One Eyed Living

When a monkey mother covers her newborn with kisses, when a monkey mother mourns her dead baby, when a monkey motheruse her fingers to perfection in getting rid of the last worm out of her child’s skin, are the mothers acting on a deep and abiding feeling? Or are they just driven by the “survival of the species” instinct first described by Darwin?

Monkey mothers in the wild are incredibly tolerant, patient, attentive — and nurturing to their offspring, for years, even after weaning.... So how about, instead of mother ‘love,’ using 'nurturing'?”

Human has used the trade of keeping monkeys as pets, and showcasing streetside gimmicks and tricks at his will. This practice has diminished with time, and enforcements of ban has helped this species prosper.

Common hill myna (gracula religiosa) belongs to the sturnidae family. It is found in regions such as India, Nepal, Bhutan, Christmas Islands, southern China, eastern Thailand, Malaysia, northern Indonesia, Palawan, Philippines, Saint Helena, Puerto Rico, and North America. Mynas’ population has been decreasing over the years due to habitat loss and overexploitation due to demand in the pet trade.

The Chinese whisper stormed in 2020, leaving mankind with two ever painful years. The bright part of it though, was that in 2021, Assam witnessed one solitary case of rhino poaching. This is the lowest number of cases the state has seen in 21 years.

According to government data, the one-horned rhinoceros was killed by poachers in Kaziranga National Park in April 2021. The carcass of an adult male rhino was found near Xilekhunda beel of Hanuman forest camp under Kohora range of Kaziranga National Park. The animal’s horn was missing.

Two rhinos were killed in 2020, three in 2019, seven in 2018 and six in 2017. In 2016, 18 rhinos were poached while 17 were killed at different national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in 2015.

Rhino poaching in Assam was at its peak in 2013 and 2014 - 27 rhinos were killed in each of the two years. Between 2000 and 2015, a total of 153 rhinos were poached in the state.