems, roads and the use of pesticides and chemicals.
• While strengthening protective measures against traditional threats to wildlife, we have to also respond to newer threats such as toxic chemicals, pesticides and invasive species.
• Identification of wildlife corridors between important PAs harbouring endangered and long ranging species and recreating/strengthening them.
• Wildlife and forests to be treated as priority section. Forests occupy about 20 per cent of the country’s land area and at the very minimum two per cent of the national budget should be allocated to the protection of forests, of which at least 15 per cent should be set aside for wildlife conservation.
• Wildlife monitoring and research is an important aspect and periodic studies and information dissemination to public in English and all local languages needs to be done.

Wildlife across state boundaries:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has stated “No state, organisation or person can claim ownership or possession over wild animals in the forest.”

So when there is a need to undertake a relocation of any species to augment the gene pool, the authorities are not constrained to only take animals from the same state. For example, after the Sariska debacle where all the tigers were poached, tigers were airlifted from Ranthambhore and reintroduced in Sariska. Unfortunately, even siblings were reintroduced, negating the purpose of creating a healthy gene pool. In such scenarios, a few tigers can also be relocated from Bandhavgarh or other places in Madhya Pradesh. Incidentally, there have been many instances of tigers branded as problem tigers/man eaters and shifted to the Bhopal zoo/Van Vihar. Relocation of those wild animals can be also be attempted, rather than introducing them in a zoo. Periodically, tigers and other species can be reintroduced from a different landscape to increase the gene pool diversity. In such situations, no state government can object to the relocation of a few animals from the protected areas located in their state.

What about the so called problem animals?

What about the animals whom we have branded as problem animals? No body wants to take ownership of them. A herd of elephants are mercilessly pushed back from West Bengal to Jharkhand and vice-versa and then to Odisha. No body wants them. They are shot at from country guns. Crackers are thrown at them, so is chilli powders and fire balls increasing their aggression. Clearly, relocation is not the solution in these situations, as elephants have a very strong homing instinct. These states are facing a development vs conservation battle as most of the wild landscapes are being fragmented, concretised and taken over either for housing, cultivation, mining or other projects. With the Hon’ble Supreme Court asking to take an eco-centric approach and implementation of the NWAP 2002-2016, steps have to be taken to create corridors between the protected areas, create inviolate places and relocate villages wherever necessary. Our wildlife does have a right to live. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld that right and now the Government has to implement it.

India’s Conservation News:

SC asks Vedanta to apply permission from Gram Sabha:

Niyamagiri hill has got some respite, as the Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed Vedanta to seek permission from the Gram Sabha which will decide based on the religious and cultural importance attached to the Niyamgiri hills by the Dongria Kondha’s. For details on the Niyamagiri issue and all the news on it please check here: http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1993

Rhino Poaching: Use of Drones

The Rhino massacre continues in Kaziranga. Poachers have been using locally made silencers on their guns to kill Rhinos. The park authorities have now decided to try aerial surveillance by using remote controlled aircraft.

http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12126

Indian Railways – Killing Machines: Tiger cub runover in Tadoba

http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12399

Supreme Court cancels 49 mining leases in Karnataka

As recommended by the Central Empowered committee the Hon’ble Supreme Court has cancelled 49 mining leases in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka.

http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12411

BP Oil spill: Dead dolphins and shrimps with no eyes 

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12415

Six Lakh hectares of forestland cleared by UPA Govt. since 2004 

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12416

Book Review:

Of Birds and Birdsong by M. Krishnan

http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/of-birds-and-birdsong-by-m-krishnan/

Natural History:

Draco Mating

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=60414

COUNTRY NOTEBOOK:Fond recollections: M.Krishnan:The Sunday Statesman 21-April-2013

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=60413&postcount=55

Image of the Month:

Abhishek Jamalabad’s Flying Fish has been adjudged as the Image of the Month for March 2013

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12407

Wildlife Photography:

Bottlenose dolphin pod by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12324

Smooth-coated Otters Kabini by Sucheth Lingachar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12259

Jackal in GRK by Mrudul Godbole

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12153

Tiger Portrait

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12123

Curious Owlets by Bibhav Behera

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12215

After bath Oriental White eye by Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12204

Pondskater by Jobymon Cherayil Prakash

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12207

I look forward to your inputs and support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in our beautiful country. For other interesting articles and images check - http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

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Sabyasachi Patra

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The Supreme Court judgement can be downloaded below -

Edited by Shanthi and Ashish Chandola

When I came to know that Shanthi and Ashish Chandola had compiled Shri M. Krishnan’s published writings about birds in a book titled “Of Birds and Birdsong”, I jumped and ordered online. While reading this book, I realized that I have read a lot of these writings before in many places including his column in The Statesman titled “Country Notebook”. However, Shri Krishnan’s writings have a timeless quality about it. His elegant prose, choice of suitable words at appropriate places, an eye for incredible detail makes me often wonder why we don’t notice what he notices. He finds beauty in the common birds that flock our backyards and villages and astounds us with his deep observations. I will share a couple of quotes from the book to quench your thirst.

On Brahminy Kite:

“…The Brahminy has been called a coward by many ornithologists, a chicken-raider that will not face the mother hen, a snatcher of small fry from the basket of the fishwife. That opinion, I feel, is not scientifically sound. We rarely make allowance for avian values and individual variations in judging a birds’s ‘character’. Many of the eagles, which this kite resembles in miniature in build and flight, alo live mainly by scavenging and piracy. Moreover, the Brahminy Kite can be quite aggressive on occasion.

Once, feeling curious about the contents of their nest and trying to get a closer look, I was attacked with such determination and persistence by a pair of these birds that I had to beat a hasty and undignified retreat, though I knew I was being critically watched by three small boys. And though it is true that this kite gets its living picking fish and other things off the surface of the water, and by robbing successful but smaller hunters, it can and does kill snakes; I have seen one with a four-foot rat snake in its clutches, but it could be that the snake was killed by some villager and later picked up by the bird.

Brahminy kite perched on a mound in a grasslands

That brings us to the question: is this the Garuda? The Garuda (omit the terminal ‘a’ for most North Indian languages and add ‘n’ after the terminal ‘a’ for Tamil), according to mythology, is the most feared enemy of the snake tribe, the bird whose very name strikes terror in the heart of the denizens of the subterranean Naga-land. Throughout South India the Brahminy Kite is called ‘Garudan’, and even in paintings (paintings of no great antiquity, say, about a century or two in age) this bird is shown in depictions of the mythological Garuda. However the Crested Serpent-Eagle, the Short-toed Eagle, and some hawk-eagles are much more given to the snake-slaying than this kite, and are much nearer iconographic descriptions of the Garuda.”

Shri M. Krishnan aslo describes interesting incidents interwined with beautiful insights, throwing in the views of renowned poets to decorate his prose further.

“The Dying Gladiator:

Only once as a school boy, have I seen a cock-fight, and have confused and almost staccato recollections of it – the crowd in the bylane, people squatting and standing in a ring around two gamecocks, the earnestness of men, the indifference of the birds to each other; then, unexpectedly, the spontaneous flare-up of combat, the incredibly swift and savage attack, flailing legs and flying feathers and blood; and then the sudden collapse and death of one of the combatants in an unrecognizable shuddering mess of disheveled plumes and slashed flesh. I have seen dogfights, ram-fights, partridge-fights, even a brief tussle between two circus camels, but for sheer shock and impact and savage fury that cock-fight was unapproachable. Blake must have known its violence and gore at first hand, to have written:

A gamecock clipped and armed for fight

Doth the rising sun affright.

Naturally the law takes a grave view of cock-fighting. It is a rather horrible sport, but even I, who feel revolted by its carnage, realize it is a sport: the kind that stimulates speculation and betting. Once zamindars and other rich, leisured people were much given to patronage of cock-fighting, but those days are past. The gamecock is a rare bird today, and getting rarer.”

Having been profoundly influenced by Shri M. Krishnan’s writings since my childhood days, I would consider it a sacrilege to try and write a review of his book or a compilation of his writings. This book is a collector’s edition as you get a compilation of his writings about birds in a hardbound cover which will stay in the coffee table and inspire the new generation.

The price is Rs. 595. You can order it from flipcart or pick it up from your local bookstore.

Sea Cow no Holy Cow

The Sethusamudram saga continues

The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Straits are pretty shallow so that large ships cannot pass through. Due to its shallow waters, the ecosystem of this place is unique. It is also relatively undisturbed by human activity, except fishing. So digging up the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Straits for the Sethusamudram project will cause irreversible damage to the marine ecosystem.

These shallow waters are home to about 3268 species out of which 377 species are endemic. There are about 11 species of sea grass found in this area which forms exclusive diet of the dugongs or sea cows. There are also 147 species of seaweeds in this area. The Dugongs are endangered and classified in the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. There is seasonal movement of Dugongs from Gulf of Mannar to the Palk bay and vice-versa to avoid rough seas induced by monsoons.

When dredging is undertaken in this area, the disturbance will force the dugongs to stop migrating. The dredging and blasting of the hard rock will also result in sedimentations which will stop the sunrays from reaching the sea grass leading to their death. As a result the dugong’s will also die. Apart from the dugongs, the seagrass also forms an ideal ecosystem for various fish species which sustains commercial fishing and the economy of Tamil Nadu.

It would be pertinent to mention that the NEERI Environment Impact Assessment report had acknowledged the presence of dugongs and the fact that they can get hit by ships. In a muddle headed proposal NEERI had proposed that a person should be stationed in the deck of the ship while the ship passes through the proposed Sethusamudram canal and on sighting a dugong the ship should make course correction. Perhaps NEERI wants us to believe the ships are not large and fast but nimble like small catamarans moving at slow speeds so that they can make course correction. Unfortunately despite such EIA reports which assumes us to be intellectually challenged, the Government continues to back this proposal.

Many people have argued that the Sethusamudram project is going to destroy the Adams bridge which is inextricably linked to our cultural heritage as the Ram Setu, built by Lord Ram for moving into Lanka (modern day Sri Lanka) to fight against the demon king Ravana who had kidnapped Lord Rama’s wife Sita. The proponents have used images from NASA to bolster their argument that this is the Ram Setu, however, NASA has clarified that they had not made any official statement that the adams bridge is man made. Nevertheless mythology, perceptions and beliefs are inextricably linked with our cultural heritage and we should protect it.

Adams Bridge or Ram Setu: Hindus believe it was constructed by Lord Rama. This ecologically significant area is going to be destroyed by the proposed Sethu Samudram canal project

Recently the Hon’ble Minister for MoEF Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan has said that Sea cows would be protected. In a statement in the Lok Sabha, she had said that “Dugong has been identified as one of the 16 selected species for initiating recovery programmes in their respective habitats under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats`. Financial and technical assistance is provided to the Union Territory Government of Andaman & Nicobar Islands under the component ‘Recovery of Critically Endangered Species’. Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The minister further said that “ Protected Areas, viz., National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves covering important wildlife habitats have been created all over the country under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats.”

In 2008, the R K Pachauri committee was formed as per the observations of the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court Shri K G Balakrishnan. The Pachauri committee gave its report last month in February 2013 suggesting that the Sethusamudram project would neither be economically nor ecologically viable project. It said that the projected rate of return is “over optimistic”. The committee has said that “benchmark rate of return of 12 percent isn’t met for the range of scenarios examined in the case of alignment 4A”. However, the UPA Government has swiftly moved to junk the Pachauri committee report. The Government in an affidavit to the Hon’ble Supreme Court has reitereated its resolve to cut across the Adams bridge or Ram Setu to create the channel for navigation of large ships. It said that already Rs. 829.32 crores have been sunk on the project since 30^th June 2012. It even has the audacity to dub the dubious EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) report prepared by NEERI as well as other such reports as well-researched technical studies.

In 1964 the area was ravaged by a huge cyclone and the entire town of Dhanuskodi stood broken and was abandoned. Even today one can see the old railway station broken. Such was the devastation that only a few families of fishermen stay there now along with a Navy outpost to stop smuggling. Apart from the birds, I could see a few feral dogs in the distance. At that time the word “tsunami” was not in vogue and hence the complete destruction of the area is not attributed to tsunami. However, according to experts this area is a comparatively young formation and hence highly susceptible to tectonic movements. Experts also opine that due to the shallow sea in the area, the 2004 tsunami couldn’t hit the Kerala coast as it had to take a circuitous route. However, if the area is dredged, apart from the possibility of its tectonic the tsunami could impact the area and now hit Kerala coast.

Our existing ports are fighting with silting and need continual dredging operations to remain navigable. If the Government goes ahead with the present alignment of the Sethusamudram project cutting across the Adams bridge, then it would require continual dredging to remain navigable. The resulting sound is going to cause a lot of distress for dugongs and dolphins.

Dolphins depend on eco-location and are stressed by sound. Image © Abhishek Jamalabad/www.Indiawilds.com

The BP Oil disaster should have woken us up to the threats of oil leaks from tankers. One such disaster is going to wipe away our entire Gulf of Mannar bio-sphere reserve.

The UPA Government in its infinite wisdom has set a trend of approving environmentally disastrous projects under the pretext of money already spent in projects. So no wonder that it has again taken the tack of the 800 crore plus spent on this project.

I hope the Hon’ble Minister of State for MoEF would walk the talk and move ahead to protect the habitat of the Sea cows ie dugongs and convince her Government to drop the Sethusamudram project.

The last such grand canal digging project was the Panama Canal which was done more than a hundred years back when there was not much awareness about the consequences of ecological impact. Neither they had any sophisticated modeling tools available nor much understanding of science. In the twenty first century with the spectre of climate change looming large over us, do we continue to ignore the environmental impact of our actions?

It is well known that the DMK party is the major champion of this project and its rival the AIADMK is strictly opposed to it. With the DMK pulling out of UPA, will the UPA finally reverse its stand?

With the political action hotting up in the anticipation of early elections, does it matter to the UPA Government if the ecologically fragile area like the Adams bridge is broken up for questionable commercial reasons?

Save the Dolphins

Every year between September to March, in Taiji, a small town in Japan, dolphin massacre continues unabated. The number of whales having plummeted due to commercial whaling, the Japanese have taken to killing the bottle-nosed dolphins.  They are herded into a small cove and killed by spearing them. Roughly 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed by the Japanese and the dolphin meat is sold as whale meat. In an incredibly meticulous and audacious documentary “The Cove” this massacre has been depicted in detail and has found out that dolphins have high level of mercury and eating their meat is a sure shot recipe for disaster. Despite this documentary getting an Oscar in 2010 couple of years have passed by, this massacre continues unabated.

It is sad state of affairs that the Japanese continue their slaughter of these peaceful and highly intelligent creatures. Some of the imagery in this film is heart wrenching and nauseating. India and Japan are two ancient civilisations and they are at war with the natural world. Whereas the Japanese are directly butchering the dolphins and whales, the present Indian Government by virtue of pushing for the Sethusamudram project is acting as a silent killer and is also having blood in its hands.

PM Manmohan Singh’s Economics and Anti-Green Philosophy

Hon’ble PM Manmohan Singh has always been credited as the architect of India’s economic liberalisation. We have believed in whatever the PR machinery had dished out. However, it is time we take a stock of the situation. He had steeply devalued the rupee twice by as much as 40% and had promised that the exports will surge to 20%. His logic was that a weak rupee will make our exports competitive. Unfortunately, it was like the story of the blind men and the elephant with each person having a different perception about the elephant. Whereas the exports organisations like FIEO have been harping on a weak rupee and the RBI also hears them – as in todays prevailing form of democracy one who makes the loudest noise is heard the most – no one is looking from a holistic perspective. Today we are in a position where our forex reserves are high. However, we continue to import heavily. The Government is harping on Oil and Gold imports. However, electronics imports is also silently moving up and is going to exceed the oil import bill. By 2020, India is projected to import about 400 billion dollars worth of electronic items and will have a net imports of about 323 billion USD. The weak rupee makes the imports much more costlier than they should. Our domestic consumption as well as the manufacturing in all sectors have a import component. So keeping the rupee at the present 54-55 levels really hurts India’s economy.

Whereas, some of our business leaders have sarcastically talked about rupee becoming a toilet paper, no one is willing to stick his neck out and openly say that we have failed to unleash our potential. To make matters worse we have faced Sovereign ratings downgrade. This  Government which has failed to protect our economy. And when we hear that he is ready to sacrifice the environment and forests for our economic growth, will you agree with his actions?

During Manmohan Singh’s two terms as PM of India, he has systematically gone about trashing the environment and forests. He is the champion of big industries, however polluted those might be. His two terms have seen approvals given to mines, dams and roads to cut across pristine forests. The PM has often given statements that mines, dams, road projects have to get priority clearance putting pressure on the Minister for MoEF.

His Government has signed agreements to set up Nuclear Power Plants in Jaitapur and Kundakulam. The protests of people have been systematically stymied. Rather than listen to the people, his government has unleased the investigative agencies, tax authorities to hound people in the pretext of accepting donations from abroad. During Rajiv Gandhi’s time it was fashionable to blame external agencies for fomenting trouble. Now it is fashionable to persecute voices that oppose the Government’s questionable decisions.

Shri Manmohan Singh has now given a statement that Kundakulam I will be commissioned within the next one month. Despite the nuclear holocaust in Fukushima in Japan, and experts pointing out the fallacy of the Kundakulam project, the Government is fierce in its resolve to go ahead at any cost. We wonder why? In one of the conferences, the Minister for PMO Shri Narayana swamy went on to reel off incorrect data and made the audience believe that Solar power is costly and not feasible. Whereas the cost had dropped down to Rs. 9 a MW, he quoted a figure of Rs. 17.  PM Manmohan Singh had made grandiose statements while launching India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change on June 30, 2008. Dr. Manmohan Singh had said:
“Our vision is to make India’s economic development energy-efficient. Over a period of time, we must pioneer a graduated shift from economic activity based on fossil fuels to one based on non-fossil fuels and from reliance on non-renewable and depleting sources of energy to renewable sources of energy. In this strategy, the sun occupies centre-stage, as it should, being literally the original source of all energy.

We will pool our scientific, technical and managerial talents, with sufficient financial resources, to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to power our economy and to transform the lives of our people. Our success in this endeavour will change the face of India. It would also enable India to help change the destinies of people around the world.”

Unfortunately, the Hon’ble PM seems to have gone back on his commitment and is pushing for setting up of Nuclear Power plants in collaboration with foreign Governments.

It is strange considering the fact that we don’t even know what will be the impact of Nuclear wastes after a hundred or two hundred years. This technology is not even a hundred years old. Why are we ready to sacrifice the interests of generations to come? Why this Government is so short sighted? Why are we looking at Present and ignoring the future?

Or is it because the National Action Plan on Climate Change and other such things are not a priority for the Government and his statements are just the work of some speech writers entrusted to the department with the Hon’ble PM merely reading from a prepared speech? If so, that would be indeed a really sorry state of affairs.

Committee Report on Trees Grown on Private Land

MoEF had constituted a committee on “The Regulatory Regime regarding felling and transite regulations for tree species grown on non forests/private lands”. The Committee Report has now been made public for consultations.  The report can be downloaded from this link: http://www.moef.nic.in/assets/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Regulatory-Regime-for-Trees-Grown-on-Private-Land-Nov-2012.pdf

The last date for submission of suggestions is 15th of April. Interested persons may kindly forward us their suggestions on the subject.

India’s Conservation News:

Satkosia Tiger Reserve Update

The Satkosia Tiger Reserve, once known for its dense forests, teeming wildlife, huge crocodiles in the breathtakingly Mahanadi gorge is under terrible stress due to the more than hundred villages inside the reserve. Anthropogenic pressures and poaching have virtually decimated the herbivore population. The carnivore population is also pretty low. For more details read on at the following link:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12302

When a Tiger Fears a Goat

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12154

Climate Change: 18000 Pashmina Goats killed

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12147

Extinct lizard discovered after 135 years in Odisha

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12290

The Rhino Massacre Continues

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12126

92 Lions died in 2011 and 2102 in Gujarat

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12317

Equipment Discussions

Canon EOS 100D/SL-1 the lightest DSLR

Canon has introduced the EOS 100/Rebel SL1 camera which is touted as the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR. This camera has a 18 Megapixel APS-C sized CMOS sensor with a Digic 5 processor. The camera is 25% smaller and 28% lighter than the EOS 600D (or Rebel 4Ti). For further details:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12254

Canon EOS 700D/Rebel T5i DSLR

Canon has updated its consumer range of DSLR cameras by announcing the EOS 700D which is branded as Rebel T5i in the US market. This camera has a 18 Megapixel APS-C sized CMOS sensor with a Digic 5 image processor. The 700D has an ISO range of 100-12800 and it is expandable to 25600 in H mode. The EOS 700D can shoot at 5 frames per second. It sports a 3 inch vari angle touch screen LCD.

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12255

Natural History

 Wildboar feeding on Deer Kill

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1124

Country Notebook: M Krishnan – Egrets

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=59360&postcount=53

Wildlife Photography: Image of the Month

The Image titled “Pelican Landing” by Gautam Biswas has been adjudged as the Image of the Month for February 2013

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12220

Wildlife Photography

Bottle-nosed Dolphin by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12156

Black-headed Oriole by Dr. Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12128

Himalayan Griffons at Ranthambhore by Vijay Rajan

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12103

Crimson Sunbird by Anshul Jain

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12023

Kestrel by Sucheth Lingachar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12136

Moment in the Wild: Leopard by Balaji Loganathan

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11999

Flights of Fancy: Flying Fish by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12117

Grass Jewel: One of our smallest butterflies by Vikram Gupchup

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12014

Sunset in Bharatpur by Gautam Biswas

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12130

I look forward to your inputs and support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in our beautiful country. For other interesting articles and images check - http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

To post in the IndiaWilds forums, you can register free of cost using your Full Name as user id at http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php

If you are already a member of IndiaWilds and have forgotten you user id and/or password you can mail to administrator@indiawilds.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra

Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/about.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481
Diary: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/
Equipment reviews: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/equipment/
Forums: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/index.php
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/indiawilds

Please post your views and feedback in the comments below.

This article is an attempt to understand the Social Media like Facebook. What makes someone really like something? Why certain things go viral?

Wild India: Tiger Stalking its prey

On Saturday, March 16th I posted an image of a stalking Tiger with the following quote.

“Stealth: While stalking the tiger places its hind paw at exactly the same spot where the forepaw was, so that there is no noise of crushing leaves, knocking off loose stones etc. On the contrary, there have been many instances of soldiers rushing headlong into battle and getting killed. Any body remembers the infamous “Charge of the Light Brigade” in the Crimean war? (Oct 1853-Feb 1856) Foolishly this brigade had charged headlong and 118 of them were killed, 127 wounded and 60 taken as prisoner. If its British commander would have had the intelligence of the Tiger, then he would not have passed such an order.”

After couple of hours I was surprised to see that the image had been viewed some 41,000 times and by the end of the day more than a lakh of people had viewed it. As of writing this, I see the image has been shared 1094 times and viewed a total of 225,600 i.e. close to a quarter of a million people have viewed it. (To see the image in facebook check here:  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=179212138893442&set=a.170733286407994.40006.169642873183702&type=1&theater)

The power of the social media in reaching out to people has been stunning. It ofcourse throws positive light on the intelligence of the tiger. An interesting experience that I had shared earlier about the intelligence of the tiger can be seen here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/tiger-intelligence/

On 20th March 2013, I shared an image in facebook of a wild deer chewing a potato wafers packet with the following message “Please don’t drop your wafers packets out of the car, bus or train window. Herbivores like this deer will lick it for salt content. They often swallow it and die a painful death. Also, they get hit by speeding vehicles when they come close to the roads to lick these wafers packets. For some more details on impact of plastics please check this discussion in IndiaWilds forums:http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108 ”

It again went mini-viral and the image got shared 1733 times and was viewed 132,416 times as on 23rd March. This once again highlights the power of the social media.

Deer (Axis axis) chewing wafers packet for its salt content. Many deers get killed after swallowing the plastic packets and also get hit by passing vehicles in the road and railway tracks

Earlier my short film titled “Blood Betting” on the gory sport of cockfights was about to go viral in youtube with about 2000+ hits every day. Suddenly it attracted lot of loonies and they started fighting among themselves writing some stupid comments. One of them complained to youtube that I am promoting animal abuse and youtube immediately removed the short film. Though I am an official content partner in youtube, being new to social media has got its own drawbacks. After close to a month, I found out hidden among the menu that I have a right to appeal button. When I appealed, the short film was reinstated. However, youtube in their infinite wisdom classified it as suitable for Above 18 audience and classified it as Age Restricted content. Which means, youtube will not show it among suggested videos to people. However, the moment the video was reinstated, it started attracting 200 odd hits daily. I predict it to again reach the previous level of hits in some time.

Why something becomes viral?

Now coming to the question of why a particular image, video or other content becomes viral. Is it because of good content?

Yes. The content ie. tiger image that went viral in Facebook is one of my good images showing the behavriour of the tiger.

In case of the Blood Betting film, the camera was directly in the midst of action. In one case, I had to jump backwards to take evasive action, as the sharp curved knife tied to the leg of the cock can kill a man.

The Blood Betting film also had gory content, and I guess there are some people who may love gore.
It had content which appealed to audiences in Philippines where cock fights are legal and has got a very large fan following.
It had content which is of interest to some audiences as they can learn new techniques, either of cock fights or of a vet dressing.

Did the information given along with the tiger image play a part?

I guess so. The information explains the behaviour of the tiger and also talks about one dimension which is not often known by people. The normal perception of people is that tiger is blood thirsty killer. Whereas it is not. It doesn’t rush headlong and kill its prey. And the information also gave example of how we humans have acted foolishly. I presume that might have made people thinking. I hope so.

In case of the Deer chewing the wafters packet, the information given is definitely in sync with the image and appealed to the sensibility of people. It is also very easy to understand and people can very easily take preventive action.

Psyche of people engaged in social media

If many people are sharing a good thing, then others too feel that the content is likely to be good. When the Kolaveri D song had gone viral and seen by several crore people, I am sure not everybody understood its meaning. It was seen as the in thing and hence people talked about it. In the deer chewing wafers packet, it immediately espouses a cause which people are familiar with. So they feel good in sharing the image with others.

Feeling as an Artist:
First an artist would like his work to be seen. Whether people praise it or pan it is secondary. I don’t create content to suit the taste of other people. My MBA training should have forced me to treat customer as God and create masala films. I still hear directors and music directors talking of adding this and that to spice up the film. As an artist I don’t care. Am I naïve? I am sure, given the immense reach of the media today, there would be sufficient people to appreciate good content. So do you think content is king? I will talk about it in another article.

Is there a secret formula to ensure something becomes viral?

I don’t know if there is indeed a secret formula. Even if there is a formula, I have no idea what it is. This article is an attempt to understand why some of my images or films are becoming successful. Perhaps I should ditch that part of my analytical mind? What to do, I have been trained as an Engineer and MBA. ☺

I would love to hear your views as to why something becomes viral in social media.

(This article was edited on 23rd March 2013).

This issue of IndiaWilds newsletter talks about problems of feeding our wild animals and birds as well as feral dogs and various other conservation issues.

Conservation is not just Animal Welfare

Conservationists are often mistaken as animal welfare activists. A lot of people wanting to help save our wildlife readily take to feeding birds and animals.

It is important that we raise awareness about the problems of feeding our wild animals and birds as well as feral dogs.

There are people who feel that it is important to feed birds and animals as a matter of faith. So in cities we find a lot of people feeding pigeons and dogs. This results in the population of pigeons increasing and displacing smaller birds like sparrows. Similarly, a lot of people as well as animal welfare activists feed street dogs in various parts of our country. Our love for animals leads us to feed the street dogs. I too used to do it when I was a kid. Whereas, animal welfare is good, one ought to understand the consequences of each of our actions.

Apart from the food given by people, due to our wasteful nature and the improper garbage disposal, a lot of street dogs find food. They out compete our traditional scavengers like vultures and jackals.

The vulture population, nearly decimated by the use of the deadly diclofenac for treatment of cattle is trying to stage a grim battle for survival. In some places there have been reports of the vulture population bouncing back but that is too less to celebrate. I drove about 4000 kilometers in Odisha, Rajasthan and Gujarat, however, I found very few signs to be happy.

I have sat on carcasses during day as well as night to check the type of scavengers and I was disappointed to see that the dogs out compete the jackals. Only the wild boars could keep the dogs at bay and feed on the carcass. In one instance a porcupine was chased away by two village dogs when the porcupine was scavenging on garbage dumped by tourists.

I also got first hand information of these village dogs teaming up and hunting deers in Keoladeo Ghana bird sanctuary in Bharatpur as well as in Bandhavgarh. There are also many similar reports from other places. We have to act else this problem will continue to haunt and act like a silent killer of our wild birds and animals.

Since we can’t improve upon the garbage disposal of our civic bodies overnight – though we need to raise our voice – we should also stop dumping waste and take steps to control our feral dog population. Our animal rights activists need to be made aware that by narrowly focusing on providing food and shelter for the street dogs, they are impacting our wildlife. In fact  there are many animal cruelty issues that they should work on like the gruesome cockfights where sharp blades are tied to the leg of a cock and they are made to fight each other. Our short film on the issue with subtitles on English can be seen here:

BLOOD BETTING from Sabyasachi Patra

Feeding/Baiting of wildlife:

In some places, animals are fed due to religious reasons. For example a temple serves sweetened rice to jackals. What had started as an one off feature by a sadhu has now increased in size and lot of people flock to see it.

In another case, the forest department in Daroji Bear Sanctuary, feeds jaggery, honey and bananas to sloth bears. It had started by a ranger as a food supplement, and has now grown into a tourist attraction.

Sloth bear in Daroji National Park

There are several wildlife photographers who place mice to attract owls and eagles. There are other photographers who carry fish and feed the eagles so that they come close. Some of them defend these actions by saying that they are indeed helping the wildlife to survive the lean months, harsh winter etc. Unfortunately, these actions don’t help in conservation.

The birds that are on their migratory paths stay back longer if they are fed mice and other such food. They get used to feeding by people. Their behaviour pattern changes. They expend less amount of energy in hunting or searching for food. So they put on more weight, and their agility decreases.

The rodents caught near the households are likely to have more exposure to pesticides than the ones in a forest. By carrying a few rats and feeding the owls or eagles, we are in fact injecting more pesticides into their system, than they would have got in their natural course of action.

Also photographers tend to tie the mice etc on the same tree or perch which they have specifically planted for a getting a “clean background” (a term to indicate a well diffused background). Repeatedly tying bait to the same spot makes the place un-clean and the birds tend to contract infections.

It is also important that we raise awareness about baiting ie enticing an animal or bird to appear in the scene. Some of the photographers who are were not aware about the ethical aspects and the impact of their behaviour on birds and animals will realise and stop. However, there will always be some people who will take more time to be convinced or will not want to be convinced as they find photographing through baiting is easy and is often lucrative.

Similar thing happens with songbirds who are fed litres and litres of syrup. They stay longer than necessary. Scientific studies have indicate that they it also affects their breeding. Valentin Amrhein, zoologist at the University of Basel, who led a study on songbirds have found that feeding them delays their dawn chorus or singing by as much as twenty minutes. It found that 36% of Great Tit’s skipped their dawn chorus altogether. The morning songs by the male songbirds are for warding off their competitors as well as to increase their chances of mate selection. This study suggests that if one continues feeding the birds even after winter than it impacts their reproduction. It is tough to educate people the exact time to stop feeding etc. Completely discouraging feeding is a much better option considering the welfare of these songbirds.

When the baiting/food supplements are stopped for some reason after a few years, the birds and animals have no-where to go. They find it difficult to cope up with this problem. They would have forgotten their migratory paths.

Supplying water to wild animals:

Recently, Bandipur and Nagarhole the two popular national parks of Karnataka have got less rainfall and a number of waterholes have dried up. It is another matter, that Bandipur had a lot of man-made waterholes. The wildlife photographers as well as visitors were annoyed that the forest department hasn’t taken any action to mitigate the drought like conditions. Predictably, the forest department was ready to use water tankers to supply water to the waterholes.

In nature, the fittest survive. The old and the weak die when there is harsh summer, drought, harsh winter etc. This leaves behind the strongest and the fittest. This natural selection results in the healthy genes getting transmitted to the next generation. So each generation becomes stronger and have more ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Due to scarcity of water, a lot of bushes have dried up. Along with the native vegetation, a lot of exotic lantana bushes which were throttling the native vegetation have also dried up. In such times, forest fires can happen and these dried vegetation burns fast. The forest department also has a protocol for controlled burning. After the burning and rains the fresh shoots come up and native vegetation has a chance to start afresh. This is in fact a good time for the forest department to intervene and burn off the lantana to help the native vegetation. The forest department’s job is protection and managing the protected area in an ecologically sound manner. If the forest department in Kabini and Bandipur are serious, then they would take steps to control the lantana during this time rather than carrying tanker loads of water for the wildlife.

Unfortunately, people don’t realise that conservation of wildlife needs a holistic perspective and is to be rooted on science. Conservation is also not a short-term action, rather it is an initiative that has to take several seasons and decades into perspective before suggesting any action. Trying to play God and create a short-term impact is easy. Creating sustainable long-term solutions is not easy, so it has few takers.

We rejoice when a tiger is airlifted from Ranthambhore to Sariska. It attracts lot of media attention, and predictably it has started attracting ministers and senior officials to be present during such interventions. Unfortunately, nobody tries to create a long term solution in the form of reestablishing a corridor. The late Rajesh Pilot was one politician who was favourable to the idea, even though his village Dausa would have been included in that corridor. Do we have scientists, NGOs, and conservationists to champion these long-term conservation issues?

Leopards : The Last Battle:

Other Conservation News:

Firing range close to Lion habitat

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12055

Rhino poaching: 9^th Rhino poached

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12039

Impact of Photographers on Grassland ecosystem:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12009

New Species of Fish discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12080

Conservation Imagery:

Reckless behaviour of Tourists at Tadoba : Praveen Siddannavar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12040

Egyptian Vulture with Plastic: Sucheth Lingachar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12027

Natural History:

 How Owls Swivel their Heads:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11924

Unusual Feeding Behaviour of Grey-headed Fish Eagle: Vikas Madhav

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11891

Barbet thrashing garden lizard: Roopak Gangadharan

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11959

Upright walk of the Mugger:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11853

Who’s Who:

Please welcome our new members as well as introduce yourself if you haven’t already:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22

Equipment Discussions:

Nikon’s new Digital Camera D7100

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12061

Canon Cinema C300 camera review updated:

http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/review-canon-c300-for-wildlife-filming/

Sounds of Nature:

Pied Hornbill Call

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12012

Cicada Call: V S Sankar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12067

Image of the Month:

Jan 2013 – Anshul Jain

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12064

Wildlife Photography:

A selection of images of IndiaWilds members that are either beautiful, feature rare species, behvaiour and action

Desert Fox by Mrudul Godbole

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11808

Dholes of Periyar Tiger Reserve: Mohan Raj

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11747

Gaur from Tadoba: Gajanan Bapat

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11722

Greater cormorant profile by Dr. Kalpamoi Kakati

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11963

Short eared owl by Mrudul Godbole

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11947

Cormorant Flight by Dr. Kalpamoi Kakati

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11919

Pygmy Woodpecker by Dr. Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11884

Owlet pair by Bibhav Behera

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11851

Owlet closeup by Anand Madabhushi

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11781

Kanchenjunga by Mashiur Rahman

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11970

Deomali by Parth Pratim Patra

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11840

I look forward to your inputs and support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in our beautiful country. For other interesting articles and images check - http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

To post in the IndiaWilds forums, you can register free of cost using your Full Name as user id at http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php

If you are already a member of IndiaWilds and have forgotten you user id and/or password you can mail to administrator@indiawilds.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra

Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/about.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481
Diary: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/
Equipment reviews: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/equipment/
Forums: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/index.php
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/indiawilds

Please post your views and feedback in the comments below.

A Call in the Rainforest is now available for viewing online. In an effort to spread the message about the plight of the Lion-tailed Macaques, I have uploaded the complete film “A Call in the Rainforest” which is still doing the rounds in International film festivals. I hope we can raise awareness and bring positive change.

Synopsis of the film ”A Call in the Rainforest”:

The Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) is an endangered species according to the IUCN Redlist. It is endemic to the wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The total number of mature Lion-tailed macaques is estimated to be less than 2500 and no sub-population in an area has more than 250 mature individuals. The Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary holds the largest population of the Lion-tailed Macaques.

The fragmentation of habitat, due to tea estates, human habitations and clear felling of trees has led to very small groups with often only one mature male. This leads to reduction in genetic diversity and increases their susceptibility to diseases.

Lion-tailed Macaques cannot digest leaves and depend on fruits, berries and insects provided by the rainforests. The clear felling of trees to make way for plantations and fuel wood has resulted in lack of fruits, berries etc in major parts of the year. This has led them to scavenge for their food requirements.

This film documents and examines the impact of tea-plantations, rapid growth of Valparai town, and its associated ills like boom in tourism, expansion of roads through the forest on one Lion-tailed Macaque sub-population in the Valparai Range of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary; and calls for action.

Part I of the film “A Call in the Rainforest” :

duration of the part one of the film “A Call in the Rainforest” is 17.5 mins

Part II of the film “A Call in the Rainforest” :

duration: 1 min

Awards and Screenings:

Awarded Vasundhara Puraskar by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 5th 2012.

Screened in Haida Gwaii Film Festival Canada in Feb 2012

Screened in Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival, Pune, India in Feb 2012

Screened in Biodiversity Film Festival, Hyderabad, Oct 2012

Nominated for Special Awards in Wildlife Vaasa Film Festival, Finland, Nov 2012

Credits:

Direction, Narration, Cinematography, Sound: Sabyasachi Patra

Production Manager & Stills: Mrudul Godbole

Editing: Vinish Vinayan

Music: Anil Nallan Chakravarthy

There is a significant amount of wildlife living outside our protected areas in our revenue lands. The lesser carnivores like mongoose are often ignored by people, however, when a large carnivore like a leopard stays in the scrub forest of the hills surrounding a village or an urban area they often come in contact with humans. Most of the times people fear these carnivores and due to this fear they undertake retaliatory killings and trappings.

331 Leopards died in 2012. 

4052 Leopards poached and killed from 1994 till 2012.  Four Thousand and Fifty Two. It seems we Indians are at war with our leopards, as well as with other wildlife. We need to bring focus on the plight of this charismatic species.

Leopards due to its small size and frugal diet can survive in scarce vegetation and close to human habitations having lesser amount of prey.

In India Today, Save the Tiger has been the buzz word garnering mind share as well as funds allocation, it is another matter that the tiger is fast hurtling into oblivion. In such a tiger-centric scenario, the charismatic leopard, is ignored and is fighting a grave battle for survival.

My film “Leopards: The Last Stand”, which is in production is an effort to document and highlight the plight of the leopard. I am pleased to release a short “Making of” film to give a sneak peek into my film “Leopards: The Last Stand”.

Major parts of the film has already been canned. ”Leopards: The Last Stand” is being filmed in various places in North, East and the Western parts of India. I also need to cover the North East soon.

The final film is being shot with a Canon Cinema EOS C300 camera at Full HD (1080p) at insane ISOs (ISO 20000) in low light and no light situations to document nocturnal behaviour. Please try to watch the film in HD (720p) and see the details. The Full HD version, which is not shared online due to the large size has amazing amount of details and should be seen in the big screen. Keep watching this space for more. And before I end, please raise your voice to save the leopard.

Firstly I would like to wish all members and readers a ‘Very Happy New Year 2013′. May this year we reverse the tide and save our fast vanishing wildlife and wilderness areas of this beautiful country.

Children of Lesser Gods!

What is the fate of our wildlife living outside the ambit of our protected area network?

Leopards living outside the protected areas

This question is increasingly becoming relevant as the billion plus human population of our country shows no sign of abating and it is placing a huge demand on our mother earth.

Since we have been caught up with the challenge of protecting the last remaining wilderness left in our few National Parks, sanctuaries and other protected areas, the wildlife living outside the protected area network is not a top priority for us.

To make matters worse, the wildlife living outside our protected areas have hardly been studied and their existence goes unacknowledged except in the case when our ever expanding needs bring us in conflict with them. They are then swiftly branded as “problem animals”, tranquilised and if they survive the tranquilisation process then they are most often condemned to a life behind bars. In a few cases these tranquilised animals are released in some other forest locations. Of late several scientists and conservationists have given up hope and have advocated killing them. The terms culling and lethal control finds acceptability with some members of the scientific community as killing makes them feel guilty. Rarely the term murder is applied as we have reserved that for describing the killing for homo sapiens. The guidelines on human-leopard conflict issued by MoEF even states that if for some reason a leopard is caged for a month, then the leopard should never be released in the wild. A human being can be released after 14 years of imprisonment. And a juvenile, however heinous his crime may be, will be released after three years on the pretext of being allowed to reform. However, a different yardstick for animals.

The wildlife living outside our protected area networks like leopards, jackals, foxes, porcupines, wild boars,etc have not been studied and hence their populations estimations have either never been done or if done for some species, then it is highly inaccurate. Some of the studies done by researchers, which incidentally found details of wildlife outside protected areas, are not published in popular literature. Hence the decision makers, opinion makers and the public at large are not aware about the existence of the wildlife outside protected areas in places which are technically classified as revenue lands and agricultural lands.

People who have been living in these places are well aware of the wildlife. However, the continual migration of people from villages to our cities, change in land use, shift in cropping pattern, and change in ownership of these lands are having a big impact on the wildlife in these areas.

A lot of these lands which were classified as agricultural land and was lying uncultivated for ages have been now either sold off, or cultivated due to change in ownership or has seen houses being built up due to population increase resulting in less space for wildlife.

The ease of availability of power, theft of power as well as non-payment and/or waiver of dues is resulting in people using motors to pump water out of wells and irrigate their lands at will. Earlier there used to be limitation in terms of amount of water drawn as people used to use a pair of bullocks to draw water. Now, one can hear the constant generator noise as people in arid areas choose to cultivate crops like wheat which requires lot of water. So the areas which had less human intrusion and hence was good wildlife habitat has now become cultivated and reduces the space available for wildlife. The wildlife has come to adapt to these situations, as leopards, jackals, jungle cats, wild boars have learnt to live in tall crops like Sugarcane, Bajra which provide them adequate hiding space.

Change in land-use pattern & Fears 

The villagers in number of cases are aware of the wildlife and have learnt to live with them. However, in places, where there is a change of land use and there is an influx of people from outside, conflict starts. Most of the people who either want to acquire a farm house as a status symbol or who have moved into the area from cities immediately panic when then find wildlife at close quarters. After all, our education system is such that wildlife is often painted as villain and people harbour deep rooted fears about wildlife. This is also observed in the thoughts and articles of a lot of researchers when wildlife is described as dangerous. The same fear is also there in forest department officials. Recently, when I spent a night alone in a watch tower, I was told that none of the forest department guards even after serving more than twenty five years of service, have never spent a night alone in the forest. It is imperative that the wildlife is not only shown in good light but also the demonisation of wildlife has to stop. Else, even the protectors of wildlife will continue to fear and will not be able to protect wildlife. It is also important that the unprecedented pace of change of land use from agricultural land to create houses have to stop.

In cases where carnivores are living in the revenue lands, they at times predate on livestock. Rather than the tiger, the leopard is often the main predator in these places as it has learnt to live on a frugal diet of rodents, hare, and the occasional livestock. The forest department normally doesn’t give compensation. In cases where the forest department gives compensation, they insist on seeing the carcass, as people can easily make false claims. So people often make efforts to retrieve the carcass and ward off the predator. This makes the predator to make an effort to hunt again and at times irritated with these intrusions, certain leopards are known to charge at people. The situation is then blown out of proportion and the leopard is either trapped or killed bringing a sad end to the situation.

In most of the cases, the forest department is loath to declare an area as protected area. Though there have been some efforts to create community reserves in a few states, these efforts are often little and too late. In such situations, it would be ideal if the Government allows private conservancies with the equity participation of local people. This would help the local villagers to keep their lands as it is and help in protecting the wildlife. The tourism lobby, which is fixated on the few tiger reserves can step forward and put in efforts to create a true ecotourism practice, rather than their present day laughable attempts.

A lot of effort and vision has to be shown by the Government to protect the wildlife fighting against the relentless march of the ills associated with the population explosion and greed. Virtually every other day there is a news of human-leopard conflict in some part of the country. While filming these magnificent animals, I swing between despair and hope. In the end, I choose to live with hope. If we too ignore the plight of our wildlife battling to survive outside our protected areas, then truly they can be called as Children of Lesser Gods. Do we have the will power and sensitivity to effect a change?

Exotic Wildlife as Pets:

I saw a mongoose with “ghungroo” in its legs and around the neck. I was aghast and informed the owner that this is against the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Fortunately, mongoose can be easily released and it can turn wild and survive even in sparse vegetation. On the other hand releasing birds like parakeets, tortoise etc should be done with care.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) our native species cannot be kept as pets. Unfortunately India doesn’t have a law banning exotic wildlife. So people freely bring exotic birds and animals and sell it as pets and these are also used for meat. We often blame China for decimation of our tiger population as the demand for tiger body bones, meat and other body parts ensures killing of our wild tigers as well as attacks on even tigers in the zoos. However, we don’t realise that due to the lack of any legislation against trade in exotic wildlife, we are giving a boost to the decimation of wildlife of other countries.

In India we don’t have a track of how many of these exotic pets are in our country, neither do we track the birth and their deaths. So apart from these pets being consumed as meat, we also don’t know when such exotic species get accidentally or intentionally released into the wild.

Some of the species when released in the wild can create havoc, as they can outcompete our native species. There are other species which can mate with our wild species and create hybrids and pollute the purity of the species.

Exotic species in the wild

So it is important that the Government should ban private ownership of exotic species, so that the pet trade on exotic species stops. The existing exotic species should not be allowed to breed. A separate registry for these exotic species should be maintained with licensing requirements and an end date for a complete stop of these exotic species as pets be specified. If someone is willing to donate these exotic species to the zoos, then those should be accepted.

It is time for updating our Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to completely ban the private ownership of exotic species in India.

Canon Cinema EOS C300 

Canon C300 Review

I have extensively used the Canon Cinema EOS C300 camera for filming wildlife. The hands on review can be found here:

http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/review-canon-c300-for-wildlife-filming/

Save the Jarawas: Stop the ATR:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has banned movement of tourists through the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR). The Andaman Trunk Road cuts through the Jarawa Reserve. Daily scores of vehicles pass through the Jarawa Reserve on the pretext of visiting the limestone caves and essentially these visits are for having a glimpse of the Jarawa tribes. The once hostile Jarawas, a primitive tribe, who had lived in isolation for thousands of years and had willingly shunned contact with the outside world have been gradually mellowed down by placing fruits and red cloth on the ATR route. Gradually members of these tribes got accustomed to accepting these “baits” and started frequenting the ATR in the hope of getting some free fruits, cloth and toys. A once fiercely independent and proud people have been reduced to waiting for alms. Their self-sufficient lifestyle and self-pride has been decimated by these official “contact” programs.

A few people of the tribe have even learnt a smattering of hindi and have taken to wearing jeans and other clothes and taken to alcohol. Their women are encouraged to dance to satisfy the hedonistic tendencies of a few individuals. A video clicked during one such event triggered world wide condemnation. However, we have no idea when the investigation on this particular issue will be completed. In the meanwhile, there are various groups who want the integration of these Jarawas into the mainstream. A few intelligent people even advocate asking the Jarawas whether they want to be integrated into the mainstream or not and based on their pressure the NAC is reported to have asked the Tribal Affairs ministry to ask the Jarawas whether they want to get integrated into the mainstream. Do the Jarawas really understand the impact of integration into the mainstream? Do they know that integration into the mainstream means addition of a few hundred coolies, and free availability of a few naked women to dance to the tunes of popular hindi songs in some one’s house? Will the proponents of integration come forward and marry their sons and daughters to tribals? In a society which still places a premium on the colour of skin, caste and creed is such integration possible? Whom are we fooling?

A few advocates of such integration want to go and ask the Jarawas themselves, so that they can get some stories for their blogs, magazines, research papers etc. Any one who is well versed on market research will understand the significance of questionnaire design as well as the manner in which the survey is conducted. If foreigners come and conduct surveys, there is a tendency of people to even say yes when they have no intention of buying a product. Similarly, outsiders administrating a survey is simply not going to help, as there will always be a perception associated with us as well as expectation which will make any such survey completely biased and baseless.

And how are we going to administer this survey? Not every body understand Hindi. There are a few who have done research in the Jarawa language. We all know that slight change in question is going to give us diametrically opposite answers. It is difficult to explain the Jarawas on the impact of integration into the mainstream. It is a one way traffic and there is no going back. If a race has remained without contact with outsiders for more than 50,000 years, let them live in peace. The only thing that we can do is stop poaching and wood cutting in the Jarawa Reserve, so that the Jarawas numbering about 400 can have sufficient food for themselves and will not require any outside help.

Though the fate of the investigation is not known, banning of tourism is going to reduce the number of vehicles passing through the Jarawa Reserve. The Hon’ble Supreme Court order of 2002 to close down the Andaman Trunk Road has not bee implemented even after more than a decade of the order. This would be perhaps the first instance of someone ignoring the Supreme Court order with impunity and no action against this contempt of court has been taken. Ironically, the Supreme Court bench instead of questioning why the 2002 order has not been implemented and insisting on its implementation has now got into the task of examining and giving piece meal orders. Is the Hon’ble Supreme Court helpless in view of this blatant refusal to implement its order? That is what is the common man asking. Any one versed with criminal psychology will understand that they use such examples to strengthen their own perception of rich and mighty violating the law with impunity and only the meek being penalised and they justify their crimes on this perceived inequality.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its interim order has allowed passage of Government vehicles as well as vehicles of people residing in the settlements. When no action is taken for more than a decade, it is imperative that the population is going to increase and later on no action is taken on the pretext of causing inconvenience to a large population. So this gives rise to a practice that a majority decides what is right. So the absolute truth finds no takers. We are far removed from “Satyameva jayate“. Truth doesn’t prevail, majority prevails. Alas, that would be a travesty of justice. We can’t build a modern India by deviating from the principles of natural justice. It is time the Hon’ble Supreme Court ensures immediately forces the Andaman Administration as well as the Union Government to close the ATR and make alternate arrangements for people depending on the ATR. Some discussions and news on this issue can be found here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4195

Other Conservation News

No permissions for Dolphinariums:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11707

No go areas around sanctuaries by Feb 15^th:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11696

Snow Leopard in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11833

Mass death of Chitals in Kanha:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11764

Maharashtra Govt hesitates to notify sanctuary for Wild Buffalo:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11846

Marine Life: Whale Killed by fishermen

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11881

Man-leopard conflict in Siliguri:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11880

Image of the Month:

The Image of the Month for December 2012 honour goes to Abhishek Jamalabad:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11886

Natural History:

Rare case of Female Asiatic Elephant in Musth:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11837

Draco Feeding on Weaver ant:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11461

Sounds of Nature:

Drongo mimicking Serpent eagle call by Roopak Gangadharan:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11511

Asian Palm Civet call by Roopak Gangadharan:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11603

Equipment Discussions:

Canon introduces 14mm T3.1 and 135mm T2.2 Cinema lenses

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11735

Conservation Imagery:

Little egret with Motorcycle

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11581

Wildlife Photography:

Indian Fox in Kutch by Mrudul

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11679

Indian Fox from Rajasthan by Kaustuv Chatterjee

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11624

Leopard from Sattal by Gajanan Bapat

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11550

Chen Keree (Stiped-neck mongoose) by Roopak Gangadharan

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11536

Leopard from Nagarhole by Praveen Siddannavar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11482

Red Munia by Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11547

Life on a Lamina by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11610

Sea Lily by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11510

Honey Bees by Rajeev Khanna

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11641

I look forward to your inputs and support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in our beautiful country. For other interesting articles and images check - http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

To post in the IndiaWilds forums, you can register free of cost using your Full Name as user id at http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php

If you are already a member of IndiaWilds and have forgotten you user id and/or password you can mail to administrator@indiawilds.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra

Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/about.htm
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Please post your views and feedback in the comments below.

Canon made a historic announcement of its Cinema EOS range of Cameras and lenses in Hollywood on 3^rd of November, 2011 when it announced the Cinema EOS C300 camera. It was subsequently made available in 2012. The moment it came out, there were lot of critics who hit out at the high price of this camera. However, I knew that this camera is for me. I had even said so in an interview to Filmmakers for Conservation UK.

Canon C300 Camera

My impressions of this camera after shooting extensively with it, in several wilderness areas in India’s east, north and west and for Corporate Films is extremely positive.

Filming wildlife with C300

This C300 camera can shoot in Full HD i.e. 1080p at 24p (NTSC)/25p (PAL). It has slow motion capability in the HD resolution i.e. at 720p at 60p (NTSC) and 50p (PAL).

The C300 camera comes in both EF mount as well as PL mount. Both the cameras are identical, except for the difference in the mount. Canon didn’t include an interchangeable mount and said that providing for interchangeable mount will ensure that there is difference in tolerance and that will impact quality. However, it seems to be a very smart strategic move to push the EF mount into prominence. Given the huge number of EF mount lenses available in the market, the EF mount can easily become the dominant mount.

Canon EOS C300 EF Mount

The Canon C300 is a compact camera and is only 133 mm(w) x 179 mm (h) x 171 mm (d).

The sensor size is 24.4mm x13.5mm.

This camera gives true 1080p (Full HD) resolution as it uses 3840 x2160 photosites and uses a Red-Green-Green-Blue read out which bypasses the need for any debayering algorithm.

C300 Sensor (source Canon)

Physically it looks slightly bigger than the professional still camera 1D Mark IV. The C300 also comes in with handle, grip and LCD. The grip is pretty nice and gives a feel of still camera ergonomics and helps in handholding the camera.

The handle is good as one can use it along with the LCD to get some pretty low angles. The handle also has two professional XLR connectors so that one can attach professional microphones with XLRs and +48V phantom power. There is also a 3.5mm microphone terminal built in to the camera. In the C300, the audio is recorded uncompressed in 16-bit PCM format at 48kHz. When I first checked the specs, I thought why not 24bit? However, the audio sounds pretty good. In fact recording sound directly to this camera has been a revelation and unless other wise needed I am not using double sound for interviews. Will it eliminate the need for my Sound Devices 702T sound recorder? Obviously not, because I simultaneously use it for recording other sounds and syncing with the C300. There is provision for automatic gain as well as full manual gain (-Infinity to +18dB). However, I found the plastic cover on it a bit awkward to open and close. That can induce vibration as well as sound.

The C300 is a big change from the traditional still cameras with video capability because the C300 has got some nice professional tools like zebra, wave form monitor, vectroscope and focus peaking. The zebra gives an indication when some parts of the frame is about to become overexposed.

I especially loved the waveform monitor. I was surprised to hear that not many people use the waveform monitor. It gives us an accurate idea about the exposure in IRE. I believe not many people would know about the use of vectroscope. One can use it to judge the colours.

The LCD is very nice. However, at times in bright light and with lot of dust on my LCD when I am in the midst of action, it may be difficult to check focus properly. The focus peaking is of help in those situations. One can also use the magnification feature to zoom in and judge the focus.

I was surprised by the viewfinder and found it to be pretty good. However, I missed waveform monitor in the viewfinder, as that feature is only available in the LCD. However, after use, I can judge the exposure without the waveform monitor using the LCD, as certain situations warrant that I use a minimalistic configuration i.e. without the top handle and LCD and microphones.

This camera has buttons in many convenient positions and I am not going to detail and describe those. However, one of the buttons helps in locking the camera’s selected features so that the settings inadvertently don’t change.

Canon EOS C300 Side Profile

One of the key features is the ability to do time lapse. The maximum one can do is select one frame per second for timelapse. Ofcourse, one can retime it in post processing. You can see the use of that feature in my forthcoming film.

The C300 has a base sensitivity of ISO 850. It can go down upto ISO 320 and maximum of ISO 20,000. I must confess that before using the C300, I had never used ISO 20000. Only in one case I had used ISO 12800 for filming two gaurs dueling with each other in pre dawn in my previous film ‘A Call in the Rainforest’. The C300 definitely has noise at high ISOs. However, the noise is more like film grain and is not very distracting. With a touch of noise reduction one can make them shine.

The C300 has got a good dynamic range. There are cameras that boast of higher dynamic range than the Canon C300. However, what is important is that the C300 retains its dynamic range even at very high ISOs. 

C300 dynamic range (source Canon)

What may shock some of our readers is that the C300 doesn’t have any auto focus or auto exposure modes like DSLRs. Since it is meant for professional filmmakers, Canon didn’t think it was necessary to include these features.

This Canon camera comes with a C-Log which is actually a very flat profile and helps immensely during colour grading. For people who want to match their profile with the DSLR colour profiles, there is one profile as well.

C300 Canon Log (source Canon)

Much was made of the 50 Mbps 8 bit 4:2:2 codec of C300. However, Canon insisted that the files from the C300 can be graded well unlike its 8 bit and 4:2:0. As they say the proof is in the pudding and the files coming out of the C300 is pretty impressive.

The 50 Mbps Mpeg-2 codec of this camera is broadcast approved and hence features shot with this camera can be shown in reputed TV channels like NGC/BBC etc. The codec is supported by all the major NLEs and doesn’t place massive demands on computing power. So I have been able to edit even when I am in the field. If only, the internet connectivity in the farflung places improves! Sigh!

The files of this camera are pretty detailed and much much above the quality of DSLR cameras. Ofcourse, the 4K of the 1D C holds a lot more details. However, the 1D C is a part of the Cinema camera range. Other than that, none of the DSLRs come close to the C300.

The Canon C300 uses an S-35 sized sensor which is very near to the size of an APS-C sensor of the Canon DSLRs like 7D, 50D, 650D etc. So in effect, this is smaller than the APS-H sensor of the 1D series cameras. I found my lenses to have more effective reach. For example, 800mm optical focal length is equivalent to 1222 mm in the C300.

C300 sensor size in comparison to other sensors (source Canon)

The battery life is good and lasts for more than two hours plus. So carrying extra battery helps cover the entire days shoot. I also plug it in for charging in my vehicle using a simple converter plugged into to the cigarette lighter point.

Filmmakers using DSLRs to shoot corporate films know how moire can ruin a shot when the executive is wearing a pin striped suit. When one uses C300, those problems are not encountered.The C300 due to its high sensor read-outs has reduced moire. However, in certain situations one can get moire, so after thorough testing I know how to avoid it.

The C300 has got 3 ND filters and that helps in controlling the amount of light that I want to hit the sensor. So one can easily control the depth of field and create a shallow depth of field look to isolate the subject from the background.

By this time I have already used the Canon Cinema EOS C300 camera all over India in varying terrain and have come out pleased with its performance. Preview of my film “Leopards: The Last Stand” can be found here:

The C300 camera is also very good for social documentaries as well as for Corporate Films. Due to the small size of the C300 and amazing low light ability, I can move into cramped office spaces and still able to grab the shot.
Since the C300 camera is not heavy by film camera standards, and can be handheld. However, I felt that when I am using the Canon EF 24-70 f2.8 L USM lens, handholding the C300 becomes difficult as there are micro jitters. Handholding the C300 becomes far more easier with the Canon EF 24-105 f4 L IS USM due to the IS of the lens. However, the EF 24-105 lens has got its share of chromatic aberration and needs to be used within its limits. Nevertheless, I have been using the 24-105 lens for a number of interviews as well as close action. I use the 24-70 f2.8 L USM lens when I am using the camera on a tripod. I found the Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS II USM lens to be pretty good with the C300 as the image stabilisation of this lens helps in handholding. Even the Canon 100-400 f3.5-f5.6 L IS USM lens worked well with this camera. The following short film titled “Mother and Child” has got handheld scenes including one which was shot from elephant back. Check for the rhino calf suckling. It was filmed in Kaziranga National Park in India from the back of an elephant.

Due to the small size of the C300 and IS lenses, one is also nimble footed. While shooting the documentary “Blood Betting- Cock fights”, the injured rooster jumped at me. I had to jump back while holding the C300 and 24-105 lens on one hand to avoid the sharp steel knife attached to the leg of the cock.

Blood Betting

This camera is pretty good for documentary work in low light. With just a small torch, I could follow nocturnal wildlife and document their behaviour. Earlier, I used to packup when the light levels were low. Now this camera makes me remain in the field for much longer, in the process enhancing my knowledge of natural history. Do I want more?

Absolutely yes! I would immediately demand two stops more sensitivity so that I can use my 400mm lens at a narrow aperture instead of the f2.8 or I can discard the torch light completely in certain situations. Given the pace of technological progress, I don’t think we will see such a massive jump in the next two years.

In the immediate term, I would love to have the ability to do slow motion at 1080. So if Canon could include an option to do 50p at Full HD i.e. 1080 @ 50p then it would indeed be awesome.

Overall, this is fantastic camera and I have no hesitation in highly recommending it to not only to wildlife filmmakers, but also to fiction, narrative and documentary filmmakers and for Corporate films, provided you can dish out the Rs. 13.90 lakh ie. 1.39 Million rupees, much more than the 16000 USD price in US.

I am very happy using this camera in New Delhi as well as in other places for Corporate Films as well as for wildlife filming. With our huge range of Canon EF lenses, the C300 EF mount camera makes for a good rental for clients as well.