VanaSanskriti🐯

  The sacred stripes from jungle to temple A striped beast lives in India's deep forests, where it is regarded as both a sign of dread and a cultural emblem. We Indians name it the Bagh, also known as the Bengal Tiger or Panthera tigris . For centuries or millennia, these ferocious beasts have coexisted with Indians, becoming a symbol of reverence for rural and tribal people. These beasts operate as strong protectors of forests, proving the saying "A forest without the tiger is barren; its life force does not remain”. Recently, studies have shown a significant rise in the tiger population in India, which now proudly holds the title of the country with the maximum number of wild tigers in the world. According to the All-India Tiger Estimation 2022, India’s tiger population was recorded at 3,167 based on direct evidence from surveys, with further refined analysis placing the number at around 3,682. This means that India alone is home to approximately 75% of the global wild...

  Cuckoos : Masters of Trickery in the Avian World The monsoon season, with its abundance of food and favorable conditions, signals the onset of the breeding period for a wide variety of bird species in India. Among them, cuckoos stand out—not just for their melodious calls, but for their remarkable and somewhat deceptive breeding strategy. Unlike most birds that raise their own young, cuckoos are brood parasites : they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the unsuspecting hosts to incubate the eggs and care for the chicks. This fascinating behavior, though seemingly ruthless, is a brilliant evolutionary adaptation that has made cuckoos one of the most intriguing groups in the avian world.                              Currently, 141 species of cuckoos (family Cuculidae ) are recognized worldwide, and interestingly, a majority— around 60% —exhibit brood parasitism , a remarkable and intrig...

Corvids Declassified : Beyond the Myths of Misfortune Corvids, a globally distributed group of passerine birds, encompass familiar species such as ravens, crows, and rooks. With 46 species, they are prevalent across temperate continents, excluding South America. Ravens and crows are among the world's most adaptable species due their high cognitive abilities as well as high drive for survival and resistance. They have demonstrated remarkable intelligence and problem-solving capabilities, rivaling those of humans. For instance, ravens have been observed using busy traffic cars to crack open nut shells and access the soft nut inside. They also utilize tools, such as sticks and pebbles to fetch water and food. Furthermore, in urban environments, they've adapted to incorporating plastic waste (strings and wrappers) , barbed wire and fibers into their nests. This behavior, while showcasing their adaptability, also highlights the increasing presence of human debris in their habitats. ...