How would the world be without them?
Yes,
the ecosystem is incomplete without these wild animals. Have you ever
wondered why should these animals should be protected? Have you done your
bit to save them?
These are probably the same questions asked by the same wild animals whom we are eager to see on our visits to National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries.
I would like to express the views and also share what our beautiful animals feel!
Carnivores:
We represent the top of the foodchain in the forest. We eat the
herbivores like deers, bisons, Sambar deer etc to stay alive. More the
herbivores, more are our chances of survival. These forests are our only home, you are our guests hence, you need to follow few
rules and regulations about behaving in our home same as you do when
you visit someone else home. We do not guarantee that we will come to
meet you, because your visit is sudden without notice except for the
months where the forests close during rains. Our meeting is just luck or
say we were at right place on right time.
We
want to take you back in history, during the 19th century our population was between 50,000 - 100,000 We were always sighted and
photographed as we were in ample numbers, but over years due to poaching
and no proper policy against such crime, our numbers have fallen
drastically to 1800 by 1971, more depletion happened till the nos fell to 1400 by 2008. Government is trying to save us and so are some groups who
love us, know that why is it important to save us? & will do
everything they can to save us. This is creating awareness and people
are now changing their attitude towards us, but we need more and we know
also about the social media. Well you can post about the images you took
of us but along with that if you can add a line about the conservation,
we would be thankful and in turn promise you all types of poses we can
pose. The numbers have increased to 1551, in 2011. It is said more than 2845 leopards were killed between 1994 - 2010. It is said for every tiger skin, there are at least 7 skins of leopards in haul. We know the numbers are depleting and it is happening rapidly. Government is trying to save and with the help of you all, our population of other species can be revived, we are talking about cloud or snow leopards. Please save us by conserving the forests & stopping the poachers from killing us.
Herbivores: We are as important as others are in these forests. We represent the base of the food chain, wider the base, higher the top. The whole forest is an ecosystem and we contribute to it. If our homes are gone and we are killed for fun, then there will be an imbalance in the ecosystem & soon it will crumble to ashes and everything will be gone. Along with the annihilation of the forests, the climate will change and there will be destruction everywhere. Please save us and save the world. The herbivores include different types of deer right from Spotted - Barasingha & Gaurs.
Elephants: What have we done to you humans? I personally do not understand what have they done, apart from claiming the lands which are theirs and they have all the right to take it back or wade through it, its like trespassing their property. How about this analogy - Imagine you have a piece of land, which has been there since your birth, but you hardly visit it and taking advantage of that few people have built their house and are leaving in peace. One fine day, you decide to visit it as it is been long time since you have visited the site. So you visit that site & find out about the people living their, now what will you do? Imagine what Elephants can do & understand Elephants are not as intelligent as humans are! So now after that back to them, where will we go? We come and try to wade along and then we are threatened by using crackers, sometimes even throwing lighted woods at us and more worse than it - run down by trucks! We are also an important part of these forests, killing us will again lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem.
Birds & Insects: We are highly dependent on trees and different vegetation. We will die if our homes are snatched away from us. Also the poachers are a big threat to us. Our so many species are endangered & many of them are extinct. We are not only beautiful but are important to the development of these forests. We are major carriers of pollen along with the insects which help in pollination & apart from that we eat various type of fruits & our droppings help in development of forests. We along with the wild animals are an important part of the ecosystem. Please save us and save world.
My Take: It is high time now, this needs to stop! These creatures do not invade our homes, in fact we have trespassed their homes. Certain areas are already declared as Elephant corridors, what are we doing in there? how come government are not helping them and not checking whether the areas are cleared or not?
We are hearing everyday - one tigress electrocuted, another poached, these numbers might be small now, but tomorrow these numbers will multiply. Numerous Elephants are killed in the name of Elephant - Human conflict, but when we invade their homes, whose fault is it? What are waiting for? Are we waiting for these animals being almost extinct? Then, only we will take action right? because till we are thirsty we do not dug up the well right?
Nothing is changed, we can still revive them, only if the government becomes little stringent on this important matter and we as citizens start spreading awareness and inculcate the ideology of conservation of forests in the minds of future leaders of India. I do not say the government is not taking action, but what is the use of corrective action, when we can take preventive action! The government needs to be little more strict and take actions in such a way that poachers are compelled to think twice before committing the crime. My only humble request to all of you is to be aware and spread awareness about the conservation o forests and the wonderful animals who reside in it. One more important point is that tiger is not wildlife, nor it is compulsory that one will see big cats. Wildlife is everything which resides in the forests right from Cats to animals to birds to insects. Also do not make any type of noise even if you spot a tiger, because when we are silent then we listen to the noises of forests which in turn helps the guide or naturalist to recognize the calls made by monkeys and herbivores, when the predators are around. Also keep an eye on the pug marks, as pug marks and the calls help in identifying the spot of the wild animals.
SAVE FORESTS! SAVE WILD ANIMALS!
