PfA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre

  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...

  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...