Pehal Society Help the flood affected Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

Aligarh/ Dudhwa: The unprecedented floods caused by rivers originating from Nepal had wrought havoc in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and disturbed the ecology of the area, posing threat to wildlife species. Late seasonal rains upstream in Nepal have caused barrages to fill up beyond the danger level and the release of these waters has caused the floods. According to the reports, about 30% of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve was under water. Some forest posts inside the park, particularly those of the Sathiana wildlife range, have been cut off from the outside world. Several Villages near the Tiger Reserve were wiped out by floods.

Pehal Society has distributed blankets and torches to the villagers living on the edge of the Tiger Reserve. Field staff of Vision India a Dudhwa based conservation group is coordinating with the Pehal Society and local villagers to provide relief. The team has also distributed torches to some forest guards in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

“This was the urgent need in the flood affected villages, we have identified few areas where we shall be working in future with Pehal for the survival of endangered cat“, said Mr. Anurag Kumar, Planner, Vision India.

Mr. Rohit Singh, Secretary Pehal Society said, “ We have our long term plan for lined up to involve the community in conservation of tigers in Dudhwa”.
The event was done in collaboration with Tiger Awareness UK, Conservation Research Group, Vision India and Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.

We are thankful to Mr. Pardeep Batra of Heinz India Private Limited for his support.

Key contacts:

Anurag Kumar
Planner, Vision India
Phone: +91 9839391230
E mail: anurag.val@gmail.com

Rohit Singh
Secretary, Pehal Society
Phone: +91 9899654364
E mail: pehalsociety@gmail.com

Wildlife Week in Kerala

The Wildlife Week celebrations for the year 2009 were conducted by the Pehal Society Kerala in coordination with the Conservation Research Group, Kochi and The Lions Club of Palghat on the 2nd of October 2009 at the Lions School Palghat, Kerala. The event was supported by The Zoo Outreach Organization, Tiger Awareness U.K. and the Agriculture Department of Palghat.

The event was honored by the presence of the Lions Club President Ln. P.K. Haridas, Mr.
Mukundan Unny, Assistant Director of Agriculture Kozhayalmannam, Palghat and a Professional Artist Mr. Anil Kumar. The event saw the participation of students from several
schools from all over Palghat. The day began with the inauguration ceremony by Ln. P.K. Haridas by lighting the ceremonial lamp.

Then the events carried on with a presentation by Mr. P.K. Jayakrishnan, Projects Coordinator Pehal Society Kerala. The presentation looked into the various mammals of India and the threats of poaching to their survival. The presentation created a stir among the students having them
understand the natural world better and also understand the plight of the wild form various human factors. They were taught what exactly wildlife conservation is and the efforts of people and organizations around the world to help conserve the environment. The presentation was filled with queries by the children on every single thing they could think of pertaining to nature. The kids were so engrossed in the presentation that we ran way beyond the time schedule which the kids did not seem to mind at all.
This was followed up by the quiz and the painting competitions organized for the children. The quiz was conducted as an inter school competition among the participating schools. The kids displayed great knowledge of the natural world which would leave most adults feeling left behind. The competition was fierce and finally three school rose victorious in the event.

The painting and pencil sketching contests also went on with great enthusiasm. The canvas was a magical cauldron of colors and images which brought out the imagination of these young children. The way the children saw the natural world was quite evident from the paintings and the sketches depicting animals not in zoos but free. This saw great creativity and brilliant minds
among the children portraying their in-depth knowledge of the natural world and the beauty of the natural world in their young minds. As Mr. Mukundan Unny said later on”Everyone had an elephant on their painting. I guess children do realize elephants are wild and need to be in the wild.”
The prizes were awarded by Mr. Muku ndan Unny and Mr. Anil Kumar to the winner of these events.

The prizes included wildlife kits sponsored by Zoo Outreach Organization which included a Calendar explaining the Human Elephant Conflict issues and a Wildlife Kit “Daily Life Wildlife – Conservation and Welfare”. Also books on wildlife and nature were presented to the winners with certificates.

Another Wildlife Awareness Day

After hearing about the new foreign person in town working with wildlife, the children at the Computer Education Centre at 24 UP, PAC Batalian, wanted to know more.

We were approached by Davendra Singh, the coordinator at the education centre that provides free computer education to all the PAC paramilitary force staff members’ children. He asked if we could give a small presentation to the children, telling them about wildlife conservation and the work we do. Gladly, we obliged!

We were greeted by 25 students when we entered the classroom, all sat quietly and patiently in rows facing the front of the class; being a Sunday, they children had come in especially which showed great dedication and hope.

We began by showing a short video on the plight of the leopard in India and the challenges it faces particular in human/ leopard conflict. We then watched short footages on bear related issues including the relocation of a mother bear and her two cubs as well as information about bear baiting and street performances. The children were then talked through a range of photos all taken on behalf of the Pehal Society which showed various wildlife issues within India.
The students were then asked if any of them had ever thought about working in wildlife, at which one boy, Prashand, couldn’t raise his hand quick enough. Throughout the presentation he showed great interest and passion and even at times tested our knowledge on certain species. The students were given an opportunity to interact and ask questions; some of the students wanted to know how to pursue a career in wildlife. Other students asked questions on anacondas and myths about snakes.

Unfortunately, just as the children seemed to be getting warmed up and more open to speak and ask questions, our time was cut short due to a prior engagement. We therefore, left them wanting to know more which was very encouraging. Coordinator, Davendra Singh exclaimed, “the children seemed very interested in wildlife and some have already requested to know more and want to watch more videos’

We are now in the process of making copies of certain wildlife videos in order to give to the class.

A day in Wildlife

The children started to arrive at Om Saraswati Vidya Mandir School at around 7.00am, excited about the change to the regular schedule and the new foreign visitor Ms. Laura Slade. Principle Jasma Singh accompanied the children as well as the founder trustee of the Nirbhaya Foundation, Dr Mahendra Singh. The children were also joined by Mr B. P Singh, President of the Pehal Society; local village leaders came to see what it was all about and show their support Jasma Singh as well as many curious local adults and children.
Posters had previously been displayed advertising TIGER awareness and WILDLIFE CONSERVATION and to start the day the children were handed butterfly masks to wear; they all were very happy with their new look and ran around very excited. The children were asked to draw a picture to do with any wildlife that they liked or knew about. A prize of colouring pens and sweets were given to the best drawings. Pictures varied from tigers and trees to birds and peacocks creatively drawn using the outline of the children’s hands as a template. Even the teachers joined in!
The children then performed a play that they had been practising about the circle of life and how all species; flora and fauna alike, including humans, all rely on each other in order to survive. Some very well disguised children dressed up as trees and others as tigers and monkeys. Then there was the evil man in the shape of a pirate who chopped down the trees and everyone suffered.
After the play a few children took it in turn to read out poetry on wildlife. Then followed a small discussion on wildlife in general where the children were given the opportunity to tell us what they knew and ask questions. The reward ceremony came afterwards, where the performing children as well as the competition winners received their prizes. Then all the children were told the importance of not using plastic bags and where possible, use a re-usable bag and were presented with sweets and drinks as well as an Eco-friendly bag to store them in.
Everyone looked very happy with their gifts but more importantly they looked interested. Principle Jasme Singh was very happy with the day and was heard to say to the creators, “When will you be returning?”
Laura Slade, the international volunteer, explained “working with these children has been an inspiration, their enthusiasm for life as well as learning new things is amazing; British children could learn a thing or two from them. I very much hope to continue to be a part of this project”.
The project believes that reaching children at a very early age is very important in getting them to understand the importance wildlife conservation and therefore intends to spread the word of wildlife conservation and highlight the impacts of wildlife crime to neighbouring villages and schools and with the continued help of donators and supporters this remains a very strong possibility.
The children were attentive and very well behaved all day and certainly seemed to enjoy learning about wildlife. All in all, a great success all round!
The event was conducted by Pehal Society in collaboration with Tiger Awareness, UK, Conservation Research Group, Kerala, Tiger Initiative India, Zoo Outreach Organization and Nirbhaya Foundation.