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Insect Mania

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A NOTE TO WINGS...         What if I ask you a simple question...What is an Insect? What will be the first thing that comes to your mind?  What would be your answer? A creature with wings? An ugly creepy crawler? A nuisance creating insects? Mosquito? Butterflies? Just want to stay away from them? I don't like them?  It's a long list of answers when I generally ask someone about insects. During my Night walks where I basically take my guests in search of nocturnal insects, the first thing I ask is why you booked for this activity? Or are you interested in Insects? And the most common answer I get is NO...We just want to see them but from a distance. Have you ever tried to see the world from a different view? Like what it looks like from top of the tree or from ground? Or have you ever thought of spending most of your life inside a ball of leaf or in the mud. Well the question is have you ever tried to see the world from the eyes of an insect, or h

Wood Wide Web

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  Science behind the talking trees. Until now very few people have understood that apart from animals other living things can also communicate. Communication is not about language neither about ability to speak. Communication is a way to spread messages, it has many forms, and is used by every living species on earth in different ways. But now the debate is whether plants really communicate? Do they have a language of their own? Do they communicate just within the plant species or with other animals too? The Talking Tree Trees were always known for their ability to produce food, timber, and other beneficiary products for human uses. We always study them in the category of living things but treat them as non living. It is when we started studying about what exactly lying below was a huge secret of underworlds of trees. Hidden beneath the soil there is a labyrinth of millions of fungal connections within the roots. We call this network a wood-wide web. Earlier we focused on the process o

Accidental Koi Keeper

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I always admired Koi couples swimming in a small pond at my workplace, but I never Imagined, I will nurture its offspring like my own !!!   Koi fish or Nishikigoi is Japanese breed, fresh water Amur Carp, which is basically kept in outdoor ponds for decorative purposes. In Japanese culture Koi fish Signifies good fortune, good luck and spiritual benefits (ktar.com). There are over 20 different types of Koi of different colours and patterns.   Content : How to maintain the pond habitat suitable for Koi fish. When, where and how to look for eggs. Taking care of the eggs. Preparing for a fry tank. How to maintain fry. Food for fry. Fingerling Maintenance. Pond cleaning and Maintenance: Pond should be cleaned twice in a weak or just once if you are keeping a daily check like removing dead leaves, extra waste, debris, dead insects, etc. At least remove 20-30%of water weekly and add fresh water. Keep your pond well aerated. Check for water temperature and pH of water. For Koi Pond optimal pH

Naturalist eyes (Part 2)

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Have you ever felt that adrenaline rush in your blood when you face that moment which you have been dreaming of????? It was an unforgettable memory for me, and I can say that images may get faint but not those memories. Even though I have never seen a tiger in the wild but have heard all kinds of stories. In my mind I was excited to see it on the next level but at the same time I was scared too. I had lots of questions in my mind, like what I’ll do if I see a Tiger like real one, what if it attacks, what if I’ll get afraid and want to go back, what will be my reaction, what will be my feeling, so many what if’s were running in my mind, and for which I need to face that situation so I can answer myself. At that point I didn’t want to hear anybody else’s experience…I wanted to experience it and answer it myself. All those questions feel childish now, but at that time that mixed feeling of happiness and being scared at the same time was different. I still remember it was 14th of October

Naturalist eyes (Part 1)

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The first Game drive. We were driving from the bamboo forest fully bathed in caterpillar poop, tracing tiger pug marks in hope to see one...our guide was told that a female Tigress was seen crossing from this area one day before. We were fully geared up to follow the pug mark, waiting for deer or Langur alarming calls and waiting for an hour or two…...                                             It was the post monsoon season, I still remember that year monsoon came too late. In India monsoon will knock your door in June but that year it came in July end, in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. Vidarbha region is famous for two things...hot summer and TIGERS. Vidharb is surrounded by forest areas covering Chimur hills, Moharli and Kolsa Range, and dense forest from north to west. It is a southern tropical dry deciduous forest with Bamboo and Teak dominated trees and Tigers as top Carnivore. Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve(TATR) is the First National Park of Maharashtra. Except for some regi