Tuesday, April 17, 2012

What a story!

Alexis just emailed this story to me.  It is the tale of a 5 year old boy who became lost in India, miles from his home, and how he used Google Earth images to find his mother 25 years later.  Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17693816

Monday, April 2, 2012

Tamil Nadu: DUNE


The DUNE Ecovillage and Spa sits on 35 acres just north of Pondicherry.  A small dirt drive off of the East Coast Road leads you past simple huts to the walled compound.  First impressions of the resort are dramatic. Once within its walls, it's hard to imagine the real world just yards away.  The grounds are lushly landscaped, it is free of wandering cows and trash, and the fantastical structures that dot the resort are imaginative and diverse in building materials and appearance. 

We checked in at a glassed-in front reception area and were greeted with a sweet, cold tea in metal cups.  A car drove us down dirt paths to our bungalows.  We stayed in two of the Baywatch bungalows that, although close to the Bay of Bengal, it was difficult to see the water through the forest separating us. 

Our bungalow at Dune
The thatch was built of all natural materials, with the exception of the modern bathroom attached in the back.  Stone posts raised the structure off the ground (we have seen these same cuts of stone used as fence posts in the area), and the floor is  made of slats that slightly give when you walk on it.



Front "window" of the bungalow     


Interior of bungalow

Although the main room is very traditional in feel, the bathroom was designed with a bit more artistic flourish.  The photos below don't really capture the serene blue walls and the softness the thatched roof brings to the space. 



My favorite shower ever!  


There was a triangular window slat to the right of the shower that could be lowered to allow in more light.  A little frog always made an appearance whenever the shower was turned on!

Room service coffee was delivered by bicycle.


Morning coffee on the front porch


Isabelle relaxing in the hammock in the yard.  Behind her is a forest, then the Bay of Bengal.


Each bungalow comes with bicycles!

Rear tire locks made it easy to secure your bicycle without the need of a chain (and took me a few minutes to figure out).   

Bicycles are not just used for guests.  Housekeeping maneuvers through the property via bike with all their supplies in the front basket. 



The Babra/Bullinger family occupied an adjacent bungalow.  Although their room was thatched as well, it had interesting walls made of light-boxes.  At night, when you turned the lights on, the walls illuminated to display photos taken around India.  Most of the large photos were rather depressing (highlighting poverty and disrepair), and I failed to understand the artistic reasoning.  At first they were a bit disturbing, but Henrietta and I agreed that if you don't actually look at the photos, the light-boxes do create a charming ambiance.


Happy Hour on the BB's front porch.



Lakhdeep, Milan, Alexis and Isabelle. Lakhdeep is reminiscing about his time with the Bolshoi.


Kieran through the doorway


Exterior of the bungalow at night.  Cacti are used to provide privacy instead of fences.       

DUNE will require more than one post, as there is so much about this place that I would like to share and remember.  One of the daunting tasks when traveling far from home is finding comfortable and interesting places to stay.  Our trip was made far more relaxing and less stressful because Henrietta was kind enough to find and book all of our accommodations. She did an amazing job, and our trip was that much richer because of her choices.  Many thanks, Henrietta! 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Tamil Nadu: The Irula Snake-Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society

Now, where was I?



Sometimes, conservation efforts get a lot wrong.  The Irula Snake-Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society is an example of getting a heck of a lot right.  Conserving land and animals often means displacing people or  taking away their livelihood.  Below is an excerpt from the Madras Crocodile Bank's website about the Irula snake catchers (http://www.madrascrocodilebank.org/cms/conservation-and-research-2/the-irulas/):

"The Irula Snake-Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS)
The Irulas are the pre Dravidian inhabitants of the scrub jungles of Southern India. Hunter-gatherers by tradition, their expertise in catching snakes is legendary. Prior to the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the Irulas were one of the leading suppliers of snake skins to the global exotic skin industry. So successful were they that the hunting of snakes for their skins was eventually banned in 1972 to prevent the local extinction of several species. This deprived them of their main source of livelihood and initially the outlook for these skilled hunters was bleak.

In 1978 the Irulas, along with Romulus Whitaker and Revathy Mukherji, sought the help of the Department of Industries and Commerce to start a self employment scheme using their traditional knowledge. Thus was born the Irulas Snake-Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society which was officially registered on 19 December 1978.

The main objectives of this co-operative were to harness the traditional skills of the Irulas positively, accord a dignity to their indigenous knowledge and to provide them with a means of social and economic upliftment. In time a specialist snake handling facility was constructed at the Croc Bank to maintain snakes for venom extraction and to market the venom to various laboratories around India. In addition, their traditional skills together with their knowledge of indigenous wildlife were promoted as valuable resources for naturalists and government agencies involved in wildlife work. More recently they have become a popular tourist attraction at the Croc Bank, demonstrating their skills of snake-catching and milking to visitors.

The ISCICS focuses its efforts on the four common species of venomous snakes that account for the majority of snakebite related deaths in India. The Big Four include the Indian cobra, Naja naja, Russells viper, Daboia  russelli, common krait, Bungarus caeruleus and saw scaled viper, Echis carinatus. The required species and number of individuals needed are decided by a committee and members are informed on a monthly basis.  The licensed members then go out and catch the snakes which are then sold to the society at an agreed fixed rate. Once purchased, the snakes are kept in individual earthen pots in a snake pit. The length, weight, sex and site of capture are recorded at the time of purchase. Each snake is marked with a unique code clipped into its ventral scales.  Venom is extracted from each snake once a week for four weeks. Snakes are then released at predetermined sites in Reserve Forests nearby, in the presence of a Forest Ranger.

Venom, once collected, is freeze dried and stored at 10ยบ C in the freeze chamber of a Lyophilizer. This turns it into minute crystals. The crystallized venom is gathered in airtight bottles and stored in a refrigerator. The society sells the venom to a number of laboratories for preparation of antivenin and for medical research."

 ----

Milking demonstrations are performed under a thatched roof.  The pavilion's sandy floor is about four feet below ground level,  and has concrete walls.  Visitors stand at the concrete wall (a little less than waist-high) and look down into the pavilion to observe the demonstration.

 Collected snakes are stored in large clay pots that are secured with cloth lids.  Records of capture date, sex and weight of the animal are kept simply by writing on the clay pots with chalk.


This was hanging from the pedestal where they milked the snakes.


I loved how these two cobras were kind enough to pose so we could compare their dorsal and ventral scales.


The two snake handlers who were giving the milking demonstration.


Cobra milking.









Common krait


Russell's Viper


Saw-scaled Viper


Outside the Crocodile bank, a few venders sell coconut and fresh fruit.  Kieran is in yellow, Lakhdeep in blue, and Milan in red.


A cow finds a meal in the fruit stand trash.


A sleeping baby.  Many of the babies here are adorned with bracelets and anklets.



----

We decided to stop once more in Mamallapuram for lunch before heading south towards Pondicherry.  Those Babra boys love their calamari, and the idea of eating another meal of fresh caught fish was too enticing to pass up.





Lakhdeep walked over to the yoga studio across the street to take our photo. 

Left to right:  Kieran, Isabelle, Annie, Alexis, Henrietta and Milan



Next stop?  DUNE

Friday, January 13, 2012

Tamil Nadu: Madras Crocodile Bank Trust

Henrietta, Lakhdeep, Milan, Kieran and Isabelle


We’ve been home for a week now and yet I still keep stopping myself from running tap water on my toothbrush.  I look around, notice that there is no water bottle next to the sink, and smile at the convenience of having safe water at the turn of a knob!  Resuming our lives, we've been to work, school, the grocer's and the pet shop... jet lag is no longer a viable excuse for procrastination. 

Our next stop in Tamil Nadu was the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.  Our dear friend Bruce Schwedick was kind enough to put us in contact with the Trust’s current director, Colin Stevenson.  Colin was extremely generous with his time and we spent the morning following him around the facility and learning more about crocodile conservation in India.

A little history:  In the 1970s, after nearly 100 years of hunting crocodilians for fashion accessories, India’s three indigenous crocs were on the brink of extinction.  The three species of Indian crocodilians are the mugger (Crocodylus palustris), the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the gharial (Gavialis gangeticas), with current wild population estimates at less than 250.   The Trust was established in 1976 by Romulus and Zai Whittaker.  One of their adult sons (Nikhil) currently acts as curator of the Trust.  For those of you interested in more information, please go to:  http://www.madrascrocodilebank.org/cms/.  The facility has an impressive and interesting history.

Upon arriving at the facility, we were escorted through the keeper area to a small office building and introduced to Colin.  He is a native of Australia, and part of me was expecting the caricature likes of Steve Irwin/Crocodile Dundee, but instead we saw a quiet, studious-looking man who, if he ever uses the word “Crikey!”, I am sure he saves it for very special occasions.

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust currently houses 18 of the world's 23 crocodile species.  It is a research and breeding facility, but also acts as a working zoo and hosts about half a million visitors each year.  The layout of the zoo is charming. Sandy paths weave through green pools with walls built of local stone and brick.  Mature trees offer natural shade throughout the facility.  Enjoy!

Mugger on the move

The signage was adorable!


Tomistoma
Enclosure example.  Colin said the iron fences were just added a few years ago.

Tail scales
Surprisingly few missing limbs for such a high density mugger exhibit!
Morelet's Crocodile
Camera Two, kids!  Camera Two!!
Gharial
Jaws III
Colin giving us a tour.
As kids, my siblings and I used to pile onto my parents' bed on Saturday mornings.  We would always say we were like the alligators at the zoo.  This pile of muggers reminded me of those cold Midwestern Saturdays.
Dangerous animals!
Why do Tomistoma remind me of dolphins??



The "dangerous animals" in our group were picked off by a strange new species... one by one.  
Milan, the oldest, went first.
Isabelle wasn't going down without a fight (or a scream).
Kieran... keeping it cool.
This kingfisher was visiting the Trust the same day as us!
The underwater viewing area for the Gharial exhibit.