Goa is celebrating the 71st National Wildlife Week. Being
immersed in the nature and wildlife, children are enthusiastic to learn more
about the wildlife and show great interest at various workshops and
competitions held during the week. This year, students have the option of
online and offline competitions. This week is celebrated to highlight the fact
that wildlife plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of
nature. It is the circle of life and any harm to this balance can pose a threat
to the entire ecosystem.
A wildlife expert, Mangirish Dharwadkar is
the Nodal Officer of the Public Outreach Programme of the State Forest
Department, Wildlife and Ecotourism (WL&ET) South Division. He lists out
the workshops and competitions that will be taking place in the next few days,
“On October 6, there will be a Marine Conservation talk by Reef Watch Marine
Conservation, a Goa-based association. The talk will be held in the morning at
Dr Francisco Luis Gomes District Library, Navelim, and is open to all,
including naturalists, marine biodiversity lovers and students. The same day, a
State-level Quiz on wildlife will be held at Sanskruti Bhavan, Panjim, in the
afternoon. On October 7, there will be online and offline competitions for
schools and higher secondary schools at Chowgule College, Margao. The online
competition will include the best reels and photographs based on wildlife in
Goa and the offline competitions will include fancy dress, t-shirt painting,
rangoli, clay art and painting competitions,” says Mangirish.
At the recently held inauguration of the National Wildlife Week
at Collem, Mangirish was awarded for Wildlife Protection. He, along with his
wife, Rupali Pandit, assistant professor of Zoology at Quepem College, recently
carried out a study of spiders at Chandranath Hill, Paroda, Quepem. “Even
during the pandemic, we organised different online competitions for students
and we received a great response too,” says Mangurish, who designed eight
posters for the Goa Forest Department Wildlife and Eco-Tourism South Division,
Margao. These posters include four based on birds on shore, plateaus, forests
and wetlands. The other posters include snakes, spiders, butterflies and
amphibians of Goa.
Amrut Singh is the president of the Animal Rescue Squad in Goa
and has been encouraging youngsters to take the lead in saving the habitat for
the wildlife. Many youngsters have been motivated by his works and has joined
his team as volunteers in different parts of Goa. He currently mentors five
girls who are trained and are now rescuing animals in different parts of the
state. “Currently, we have Kelly Dias from Margao, Dr Shruti Kavlekar from
Ponda and Sinthiya Parab Goankar, Prachita Shetgaonkar and my daughter, Akshata
Singh, who are on call for animal rescue missions,” says Amrut Singh.
The Squad usually receives calls to rescue snakes and
occasionally there are calls to rescue wild boars, pangolins, porcupines, and
even bisons, also known as gaurs, the state animal of Goa. “Animals like gaurs
and monkeys should be left on their own. They should not be disturbed and
people should not give them attention. Many people try to chase them away by
bursting firecrackers or making loud banging sounds, which make them nervous
and aggressive. Two commonly spotted species of monkeys in Goa include Gray
Langurs and Bonnet Macaque,” says Amrut.
With more awareness programmes, Amrut Singh feels that people
are getting more proactive and are reporting the hunting or capturing of wild
animals. “There are wildlife awareness workshops throughout the year and
people, especially youngsters are more vigilant. There is a decrease in hunting
but it still continues in Goa. Recently, we had cases where small explosives
like crude bombs were hidden in the food which was placed to attract the wild
animals and the bomb is exploded with a remote. Such types of bombs are made to
kill wild animals, but now even domestic animals are getting killed, especially
dogs and cattle,” he explains.
If
one feels like getting close to nature, Goa has ample avenues, which include Dr
Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife
Sanctuary, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao
Wildlife Sanctuary and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
