PfA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre

We can all agree with the fact that India is a land of rich culture and traditions, of which, festivals are a major part of our lives. And while many Hindu festivals worship the gods, some festivals are celebrated to worship the nature, the upcoming festival being Nag Panchami. Snake gods are considered to be very powerful and it is believed that pleasing them will bring peace and prosperity to the devotees. Women fast for the day for their families and unmarried girls strive to get a good husband. In all this excitement and the need to please the snake gods, we often forget to celebrate the essence of the festival and to understand snakes. Despite a festival dedicated solely to celebrate snakes, they still remain one of the most misunderstood species. The image which we don since childhood about snakes being powerful makes us fear them. We are so scared of snakes that even looking at a tiny snake can make most of us squeal. What is interesting is that most of the snakes around us are ...

I waded through the thick meadows and rested underneath a peepal tree, when a parakeet flew over and rested on a branch and made a squeak. The meadows were green, and a cool breeze blew amidst the hot sun, I was slipping into a trance, underneath the cool shade of the tree.   The parakeet then uttered angrily, “ Why did you drive me away from my home?” When she was building her nest, I asked her, “Are you not in your home, it seems your own ? The parakeet uttered again, but with anger “This is not my home , you drove me away” Pat came my reply, “ I did not drive you; I don’t even know where your home is!”   She wailed, “It may not be you, but your men who destroyed our home, the big grandma tree was a dwelling for our fleet, from times unknown. With sorrow, I asked her, “Was it a wood cutter who drove you all from your home?’, she replied, “ Wood cutter was one, but others were a powerful mobile tower  harming us with radiations and a heinous realtor who wiped out “Grandm...