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One Tree, Many Lives: The Hidden Wildlife of Bengaluru's Canopy

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  Look at a large tree in Bengaluru and you might see shade. A bird sees a nesting site. A squirrel sees a highway. A bat sees a place to roost. An insect sees food and shelter. And a tree cavity may be home to an owl, reptile or an entire community of tiny organisms that most of us will never notice. One tree can support dozens of lives. That is why when we talk about protecting Bengaluru's urban wildlife, we also need to talk about the trees that make the city liveable for them. A Tree Is More Than a Tree We often measure trees by their height, age or canopy. Wildlife experiences them differently. A mature tree can provide food, nesting sites, shelter from extreme weather, places to raise young and routes for animals moving through the city. Its flowers attract insects. Its fruits feed birds and mammals. Its branches provide perches. Its bark supports insects and other small organisms. Its hollows can become homes. Its canopy can connect one green space to another. To wildlife, a...
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Bengaluru After Dark: Meet the City's Night Shift

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  When Bengaluru goes to sleep, its wildlife doesn't. As traffic thins, offices empty and apartment windows begin to go dark, another side of the city comes alive. Bats take flight, owls begin hunting, nightjars call from quiet patches of vegetation, and snakes move through gardens and open spaces. For most of us, this is a world we rarely see. But Bengaluru has a night shift of its own—and it is made up of some of the city's most fascinating wild residents. A Different Bengaluru After Sunset We tend to think of urban wildlife as the birds we see from our balconies or the squirrels running across trees during the day. But many species have adapted to a very different schedule. For nocturnal animals, the darkness offers opportunities that daylight doesn't. There is less human activity, fewer visual disturbances and, for some species, greater access to food. Some animals are completely nocturnal, while others are most active during the early morning or evening. That means tha...
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Why Frogs Are Important to a Healthy City

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  When the monsoon arrives in Bengaluru, the city changes in ways we can see—and many more that we can hear. Puddles appear, lakes fill, gardens come alive, and after sunset, a familiar chorus begins from drains, ponds, gardens and patches of green: the calls of frogs. For many people, frogs are simply a sign that the rains have arrived. But these small amphibians play a much bigger role in keeping urban ecosystems healthy. From controlling insect populations to serving as food for other wildlife, frogs are an important part of Bengaluru's ecological network. Their presence can even tell us something about the health of the environment around us. Frogs Are More Than Just "Monsoon Animals" Frogs are often associated with rain because water is essential to their life cycle. Many frog species depend on temporary pools, wetlands, ponds and other water bodies to breed. During the monsoon, these habitats become available across the city, triggering breeding and increased activi...
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What Bengaluru’s Wildlife Rescue Calls Tell Us About the City

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  Bengaluru is often described through its traffic, technology parks, lakes and rapidly growing neighbourhoods. But there is another way to understand the city: listen to the wildlife rescue calls coming in every day. A snake found in an apartment parking lot. A fledgling lying beneath a tree. A kite tangled in a dangerous thread. A monkey injured on an electric line. A civet discovered inside a home. A jackal hit by a vehicle on the city's outskirts. Each call is about an individual animal. Together, however, they tell a much larger story about how Bengaluru is changing—and how its wildlife is adapting to that change. At PfA Wildlife Hospital, Bengaluru, our rescue team responds to wildlife emergencies throughout the year. We work closely with the Karnataka Forest Department and handle cases involving animals that are injured, displaced, trapped, orphaned or affected by human activity.  Over time, these calls have become more than rescue requests. They have become a window in...
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