‘Punarjani’, conservation project for Olive Ridley Turtles making great strides.

Shri K.B.Sanjayan, Co-ordinator of T.N.H.S
highlighting the importance of protecting turtles

         ‘Punarjani’, a novel project conceived by the Social Forestry wing of the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Kollam, in association with Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), a Trivandrum-based N.G.O working in the field of nature conservation, was originally launched on January 23, 2020, at Chillakkal beach, Paravur near Kollam. The project envisages protecting Olive Ridley turtles, a reptile that has been placed in the Red Data Book of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Olive Ridley turtles have been laying eggs on the shores of Chillakkal and Pozhikkara beaches on the Kollam coast, notably because these are the only two gaps without a seawall erected as a measure against sea erosion. These turtles freely crawl to the shore in the safety of the nightfall in these places, dig pits in the sand some of which as large as to hold up to 100 of its eggs. In course of three weeks when the eggs hatch, hatchlings are led back to the sea by themselves as if by a rare force of intuition. Parental care is sparsely observed in these varieties of turtles.

House Sparrow Population in the City Shows a Mixed Pattern

Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), the city-based NGO, striving to protect the environment and create awareness for up-keeping the rich bio-diversity of the southern Western Ghats and its penumbral regions, has been engaged in monitoring the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) population in and around Thiruvananthapuram city, ever since March 20 has come to be observed as World Sparrow Day (WSD) in 2010. This year also, during the run up to the Day, members of the Society scouted the nook and corner of the city, noting down the numbers of the birds. It was heartening to note that there was a marginal increase in the number of sparrows in certain pockets of the city, while the number remained steady in the remaining habitats or has gone down nominally. Sparrow count was taken at all known sparrow hubs like Connemara market, Bheemapalli,  Vettucaud, Vizhinjam etc. 

Faunal survey adds new birds and butterflies to Shendurney

Lesser Fish Eagle 

A 4-day annual faunal survey of Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary jointly conducted by Kerala Forest Department and Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), concluded here with interesting finds. Faunal survey adds 6 new birds and 3 new butterflies to Shendurney. The 171 sq km sanctuary was covered by 10 teams of experts using basecamps in all elevations and habitats. The exercise was a part of the annual faunal assessment, which targets census of Butterflies, Birds, Odonates, spiders and mammals of the sanctuary. In addition, the teams also listed reptiles, amphibians and ants. The programme started with a meeting at Thenmalai where the participants were briefed about the survey. The meeting was inaugurated by the Wildlife Warden Mr Sajeev Kumar B, Mr Saju M Asst Wildlife Warden delivered the introductory speech and Dr. Kalesh Sadasivan explained the methodology and logistics to the delegates. Around 40 delegates from south India participated in the event, which included experts on various faunal groups from Travancore Nature History Society TNHS, Bangalore Butterfly Club (BBC), and students from various research institutes and colleges.