Talab-e-Shahi And Khanpur Mahal, Rajasthan : A Birder's Paradise And A History Lover's Delight

The Talab-e-Shahi and Khanpur Mahal. Image by: Oishimaya Sen Nag

There is royalty in its name - Talab-e-Shahi, meaning the royal pond. It is, however, not exactly a pond but a lake that was artificially created along with the Khanpur Mahal on its shores in 1617 to serve the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan during his hunting trips to Dholpur. Today, the lake lies around 27 km from the town of Dholpur in Rajasthan.

I never knew about its existence until my visit to the Raj Niwas Palace in Dholpur, Rajasthan, to explore the wildlife of the nearby Chambal River. I was staying at the palace, a grand accommodation indeed, a heritage hotel owned by the former ruling family of the region with a rich history. I had booked a jeep safari at Raj Niwas for sightseeing in and around Dholpur. It was on the safari itinerary that I first came to learn about the Talab-e-Shahi.

Having the morning cup of tea at Van Vihar Sanctuary in the safari jeep of Raj Niwas Palace.

We started from the palace early morning at 6 am to avoid the heat of the day as we were travelling in an open jeep. As we passed through the busy Dholpur town, we could see all the gazes upon us. Such open jeep vehicles are not commonly seen, and hence, it raised people's curiosity. Our first stop was at the Van Vihar Sanctuary, an offbeat wildlife destination that I will describe in a later post. From Van Vihar, we set off for Talab-e-Shahi. 

Our jeep speeded through an interesting landscape of wheat fields interspersed with grasslands and scrub forests. It was brown and arid but had a raw beauty to it. Soon, we got to see an expanse of blue on the horizon with a beautiful red-coloured palatial building in the background. "Welcome to the Talab-e-Shahi and Khanpur Mahal," our guide greeted us.

As our jeep passed by the shores of the lake, I got quite excited. Many species of birds could be seen dotting the waters of this shallow lake. If this was the scene in early summer as we were travelling in the first week of April, I could well imagine how this lake would be a paradise for the migratory birds and bird lovers in the winter. Tufted ducks, common teals, and pintails are among them.

I swung my camera into action, asking the driver to stop wherever there was a photo opportunity. The lake itself had a beauty to it that was enhanced by the historical ruins bordering it.

Painted storks in Talab-e-Shahi. Image by: Oishimaya Sen Nag.

The Khanpur Mahal, however, was a bit disappointing. Not the palace itself but the way the local government had allowed it to fall into ruins really saddened me. It had been created as the pleasure residence of Shah Jahan during his visits to Dholpur for hunting. The architecture was grand but crumbling. 

There was a beautiful garden through which you could walk to reach the lake's shores and enjoy seeing birds in it. I was overjoyed to see two pied kingfishers with their unique black and white plumage and crest on a ledge beside me. One of them flew up and started hovering over the lake before diving in to catch a fish. It failed to get one, but it would try again. Wishing it good luck, I moved on.

A pair of pied kingfishers on a ledge along the Talab-e-Shahi. Image by: Oishimaya Sen Nag

I rode the jeep again, moving along the length of the lake and the wetlands on the other side of the road. I managed to photograph a great variety of birds. The grey-headed swamphens looked particularly striking in the wetlands, their bluish-purple plumage glistening in the sunlight and their red bill and forehead shield making a great contrast. 

A grey-headed swamphen in the wetland. Image by: Oishimaya Sen Nag

The sun was about to set, and the lake's sparkling clean waters, dotted by the silhouettes of many birds, appeared magical. 

On my way back, I really wished that the concerned authorities would assign more care to this beautiful heritage destination. It would be a shame if we lost such gorgeous architecture due to mere negligence. I hope to return one day to see the Khanpur Mahal and the Talab-e-Shahi restored to the royal glory that they deserve.

Written by: Dr. Oishimaya Sen Nag

Visiting The Gharial Rearing Centre In Deori, Madhya Pradesh

A gharial on the sand bank of the Chambal River. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

You may have heard of captive conservation rearing and rehabilitation to save threatened species from extinction. In some species, this conservation measure has been hugely successful. Gharials are one such species. If you wish to witness the implementation of such a conservation measure, and if Crocodilians like the gharial fascinate you, the Gharial Rearing Centre in Deori, Madhya Pradesh, is one place you must visit.

Located in the National Chambal Sanctuary, around 10 km from the town of Morena, Madhya Pradesh, around 19 km from Dholpur, Rajasthan, and around 45 km from the historical city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, this place can be searched on Google Maps as "Eco Centre, Deori, Morena." It is located on the NH44 and remains open all year round from around 9 am to 5 pm. It is a perfect place to visit with family, especially children, to watch the unique and highly threatened gharials in the many hatcheries scattered throughout the centre. 

A Brief History Of The Centre

Entrance to the Gharial Rearing Centre, Deori. Image credit: Arijit Nag

In the 1970s, it was realised that the gharials were on the brink. Decades of being subjected to habitat destruction, hunting, pollution, etc., had decimated gharial populations across their range in the Indian subcontinent. 

Thus, to save the species, the Indian Government launched Project Crocodile in 1975 in collaboration with the UNDP and FAO. As part of this Project, the Gharial Rearing Centre was set up in Deori to raise gharial hatchlings in captivity and release them into the wild in the river later. The centre became part of the National Chambal Sanctuary, which was also set up around that time. The method of rearing gharials in captivity became a huge success, and gharial populations rose significantly. By 1991, however, the Project stopped receiving funding as the authorities believed that the gharial populations were stable. They could not be more wrong. 

Two juvenile gharials in the Chambal River near Dholpur, Rajasthan. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

In 2006, the conservation world received a massive jolt. A population study found that gharial populations had dropped down to only around 200! 

Once again, there was an urgency to save the gharials. This time, however, conservation efforts were launched in the long term, and the Gharial Rearing Centre at Deori once again played a vital role in conserving this critically endangered species.

Conservation Operations At The Gharial Rearing Centre

Thousands of gharials are raised in the Gharial Rearing Centre to be released into the wild, primarily the Chambal River. The National Chambal Sanctuary staff visit the sand banks of the Chambal around March-April when the female gharials lay their eggs in the sand by digging holes and then covering the eggs with sand. A single clutch has around 18 to 52 eggs. The sanctuary staff remove some of the eggs from each nest, leaving the rest to incubate naturally and carry them to the Gharial Rearing Centre. During this process, care is taken to ensure that the eggs receive the optimal conditions needed to stay healthy. 

At the centre, the eggs are incubated in hatcheries designed for the purpose. Upon hatching, which happens after around 60 to 65 days of incubation, the newborn gharials are shifted to a new hatchery. Each gharial is also given a unique identification by a small cut in its tail. A series of hatcheries in the centre houses gharials at various stages of growth. Each hatchery comes with a small pond where the water is regularly changed as gharials are highly sensitive to water quality. Sand is spread around the pond's banks to replicate their riverine habitat. The gharials are also fed fresh fish, which constitutes the majority of their diet in the wild.

A tagged juvenile gharial in the Chambal River of the National Chambal Sanctuary near Dholpur, Rajasthan. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

Once the gharials grow to around 120 cm, when they are about 3 to 4 years old, they are prepared for release in the wild in the nearby Chambal River of the National Chambal Sanctuary. Some of the gharials are radio-tagged to study their behaviour in the wild and gather vital information on gharial ecology.

Visiting The Gharial Rearing Centre

A signboard educating visitors about gharials at the Gharial Rearing Centre, Deori.

The Gharial Rearing Centre is open to all, so you can pay a visit and learn about these fascinating Crocodilians who are endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Here, gharials at different stages of growth can be observed basking on the sand of the hatcheries, swimming in the pools, and moving around the hatchery. The Centre also houses some other species like the mugger and tortoises found in the Chambal River.

In addition, the Gharial Rearing Centre also houses a nature interpretation centre and museum that educate visitors about the various species inhabiting the sanctuary and the conservation work done in the centre and the sanctuary. 

Writer: Dr. Oishimaya Sen Nag

Read more: GHARIAL AND TOURISM: ROLE OF NATIONAL CHAMBAL SANCTUARY INCONSERVATION OF GHARIALS AND PROMOTING TOURISM

The Western Hoolock Gibbon, The Forgotten Ape Of India

A male hoolock gibbon at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

Our closest relatives on our Planet Earth, the Greater Apes, like the chimpanzees and gorillas of Equatorial Africa and the orangutans of Southeast Asia, are no strangers to us, thanks to many mentions of these animals in popular culture. We humans share well over 95% of our genetic code with these apes, who are heavily featured in films, documentaries, books, and social media worldwide. However, did you know that India is also home to an ape species closely linked to us on the evolutionary tree? It is the Western hoolock gibbon or Hoolock hoolock. Interestingly, the species is often reported as India's one and only ape, leaving out humans who, according to taxonomic classification, belong to the same family Hominidae as the Greater Apes and, hence, might also be regarded as an ape species. Coming back to the Western hoolock gibbon, however, it is important to know that they are no less fascinating than a chimpanzee or an orangutan but mostly remain out of the spotlight. Sadly, the apathy shown to them is a major reason why the numbers of these apes are dropping perilously. So, here is an article dedicated to the fascinating Western hoolock gibbons of India. 

Where To Find The Hoolocks In India?

With the forest guard and guide at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. 

In taxonomic terms, the Western hoolock gibbon is a gibbon species of the Hylobatidae family, which accommodates four genera with 20 species. These lesser apes lack a tail like all other apes, distinguishing them from other primates like the monkeys. The genera Hoolock includes three species, of which only the Western hoolock gibbon inhabits India, as confirmed by a 2021 scientific study. 

The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam near the quaint Assamese town of Mariani is the best bet for those interested in watching these apes in action. It is a beautiful, lush wilderness dedicated to these gibbons, although it also houses six other primate species as well. Jorhat in Assam houses the nearest airport to this sanctuary. 

Trail path through the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. The forest is an ideal example of a prime habitat of the Western hoolock gibbon. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

The Western hoolock gibbon has also been reported living in other forests of the state and across the six other north-eastern states of the country, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Its range also stretches into parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh. However, the species' distribution across the range is highly patchy due to the extremely fragmented nature of their habitat.

Video: Western hoolock gibbons in their natural habitat at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. Video credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

What is vital for these gibbons is the presence of a continuous cover of trees to support their nearly 100% arboreal lifestyle. These gibbons occupy canopies in tropical and sub-tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests with limited distribution in other types of forests like deciduous.

The Hoolock Look

Video: Male Western hoolock gibbon feeding on a tree. Video credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

It appears that nature has taken great care in designing the Western hoolock gibbons. Males and females exhibit sexual dimorphism, with males sporting a black pelage while females adorn a brownish-grey fur that is darker at the chest and neck. Two white fur patches over the eyes of the males give them the name "white-browed" gibbons, while females have a mask-like appearance with whitish rings around the eyes and mouth. Juveniles of both sexes are born with a pale brownish fur that turns black as they grow. Upon maturity, the black in females changes to their adult colouration. 

A female Western hoolock gibbon. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag.

Hoolocks are not just interesting in appearance. They are also well-adapted to living on the trees. Watching them moving from one tree to another at speeds of up to 55 km/hr by brachiation is quite a delight. Their long forelimbs, hook-like elongated fingers, prehensile feet and flexible ankle joints all come together to make them true tree-dwellers. They also exhibit suspensory feeding, where they dangle from a tree with one of their hands clinging onto a branch and eating with the other hand.

What Hoolocks Eat And Drink?

The Western hoolock gibbon is primarily a frugivore; it specialises in feeding on fruit pulp and has a simple stomach that cannot digest complex compounds. When food is scarce, these gibbons might resort to feeding on other plant parts like flowers, leaves, and shoots, or even insects or other animal matter as well. Hoolocks spend over 27% of their daily time foraging and more than 30% of their time feeding. The rest of their time goes into resting, socialising, and other activities. As they almost never come down to the ground, they get their water from the food they eat and also drink water collected in the tree hollows by scooping it up with their hands and licking it.

The Hoolock Family

Video: Brachiation exhibited by a male Western hoolock gibbon at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. Video credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

Hoolock gibbons do not form very large social groups but exist in small family groups, each with an adult male and female and three to four of their offspring. Larger groups sometimes exist, especially when large patches of unfragmented habitat are present. While these gibbons are known to be monogamous, mating with the same partner throughout their lifetime, exceptions have also been observed.

Males usually initiate mating, approaching females, with the couple grooming, playing, and spending time together before copulation. A single offspring is born after a gestation period of 180 to 240 days.

Saving The Hoolocks 

Video: A male Western hoolock gibbon at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. Video credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

It is quite easy to understand why the Western hoolock gibbon is a threatened species occupying the "Endangered" position on the IUCN Red List. It absolutely needs continuous tree cover to survive, and that is what is totally lacking in the range occupied by this species.

Deforestation across the species' range to make space for human occupation, tea gardens, other agricultural practices, etc., has reduced the connectivity between forest patches occupied by these gibbons. The populations are now isolated across the range in islands of forests surrounded by multiple-use landscapes. Without a connection between populations, inbreeding is unavoidable, reducing the genetic vitality of the species. Further, even these forested habitats are further fragmented by linear infrastructure. For example, a 1.6 km railway line runs right through the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, fragmenting it into two unequal halves with hoolock gibbon populations on either side but disconnected from each other. In some parts of their range, these primates are also poached for meat and other body parts for use in traditional practices. 

Railway line cutting through the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, separating hoolock gibbon families on either side of the railway line. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag

Saving the future of the Western hoolock gibbon won't be easy, given their highly specific needs for dense forest cover and the rapid urbanisation and developmental activities occurring across its range. However, conserving the species is vital to protect not just the gibbons but also the highly biodiverse forests they occupy, which provide humans with numerous ecosystem services that are absolutely needed for our healthy and peaceful living.

Protectors of the Western Hoolock Gibbons. Forest guard and guide at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam. Guns are kept to scare away elephants in case they are encountered while patrolling the sanctuary on foot. Image credit: Oishimaya Sen Nag.

More focus on the Western hoolock gibbon is needed. It is a species that remains out of the spotlight. Many people across the country are not even aware of the presence of such a unique ape species, but many are often obsessed with chimpanzees and orangutans found in other countries. The Western hoolock gibbon is a source of pride for India and a valuable inhabitant of the country. We all need to play an essential role in creating education and awareness about the species and the need to conserve it.

Writer: Dr. Oishimaya Sen Nag

The Three Crocodilians Of India

A gharial in the Chambal River. Image credit: Charles J. Sharp via Wikimedia Commons.

Crocodiles have always inspired our awe and triggered our primaeval fear instinct. These giants of the water have been part of thousands of folktales across the world, revered as deities in many cultures, and also featured in several thrilling documentaries and movies. India is no exception. Mythological tales from the country are replete with stories of the "makara," the Sanskrit name for the mugger crocodiles, a crocodile species widely distributed in India. However, India is home not just to the muggers but two more species of crocodilians who all belong to the Order Crocodilia. These are the saltwater crocodiles and the gharials. These reptilians are extremely important species of the aquatic ecosystems where they are found. While they might appear to dominate the aquatic realm they inhabit, human activities highly threaten them. Let us take a closer look at the three species of crocodiles found in India below and their current conservation status and threats:

Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus)

A saltwater crocodile in Bhitarkanika National Park. Image credit: Bodhan Nayek via Wikimedia Commons.

The world's largest reptilians, males of this species can grow as long as 20 feet and weigh as much as 1,500 kgs! Females are relatively much smaller, growing to around 10 feet long. The saltwater or estuarine crocodile has a much more widespread global distribution than the other two crocodilians of India. In the country, the best places to see these giants are along the eastern coastline of India, especially in Bhitarkanika of Odisha, the Sunderbans of West Bengal, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Their distribution of the salties ranges from India to Southeast Asia to Australia and the other islands of Oceania.

Saltwater Crocodile at eye level in Sundarban Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India. Image credit: Soumyajit Nandy, via Wikimedia Commons

The saltwater crocodiles are well-adapted to live in saltwater environments but are also occasionally found in freshwater habitats when they swim upstream of rivers at coastal deltas. These crocodiles are apex predators and hypercarnivores that feed on almost any other species when the opportunity arises. They kill by ambush and drag their prey into the water, drowning the prey or swallowing the prey alive. These crocodiles have the strongest bites among all animals. These crocodiles also spend less time on land than most other crocodilians. They have been known to spend days in the water migrating long distances. 

The salties also do not shy away from attacking humans as prey, and cases of negative human-saltwater crocodile interactions are quite prevalent. However, even these massive predators are threatened by human activities. Although their wider distribution makes the salties a species labelled as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List, they face many threats to survival like killing by humans, illegal trade, poaching for meat and eggs, developmental activities in their habitats leading to destruction of such habitats, etc.

Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)

Mugger crocodile at Bhadra Reservoir, Karnataka. Image credit: Kandukuru Nagarjun from Bangalore, India via Wikimedia Commons.

This crocodile species, also called the marsh crocodile, is most widespread in India and is found across freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, marshes, etc. Globally, the species ranges from southern Iran and east to the Indian subcontinent. The mugger derives its name from the Sanskrit word "makara" and is revered in ancient Indian culture as the vehicle of Hindu deities like Ganga and Varuna. It is also associated with both positive and negative symbolism. 

The mugger is mid-sized, growing up to around 16 feet in length. It also moves on land in search of newer aquatic habitats. Its prey base is quite wide, like that of the saltwater crocodile, as it is the apex predator in the ecosystem where it is found. Unlike the salty, however, the mugger is a threatened species listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List. Destruction and degradation of aquatic habitats, water pollution, fishing-related deaths and injuries, revenge killing by humans, poaching and illegal trade, etc., are major factors responsible for declining populations of the muggers. 

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)

One of the most threatened of all Crocodilians, the critically endangered gharial, is a rare sight today in India's rivers. It was once found across many river systems in the Indian subcontinent, where it is endemic. Today, this reptile's distribution is quite restricted, and it is found only in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is now extinct in Pakistan and Bhutan. The Chambal River in northern India hosts nearly 80 to 85% of the reptile's global population.

A male gharial. Image credit: Charles J. Sharp via Wikimedia Commons.

The longest among all crocodilians, male gharials grow up to 19 feet, while females grow as long as 14 feet. The snouts of gharials are also much longer and narrower than other crocodilians and come with a set of 110 sharp, interlocking teeth that are ideal for consuming fish. Gharials are thus primarily piscivorous and are unable to prey on larger animals, including humans. An interesting feature of male gharials is the bulbous protrusion at the end of their long snouts, which look like an earthen pot; hence, the name gharials as "ghara" in the local language refers to an earthen pot.

Gharials are very aquatic and do not move too far away from the water bodies they inhabit but bask and nest on the sand banks and sand bars along the water. Muggers move further inland, climbing embankments or rocky slopes. 

An Indian skimmer and a gharial on a sand bar in the Chambal River. Image credit: Rito1987 via Wikimedia Commons.

Gharials went almost extinct by the 2000s when urgent conservation efforts were launched to save the last of the species. Fortunately, captive breeding of gharials worked so that gharials could be released into the wild to restore their populations. Despite the gradual revival in the gharial population, stability has not yet been achieved. A multitude of issues like developmental activities along rivers, sand mining, creation of dams and irrigation canals, pollution, etc., continue to endanger the lives of gharials.

Crocodilians are indicator species. Their population stability indicates that their prey species are present in good numbers, which, in turn, means that the aquatic ecosystems they inhabit are in good condition. We, humans, depend on these aquatic ecosystems for our lives and livelihoods. Hence, the crocodilians show us whether our future is secure or at stake. Conserving them translates to protecting our rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coastal waters and is the need of the day.

Does India Need Its Own Red List Of Threatened Species?

A beautiful Gond art painting. Image credit: Vanam Art.

In India, whenever we want to know about the conservation status of a species, all we do is go to the IUCN Red List Site, enter the name of the species, and get the needed details. If we are even lazier, we search for the Wikipedia entry on the species, and there, on the right side of the page, is the column showing the species' conservation status as per the IUCN Red List. However, only less than 10% of the more than 2 million described species on Earth have been assessed for the Red List! It means that the conservation status of over 90% of the world's species still remains to be evaluated by the IUCN. Many such species might be on the brink and even go extinct before we have the chance to launch efforts to conserve them. To overcome this lacunae, we need more detailed and widespread research and assessment of species. One of the ways to bring that about could be to create country-specific Red Lists. Many countries, like the United States, Australia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and others, have already produced such lists. So, why not have our own Indian Red List? A list specifically catering to species that call India home? That way, we can get a more comprehensive list of our species to understand their conservation status and take well-targeted actions to conserve them.

The idea of an Indian red list or threatened species list is not brand new but has been floating around for quite some time. I only learned about it recently at a conference where a wildlife biologist giving a presentation on a lesser-known species mentioned the urgent need for India to create such a list to account for many species found in India that the IUCN Red List has not assessed.

When searching the internet, I also came across this 2011 Deccan Herald report, which was about India launching a mission to create a country-specific endangered species list. Initiated by the Environment Ministry of India, the aim was to create two separate red lists for plants and animals and to release the same during the 2012 COP-11 to be held in Delhi. The species would be evaluated using a model similar to the IUCN assessment model, and the task would be performed by various organisations, but the ultimate responsibility of verification and publication would lie with the Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India. The reason to create such lists would be to bring to the forefront all species that do not receive conservation attention but urgently need protection. It would be a comprehensive list that would guide further conservation research and education in India.

However, over a decade later, I could not find any further reports on such lists created by searching online. Even today, thousands of species of plants and animals found in India remain out of the limelight, with many possibly on the verge of extinction, but we are hardly aware of the same. Can India's own Red List help improve the status of such species? If so, how and when can the project be executed? But most importantly, the question is, "Is India ready to have its own Red List.?"