The cheetah is about to be reintroduced to India, a controversial expermient which has had a polarizing effect on scientists and wildlife conservationists alike. Some areas of the state of Rajasthan have also been deemed suitable for this reintroduction. But do you know when and where the last cheetah was found in Rajasthan?
To learn more, we have to look closely at an extensive research paper authored by celebrated natural historian Mr. Divyabhanusinh Chavda along with a young researcher Raza Kazmi, which was published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society in 2019 .
This research paper lists 199 records of cheetahs from India and Pakistan starting from the year 1772. That is to say almost every cheetah recorded in India in the last 250 years or so is listed in this paper. It would be fair to say that hardly any cheetah records in this timespan would have been overlooked by these experts.
If we focus on Rajasthan, only 12 cheetah records have been listed (Table 1). If we review these records, we will find that 6 of these records are non-specific, i.e. records that show that the presence of the cheetah has been recorded in many states of India, including Rajasthan, but such records only indicate provinces or states. They do not necessarily indicate when or where precisely cheetahs were seen or hunted. Such a ‘record’ is a consequence of the cheetah’s distribution discussed in historical literature. For example – Sterndale (1884) wrote that Cheetahs were found in ” Central or Southern India, and in the North-West from Kandeish, through Scinde and Rajpootana to the Punjab,…… In India the places where it most common are Jeypur in Upper India, and Hyderabad in Southern India “. This record does not necessarily indicate when or where Sterndale might have seen a wild cheetah in Rajasthan.
Out of the remaining 6 records, 4 records are of captive coursing cheetahs, which have been recorded from Bharatpur, Alwar and Jaipur. Where precisely these captive cheetahs were caught in the wild is usually not indicated by sources, and they might not necessarily have originated from where they were seen. According to two former Chief Wildlife Wardens of Rajasthan, Mr. VD Sharma and Kailash Sankhala (1984) all captive cheetahs in Jaipur came from Africa and Kabul, Afghanistan, while according to Divyabhanusinh, some captive cheetahs were brought to Jaipur from Gwalior (His source claimed to not recall any African cheetah imports). In this specific context, both conflicting observations find common ground in the fact that neither is evidence of the cheetah’s natural occurrence in Rajasthan.
This leaves us with just 2 records that come the closest to observations of purported wild cheetahs in Rajasthan
The first is from the village of Pursad in southern Udaipur. According to the source, the cheetah was roaming around a camp looking for dogs. Two questions arise from this record, first, whether the dense jungles of southern Rajasthan were suitable habitat for cheetahs and second, would a wild cheetah be preying on dogs? Which begets another question, could it have been a leopard erroneously recorded as a cheetah? Even today, leopards are commonly referred to by the vernacular term chitara in southern Rajasthan.
The second is from the village of Kuwakheda, a village in the Rawatbhata region in the district of Kota, on the border with Madhya Pradesh. The animal recorded is indeed a cheetah, which was killed by a tiger. The source of the record was William Rice, a skilled hunter.
William Rice was a lieutenant in the 25th Bombay Regiment and has written in his hunting memoirs that, in a span of five years, he hunted 156 specimens of big game, killing 68 tigers and injuring 30, therefore hunting a total of 98 tigers. He killed only 4 leopards and injured 3, therefore hunted a total of 7 leopards, and killed 25 bears and injured 26, and thus hunted a total of 51 bears. He suspected that people would be skeptical of his exploits, so he meticulously mentioned the names of seven officers as eyewitnesses along with the above figures to forever silence any doubting Thomases.
Most of these wild animals were hunted in areas within the district of Kota like Gandhi Sagar, Jawahar Sagar, Rana Pratap Sagar, Bijolia, Mandalgarh, Bherodgarh etc.
The question of accurate species identification cannot be raised regarding the source of this record. However, William Rice himself wondered how a cheetah happened to find itself in the “hills” when it was a “plains” animal, and remarked that it struck him as ‘rather odd’.
Therefore, even this last record from Rajasthan comes with the suspicion that the cheetah in question was somehow brought to an unfamiliar habitat by human agency. It is also worth pointing out that there is evidence of captive coursing cheetahs in the form of wall murals in Kota and nearby Bundi. Coursing cheetahs were known to escape during the chase, at times they were found and rather pertinently, sometimes they were not. Perhaps this cheetah was one such escapee.
Therefore, within a 250 year span, such is the ‘evidence’ which has been considered proof of the occurrence of wild cheetahs in Rajasthan. The last of which was recorded in the year 1852, about 170 years ago, in a forest where according to William Rice, the source of the record, the cheetah should not have been there at all.
S.no.
year
Place
Remarks
Reference
1
C. 1840
Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Coursing with Cheetah
Orlich, 1842
2
C.1852
Kooakhera (Kuvakhera), Rajasthan
One dead cheetah killed by a tiger
Rice, 1857
3
c. 1860
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Photograph of two cheetah with keepers
Fabb, 1986
4
28 December 1865
Pursad village, Rajasthan
Author sees a cheetah prowling near the camp in search of dogs
Rousselet and Buckie 1882
5
c. 1880
Sind, Rajputana, Punjab, Central, southern, and N.W. India.
Cheetah Reported
Murray, 1884
6
c. 1884
Central, Southern India, north-west from Khandesh through Sind and Rajputana to the Punjab, commonest in Jaipur and Hyderabad (in the Deccan)
Cheetahs reported
Sterndale, 1884
7
1889
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Coursing with Cheetahs
O’shea, 1890
8
1892-93
Alwar, Rajasthan
Tame Cheetahs seen
Gardner, 1895
9
1892
Punjab, Rajputana Central India up to Bengal
Cheetahs reported
Sanyal, 1892
10
c.1907
Central India, Rajputana, Punjab
Cheetahs reported
Lydekker, 1907
11
c.1920
Northern India, Punjab, Rajputana, Central India, Central Provinces, almost upto Bengal
Cheetahs reported
Burke, 1920
12
c.1932
Rajputana, Central India, Central Provinces, Punjab
Cheetahs reported
Alexander & Martin-Leake, 1932
References :-
Divyabhanusinh & R. Kazmi, ‘Asiatic Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus in India: A Chronology of Extinction and Related Report’, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc 116, 2019. doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2019/v116/141806
V. Sharma & K. Sankhala, ‘Vanishing Cats of Rajasthan’, in P. Jackson (ed.), The Plight of the Cats. Proceedings from the Cat Specialist Group meeting in Kanha National Park. IUCN Cat Specialist Group, Bougy-Villars, Switzerland, 1984, pp. 117-135.
W. Rice, Tiger-Shooting in India: Being an Account of Hunting Experiences on Foot in Rajpootana During the Hot Season, from 1850 to 1854. Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1857.
Divyabhanusinh, The End of a Trail: The Cheetah in India (2nd edn.) Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002.
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Cover photo caption & credit: Human-wildlife conflict is as old as mankind itself. A revealing cave painting from Bundi. (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
According to most experts, it is becoming increasingly evident that human-wildlife conflict is on the rise. Almost every other day, shocking videos and photographs of tiger attacks proliferate all over the media. There seems to be an overall consensus over the fact that conflict between humans and wildlife is increasing rapidly. However, no one ever bothers to ask that while the numbers of tigers and leopards have come down from the lakhs to the thousands, and with current populations only a meagre 5-10% of their erstwhile numbers, why is there an elevation in human-wildlife conflict? Some answer that given the exponential rise in the population of humans, perhaps the tiger’s prey base has also reduced, hence an increase in attacks. Well, let’s see what historical records have to tell us.
Rudyard Kipling, by John Collier, ca.1891. Despite changing times and outlooks, Kipling is still synonymous with the Indian jungle as a result of the popularity of The Jungle Book, adaptations of which continue to be immortalized in film.
One of the more unique historical records of human-wildlife conflict, was found in the town of Bundi in Rajasthan, and it was written by none other than the celebrated Victorian era British author and poet, Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was in fact, born in India. He also received the Nobel Prize for Literature at the relatively young age of 41, and is still the youngest individual to have ever won the prize. Most are familiar with his collection of fictional stories titled “TheJungle Book” , centered around a protagonist named Mowgli, and his interactions with different kinds of anthropomorphic wildlife in the central Indian jungle.
Kipling described his observations of the number of victims of tiger attacks recorded in a Bundi dispensary, all the while sparing the reader none of his trademark wit. He wrote that between 1887 -1889, he travelled through many parts of India, including Rajasthan, and whilst walking down a street in Bundi one afternoon, someone suddenly called out to him in “rusty” English, “Come, and see my dispensary”.
Bundi in the present. (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
This came as a bit of a shock to Kipling, for at the time, the only people said to be conversant in English in the whole town were two teachers at a local school. The unprecedented third, was a local doctor who had studied 20 years previously at the Lahore Medical College, and ran a charitable dispensary. However, the good doctor’s proficiency in English was not that of a first language speaker. The doctor proceeded to describe the different kinds of patients that visited him, and how his 16 bed dispensary functioned. According to Kipling, there was a crowd of some 25 -30 people, and he approved of the dispensary. The dispensary’s patient records were also written in English, where none of the ailments were spelled correctly (“Asthama, Numonia, Skindiseas, Dabalaty”), but also contained figures under a rather curious heading, “Loin-bite”. When Kipling asked the doctor what he meant by this, the latter responded in Hindi, “Sher se mara” (Kipling was fluent in Hindi, it was believed to be his first language). Following which Kipling humorously commented, ” it was ‘lion bite’ or tiger, if you insist upon zoological accuracy”. Both tigers, and leopards could have been behind the attacks, the chances of a lion being very slim for obvious reasons. According to Kipling, tigers used to injure approximately 3-4 people in Bundi every week. Today, this figure dwarfs the current figure for the entire state of Rajasthan, and bear in mind, this was just a small town.
It appears that as a consequence of the easy availability of cameras, and smartphones, an increasing number of videos and photographs of cases of human-wildlife conflict are rapidly proliferating in the media. Where there are humans and wildlife, conflict is inevitable, to learn the art of living with it is necessary. Indians, it must be said, know this art relatively well.
Today the jungles of Bundi have become tigerless, but the government is now paying attention to the area, and seeks to prepare it for the tiger’s return. With the unprecedented success of the adjacent Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, the residents of Bundi have also become aware of the benefits of tourism revenue, and eagerly await new tigers.
References:
Rudyard Kipling. (1899).“The Comedy of Errors and the Exploitation of Boondi,” in From Sea to Sea; Letters of Travel, vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday & McClure Company), 151.
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Cover photo caption & credit: Human-wildlife conflict is as old as mankind itself. A revealing cave painting from Bundi. (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
आजकल यह विषय चर्चा में रहता है कि, मानव और वन्यजीवन के मध्य संघर्ष तेजी से बढ़ रहा है। आये दिन मीडिया में बाघ बघेरे के हमलो के हैरान करने वाले वीडियो और तस्वीरें देखने को मिलती हैं। सभी इस बात पर हामी भरते हैं, कि मानव और वन्य जीवन के मध्य संघर्ष तेजी से बढ़ते ही चले जा रहे है। परन्तु कभी कोई यह प्रश्न नहीं पूछता की जब बाघ और बघेरो की संख्या लाखो हजारों से घट कर अब मात्र 5 -10 % रह गयी ही तो फिर संघर्ष कम क्यों नहीं हो रहा है? कुछ इसका जवाब भी दे देते हैं कि, मानव संख्या भी कई गुना बढ़ गयी और शायद बाघ बघेरो का आहार भी कई गुना घट गया अतः वे सब अब इंसानो पर अधिक हमले करते हैं।
रुडयार्ड किपलिंग, जॉन कोलियर द्वारा, सीए.1891। बदलते समय और दृष्टिकोण के बावजूद, द जंगल बुक पुस्तक की लोकप्रियता के परिणामस्वरूप किपलिंग नाम अभी भी भारतीय जंगल का पर्यायवाची है।
पढ़िए रिकॉर्ड क्या कहते हैं।
मानव और वन्यजीव के संघर्ष का सबसे अनोखा रिकॉर्ड बूंदी शहर से मिला और जिसे महान लेखक रुडयार्ड किपलिंग ने अपने मजाकिया अंदाज में बखूबी अपनी एक पुस्तक में लिखा है। रुडयार्ड किपलिंग कोई साधारण व्यक्ति नहीं थे, वह एक ब्रिटिश भारतीय थे जो भारत में ही जन्मे थे। उन्हें 41 वर्ष की उम्र में साहित्य के लिए नोबेल पुरस्कार भी मिला था। आज भी उन्हें सबसे छोटी उम्र में नोबेल पुरस्कार प्राप्त करने वाला माना जाता है। उनकी प्रसिद्ध पुस्तक “जंगल बुक” से हम सब भली भांति वाकिफ है। इस पुस्तक में एक मोगली नामक किरदार है और उसके साथी विभिन्न वन्यजीव है जो कई प्रकार की कहानियों के माध्यम से पाठकों का मनोरंजन करते हैं।
वर्तमान में बूंदी शहर (फोटो: डॉ धर्मेंद्र खांडल)
रुडयार्ड किपलिंग ने लिखा है कि, वह 1887 -1889 के वर्षों में भारत के कई हिस्सों में घूमने निकले थे, तभी उन्हें राजस्थान की एक लम्बी यात्रा का मौका भी मिला। एक दोपहर जब वह बूंदी के आम रास्ते पर टहल रहे थे, तो अकस्मात पीछे से किसी ने आवाज दी “Come and see my discrepancy “। यह उनके लिए चौकानेवाला बुलावा था कि, कोई उन्हें अंग्रेजी में बुला रहा है, जबकि पूरी बूंदी में उस ज़माने में दो लोग ही अंग्रेजी बोलते थे एक वहां की स्कूल के प्रमुख अध्यापक और दूसरे थे एक अंग्रेजी के अध्यापक। तीसरे व्यक्ति किपलिंग को यही मिले जो लाहौर मेडिकल कॉलेज से 20 वर्ष पूर्व पढ़ कर आये थे और अब एक चिकित्शालय के प्रमुख्झ थे। यदपि इनको भी अंग्रेजी के कुछ यहाँ वहां के शब्द ही आते थे। उन्होंने चर्चा के दौरान बताया की किस प्रकार के रोगी उनके पास आते है और किस तरह उनका 16 बिस्तर का अस्पताल कार्य करता है। उस समय वहां कोई 25 -30 लोगों की भीड़ रही होगी और उन्हें यह एक अच्छी भली डिस्पेंसरी लग रही थी। रिकॉर्ड को भी अंग्रेजी में दर्ज किया गया था, जिसमें एक भी स्पेलिंग सही नहीं थी। खैर उसमें एक आंकड़ा दर्ज था लोइन-बाईट (loin-bite)। जब उनसे पूछा गया की इसका क्या मतलब तो उन्होंने बताया की “शेर से मारा” हुआ। किपलिंग लिखते हैं कि, loin नहीं lion से मतलब था प्राणी शास्त्र के अनुसार सही भाषा टाइगर लिखना सही होगा। खैर वह टाइगर एवं पैंथर दोनों हो सकते है लायन की सम्भावना तो क्षीण ही है। इस दर्ज आंकड़े के अनुसार लगभग 3 -4 लोग हर सप्ताह इस चिकित्शालय में बाघ बघेरो के घायल वहां आते थे। आज यह आंकड़ा पुरे राज्य के लिए भी बहुत ज्यादा है, जो कभी मात्र एक छोटी बूंदी शहर के आस पास के क्षेत्र का था।
शायद मानव और वन्यजीव के मध्य सघर्ष सदैव ही रहा है परन्तु आजकल लोगों के पास कैमरे की आसानी से उपलब्धता के कारण मीडिया में वन्य जीव और मानव के मध्य होने वाले संघर्ष के वीडियो और फोटोग्राफ्स की संख्या अत्यंत बढ़ती जा रही है। जहाँ वन्य जीव और इंसान रहेंगे तो वहां इनके मध्य संघर्ष भी रहेगा ही, जरुरत है इसके साथ जीने की कला सिखने की, भारतीयों को तुलनात्मक रूप से यह कला भली भांति जानता भी कौन है। तभी तो हमारे देश में इतने संघर्ष के बाद वन्य जीव मिलते है एशिया के और कई देशों में तो अच्छे भले वन खाली पड़े है।
आज बूंदी के जंगल बाघ विहीन हो गये है परन्तु सरकार अब इसे पुनः विकसित करने की तरफ ध्यान देने लगी है। रणथम्भोर की अभूतपूर्व पर्यटन सफलता को देख बूंदी के लोग भी अब जागरूक हुए है और बाघों के स्वागत के लिए तत्पर है।
सन्दर्भ:
Rudyard Kipling. (1899).“The Comedy of Errors and the Exploitation of Boondi,” in From Sea to Sea; Letters of Travel, vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday & McClure Company), 151.
लेखक:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Cover photo caption & credit:मानव-वन्यजीव संघर्ष उतना ही पुराना है जितनी स्वयं मानव जाति तथा इसका प्रमाण देती हुई बूंदी से एक गुफा चित्र। (फोटो: डॉ धर्मेंद्र खांडल)
In nature, it is very rare to see the hunter become the hunted. However, there is just such a tale from Jaipur, Rajasthan. A falconer once came to meet the police chief of Rajasthan, the late Mr. Shantunu Kumar (DGP – Rajasthan). The said falconer is a resident of Jaipur, and was permitted to keep birds of prey even after the introduction of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. This is because he had no suitable course of action for his captive birds following the act, and was therefore permitted by the Forest Department to keep his birds of prey.
Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
A bevy of grey francolins (Ortygornis pondicerianus) (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
For many years he used to fly his birds to give them the exercise they needed, and they all came back to their master in the end. When the falconer went to meet Shantanu ji, he informed him that he had his peregrine falcon with him that day. Shantanu ji expressed a desire to see the bird, the falconer took out the peregrine falcon and promised to show him just how spectacular it was in full flight. Bear in mind, this is perhaps the only example of permission being granted to keep a live bird of prey in post 1972 India.
A cockfighting display. Grey francolins (Ortygornis pondicerianus) were also used in this blood sport.
The late Sh. Shantanu Kumar (right), with Sh. Fateh Singh Rathore (left), former Field Director of Ranthambhore, and founder of Tiger Watch. (Photo: Hemant Singh)
Shantanu ji used to live on the outskirts of Jaipur, where many birds etc. also lived on his agricultural farm, including a bevy of grey francolin (formerly called grey partridge) who knew no fear of humans, and thus roamed wherever they pleased. After taking off, the peregrine falcon showed it’s true predatory nature, and immediately dove straight at a francolin! This happened within the flash of an eye, and everyone watched with their mouths agape.
A cockfighter’s blade attached to the spurs of fighting birds. The blade is meant to enhance the devastating impact of the spur.
A pair of river lapwing: check small spurs (spines like structures) on its shoulders.
But there was a completely unexpected outcome, the francolin’s spur (sharp growths on the hind feet) had sunk deep into the peregrine’s heart before it could make its claim! The francolin quickly extracted itself from the peregrine’s talons and ran off, while the raptor lay dead. Spurs are seen in many birds, including chickens. Often cockfighters also tie a small knife-like blade to the spurs of roosters, and sometimes the cockfighters themselves become victims of these enhancements. Once upon a time, cockfighting was a very common and popular sport in rural India, and grey francolins were also used in this blood sport.
In the end, Shantanu ji had a good laugh at the falconer’s expense, and commented that even a ‘police officer’s partridge’ overwhelms a falcon (police waalon ka teetar bhi baaz pe bhaaree padta hai).
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
यह बहुत दुर्लभ है कि, प्रकर्ति में शिकारी खुद शिकार बन जाता है। एक बार राजस्थान के पुलिस प्रमुख श्री शांतुनु कुमार (DGP – Rajasthan) से मिलने एक बाजदार आया। शांतनु जी वन्यजीवों में अत्यधिक रूचि रखते थे और गहरी समझ भी। यह बाजदार जयपुर के रहने वाले है और इन्हें वन्यजीव अधिनियम आने के बाद भी बाज रखने की इजाजत थी। क्योंकि इनके पालतू बाज यह कहाँ छोड़ते अतः उन्हें बाज आदि शिकारी पक्षियों के रखने की वन विभाग से अनुमति मिल गई। शायद यह भारत का एक मात्र उदाहारण है जब जिन्दा बाज पलने की इजाजत मिली थी।
पेरेग्रीन फाल्कन (Falco peregrinus) (फोटो: डॉ धर्मेंद्र खांडल)
ग्रे फ्रैंकोलिन का समूह (Ortygornis pondicerianus) (फोटो: डॉ धर्मेंद्र खांडल)
कई वर्षो तक वह उन बाजों को हवा में उड़ाता और उनकी थोड़ी बहुत शारीरिक श्रम कराता ताकि वह स्वस्थ रहे। इन उड़ानों के बाद वह प्रशिक्षित बाज अंत में पुनः उस बाजदार के पास आ जाते थे। जब वह बाजदार शांतनु कुमार से मिलने गए तो उन्होंने बताया की आज उसके साथ उसका बाज भी है। शान्तनुजी ने उसे देखने की इच्छा जाहिर करने पर बाजदार अपना एक बाज लेकर आया और कहाँ की में आपको इसकी शानदार उड़ान दिखता हूँ। शांतनु जी जयपुर के बाहरी क्षेत्र में रहते थे जहाँ अनेक पक्षी आदि भी रहते उनके कृषि फार्म में एक तीतर का झुण्ड भी रहता था जो इंसानो से भय नहीं होने के कारण निडर होकर घुमा करते थे।
एक मुर्गा लड़ाई प्रदर्शन। इस खुनी खेल में ग्रे फ़्रैंकोलिन्स (Ortygornis pondicerianus) का भी उपयोग किया जाता था।
स्वर्गीय श्री शांतनु कुमार (दाएं) और साथ में श्री फतेह सिंह राठौर (बाएं), रणथंभौर के पूर्व फील्ड निदेशक और टाइगर वॉच के संस्थापक। (फोटो: श्री हेमंत सिंह)
बाज ने उड़ान भरने के बाद अपनी असली फितरत दिखायो और सीधा एक तीतर पर झपटा मारा। यह इतना तेजी से हुआ की सब देखते रह गये। परन्तु माजरा और भी चौकाने वाला था, बाज अपना दाव लगाता इस से पहले तीतर का स्पर या पांव का कांटा उसके दिल में धंस चूका था। तीतर तेजी से पंजो से छूट कर भाग गया परन्तु बाज अपनी जान गवा चूका था। यह स्पर कई पक्षियों में होते है जिसमें मुर्गे भी शामिल है। स्पर (spur) कुछ पक्षियों के पांव में एक बढ़ी हुई हड्डी होती है जो एक केरीटिन से ढका हुआ होता है। कुछ पक्षियों में यह स्पर उनके पांव के पीछे होने की बजाय पंख के कार्पल पर स्थित होते है एवं आपस और दुसरो के साथ संघर्ष में उपयोगी होते है।
लड़ने वाले पक्षियों के स्पर्स से जोड़े जाने वाला ब्लेड और यह ब्लेड स्पर के विनाशकारी प्रभाव को बढ़ाने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया जाता है।
रिवर लैपविंग की एक जोड़ी: इसके कंधों पर छोटे स्पर्स (रीढ़ जैसी संरचना) मौजूद होते हैं। (फोटो: डॉ धर्मेंद्र खांडल)
मुर्गो के पांव में भी स्पर होते है परन्तु अक्सर मुर्गे लड़ने वाले उन पर एक छोटी छुरी जैसा दिखने वाला चाकू भी बांध देते है और कई बार मुर्गे लड़नेवाले भी खुद इस छुरी के शिकार होजाते है। मुर्गा लड़ाना एक ज़माने में ग्रामीण भारत का एक बहुत प्रसिद्ध खेल था।
खैर शान्तनुजी हँसते हुए बोले पुलिस वालो का तीतर भी बाज पर भारी पड़ता है।
लेखक:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
During the British Raj, many a Briton regularly visited Mount Abu in Rajasthan, and several took an active scientific interest in the local fauna and flora. This also included the local avifauna, and two such visitors discovered two different bird subspecies, and gave them the name abuensis i.e. after Mt. Abu where they were found. Do you know which birds these are, and who discovered them?
Whenever a scientist discovers a new animal or plant, the scientist gives it binomial nomenclature. A scientific or binomial name is constituted by two names – the name of the genus, and the name of the species. Sometimes minute differences are observed in the species, which occur due to geographical conditions, and scientists give them the status of subspecies, and the subspecies name is then appended as a third name.
Harington’s description of the tawny-bellied babbler (Dumetia albigularis abuensis).
Whistler’s description of the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus abuensis)
The following two bird subspecies were named after Mt. Abu –
The Tawny-bellied Babbler has a brownish tinge on the top of the head and a white throat, which makes it appear as if it is wearing a hat. Whereas all their other subspecies only have the brownish tinge on the front of the head. Their behavior can be well understood from a vernacular name used in India, in Telugu pandijitta, which means ‘boar- bird’. This is because, much like a wild boar, this bird picks up leaves and straw on the ground with its beak, and carries on searching for insects etc. under them.
Hugh Whistler (28 September 1889 – 7 July 1943), was an English police officer and ornithologist who worked in India. He described Abu’s red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus abuensis) from Mount Abu in 1931
This bird was discovered by a British Army officer named Herbert Hastings Harington in Mt. Abu. Harington was born in Lucknow, and at the age of 48 in was killed by a militia in Mesopotamia i.e. Iraq, during the first world war (1916), nevertheless the details of the discovery were published earlier in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS) in 1914.
The red-whiskered bulbul is a beautiful bird that has a very pleasant sounding call. It is said in it’s call sounds like the phrase, “pleased to meet you” , please listen for yourself- https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BFPU1hah-M. Perhaps that is why the species was given the Latin name jocodsus by the taxonomist Carl Linnaeus, which means ‘playful’. The sub-species abuensis was introduced to the world by the celebrated ornithologist Hugh Whistler in the year 1931. Interestingly, Whistler was also a police officer in addition to being an ornithologist. He collected 17-18 thousand bird specimens during the course of his life, all of which are housed in the Natural History Museum in London. In fact, the first specimen of this bulbul subspecies was collected on 29 April 1868 and deposited in the Natural History Museum. Whistler wrote that it is “extremely pale coloration, both above and below”, in comparison to other subspecies. He also added that, ” the pectoral gorget [is] narrow, pale in colour, and broken in the centre”.
Herbert Hastings Harington (16 January 1868 – 8 March 1916) was a British Indian Army officer and ornithologist who worked in Burma, and wrote on the birds of the region. He described Abu’s Tawny-bellied babbler (Dumetia albigularis abuensis) from Mount Abu in 1914-15.
Although these two subspecies are considered by some local people to be subspecies endemic to the Mount Abu area, both of them have also been seen in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Nevertheless, since both subspecies were discovered in Mount Abu, they were named after it.
References:
Harington, H.H. (1914). “Notes on the Indian Timeliides and their allies (laughing thrushes, babblers, &c.) Part III. Family — Timeliidae”. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 23: 417–453.
Whistler, H. (1931). “Description of new subspecies of the red-whiskered bulbuls from India”. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club. 52: 40–41.
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
