Commemorating Environmental Days

It is important for everybody to participate in or show the community their support for Environmental Events. Supporting environmental events is also a great way to learn about a cause, or help improve public perception of the same.

This week’s column seems to be sandwiched between a couple of internationally celebrated environmental days. While 22nd April was Earth Day, 28th April is ‘Save the Frogs Day’. So readers, how did you celebrate Earth Day? On Earth day, I woke up in the Wilderness, or Wildernest to be precise. Spending a day with the family, we made our way up North-East of Goa to the tri-border of Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Here in the deep forests of Keri, lies an eco-resort aptly named Wildernest. We all had a nice time unwinding in the midst of nature. The resort is nested in a deep section of the forest and some of the rooms have a great view of the valley below.

There’s no aircon or television in the rooms at Wildernest, however, we didn’t miss it a bit. That’s because the team at Wildernest have elaborately planned out a string of nature related activities that is well spread throughout the day… Birdwatching sessions before breakfast, treks to make you trim and mehindi art sessions just after your afternoon siesta are just some of the activities listed. Somehow though hot as hell in most of Goa, at Wildernest, it was breezy, shady and cool, just how a typical forest ought to be. My brother actually thought it was too cold that night!



During the day, they also organize treks to waterfalls, view points and more. Local cultural dances are performed by locals that live down in the village of Keri in the evenings. If you’re not game for it all, you could also laze in an armchair the afternoon breeze or swim in the infinity pool, a swimming pool with a view of a third of Goa! I swam there in the nights and could see lights in faraway Panjim and Vasco too! I appreciated the silence the most. It was nice to have absolutely no human noise around… it really clears and relaxes the mind.

Meals are served in a common dining area that’s overlooking the horizons. Simple, yet delicious meals are prepared by the cooks using locally sourced ingredients, and guests are asked to serve themselves. It’s self-service here, and once meals are done, used plates and cutlery need to be placed into a wooden tray at the corner. Though this kind of concept might be quite alien to guests used to full service, I think it’s a good initiative for people to help clean up after they’ve drunk and eaten to their hearts content.

Driving away from Wildernest, I could not help but notice the stark difference of getting back to civilization. Things got louder, brighter and dustier. Quite a stark difference to notice even though we were in the forests for just 24 hours! I’d recommend staying over at Wildernest for at least 2 or three days instead of a day.

In my opinion, it was a nice way to celebrate earth day, in the midst of nature. These specially appointed days might seem unimportant at first, but they make us realize the importance of respecting Mother Nature. It's also a great time to learn about a particular cause while helping improve public perception of the same.

In the next week, on Tuesday, the 28th of April is the ‘Save the Frogs’ day worldwide. There are lots of things that you can do to commemorate that day here in Goa .There are some that are writing in the papers, some like Roopa Bandekar and Nirmal Kulkarni who will organize related activities at their newly opened nature store called Earthworm in Porvorim. Ethel Da Costa has planned some programmes on Radio Mirchi and there’s an origami workshop planned in Panjim too. In the last few days, the WildGoa network is abuzz with ideas and suggestions for the 2 month campaign. Would you like to participate or get involved? Let us know and hop in!

Clinton Vaz, 28 lives in Benaulim and works on environment and wildlife issues in Goa. He can be contacted at klintvaz@gmail.com or +91 9890936828 This article appeared on Gomantak Times, 24th April 2009

The Death of a Goan Tiger

Dear Readers,

I’m upset by an incident that came to my notice just a few days ago. It was just a few hours into Easter Sunday when I received a normal looking email into my inbox. It was a notification, asking if this mail could be sent out to the rest of the 375+ members subscribed to the WildGoa online forum. Opening the mail, I was shocked to see a grim picture of a dead tiger found in a forest in Keri, Sattari. This sadly was the only recent photographic proof that tigers did exist in Goa.


It was an odd hour, and as I sent it on to the rest of the members, I felt uneasy. A lot of thoughts came to my mind. That night, I recalled my participation in the wild animal census of 2002. Soon after an orientation course at Cotigao, I was selected to volunteer in the forests of Netravali, in Sanguem. Two other volunteers, Shrinivas Narayan, Shubhir and I made our way to the forest office in Sanguem. There we were introduced to the RFO, a Mr. Mashelkar. Mr. Mashelkar came across as a friendly person, and during an evening chat, mentioned that his ancestors had shot tigers. Apparently in those days it was considered something to boast about. Mr. Mashelkar even went on to bring out an old faded picture of a crowd of people standing behind a huge tiger that had been shot down. That, was the first Goan tiger that I saw.. dead. And now, this was the second… dead too. It’s a pity as we need to prove that Goa has tigers in its forests which give more reasons to ensure proper protection of Goa’s forest areas.

Back in those census days, for an entire week, we’d walk on transact lines through deep forests noting every animal, animal trace, and animal dung we saw. Netravali was full of wildlife. On the very first day we saw quite a lot of wildlife, however, what we also saw was plenty of illegalities. Open cast mines operating by the dozen, right in the middle of a forest sanctuary, small animals poached by miners, sections of the forest cut down for firewood. Months later I learnt later that Mr. Mashelkar was caught in a corruption case involving felling of forest trees.

There have been quite a few instances in Goa where the Forest Department has been blamed for allowing such things to happen, however in most of the cases, the blame cant really be put on the staff working there are helpless. Most illegalities occur with the knowledge of the higher up staff. If there are no proper directions coming from the top, then one can’t expect the ground staff to do much.

What makes this tiger death so disturbing is that while this picture surfaced up only a few days ago, it was actually photographed on a mobile phone in February 2009, when the tiger was killed. Why did it take so long to get out? From recent discussions on and off the WildGoa network, I’ve learnt that a lot of wildlifers, perhaps also including top forest officials in Goa knew about the Tiger’s death way back in February but it appears that the Forest Department tried to keep the matter silent. Why?

It’s really strange that the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) in a recent interview to the press makes it appear that the Forest Department was totally unaware of the Tiger’s death until the picture surfaced. It appears that the Forest Department chose to avoid a proper investigation and ignore the issue so that they could cover up their inefficiencies of improper forest patrols.

If one studies the picture carefully, it might be possible that the tiger was killed accidentally. By the nature of the wound on its rear, it is likely that it unfortunately stepped into a wire trap set for another animal, possibly a wild boar. Traps set this way have been used all over Goa for years now, and the Forest Department has done little to reduce this menace. On the 26th of February 2009, Fiona, a member of the WildGoa network found a total of three such traps after one of her dogs accidentally got caught in one. After photographing them as evidence, she got them destroyed to prevent them from causing more harm.


Tiger populations in India have shrunk and continue to fall at an alarming rate. This death, therefore, is very significant and a proper investigation needs to be conducted and systems are put in place to make sure that this does not happen once again.

Clinton Vaz, 28 lives in Benaulim and works on environment and wildlife issues in Goa. He can be contacted at klintvaz@gmail.com or +91 9890936828 This article appeared in the Goan Local Daily Gomantak Times on Friday, 17th April 2009 Pg. 12

Animal Speak

Fighter Bulls, Stray Dogs & Frogs all have something in common. It’s time we think about their plight says Clinton Vaz

Yesterday afternoon, on a drive to a waste management project at Mollem I almost ran over a dog. The creature ran straight into my path, forcing me to brake, swerve and continue. Shaken, upset and angry by what had just happened I felt like stopping to yell at the dog. That probably would not have made a difference, but as I drove on, I began to think. It wasn't the dog's fault really.

Dogs were brought into human society by us. We have created stray animals by abandoning pets that we can't take care of anymore, or letting our animals breed and then abandoning the pups in a fish market or field. These poor animals are simply trying to exist, and they are bound to cause conflict with humans when they are at a disadvantage. It is our responsibility therefore, to look after these animals, as we collectively as a society have failed to look after our pets and have caused the stray animal menace. There are a few NGO's working in this line, and they need your support. Do donate some money, materials or volunteer some time to their cause.

While we agree that we need to respect one another, would everybody agree that the same applies to animals too? It's pitiful to see an animal that's been run over, yelping in pain, but would you stop by and take care of an injured animal? Fortunately I know a few friends that would. Quite often all one needs to do is call an animal-ambulance and stay by the animal comforting it and providing some water. If it were a human in the same condition, we would see a crowd gather and people rushing to provide assistance. Animals may look different from us, but they too deserve the same treatment and the right to live. They too are living beings.

Of late, we’ve had a spurt in animals in ‘sport’. Bullfighting is outlawed in most places in the world because of the cruelty to animals in the sport. The animals may be pampered at the stables, but they lead a lonely existence, often chained to a post in isolation for the entire day. When it’s time for a fight, the amounts of money bet on each side run into lakhs of rupees. With so much at stake, the bulls are goaded by their keepers to charge at the opponent. This induced fight often results in both the animals being gored and injured badly, and while I’ve seen distressing scenes of bleeding animals fleeing the fighting area, death due to bullfighting injuries have occurred both to the bulls, as well as spectators. Any politician that support’s such acts of barbaric cruelty in the name of traditional culture is foolish and bound not to get any vote from me or anybody that thinks likewise.

We should never take animals for granted. Followed by the sweltering heat, comes the monsoons, and to herald the monsoons come the frogs. For the frog, it's finally the season to wake up to after months of hibernation, to sing, eat and breed. But instead, their croaks invite trouble. Goan's have traditionally hunted frogs for a delicacy known as 'frog legs'. While the hunting and killing of frogs might have been sustainable before, today, it's merciless. Frogs are no longer caught just for the hunter’s family. They are now delicacies for rogue restaurants. Restaurants pay hunters to catch hundreds of frogs at a time, decimating the populations of frogs all over Goa. For the frog it's a horrible way to die. Yanked out of the field after being blinded by a torch, the frog is then stuffed into a gunny bag that's packed-full of unfortunate frogs. At the restaurant, the frog is held by its waist and its legs are chopped off, and skinned. The frog, still alive is thrown into the bin, allowing it to die slowly out of blood loss. It's hard to imagine that humans are capable of such cruel acts to animals. All this, to a species that's protected by law. However we’ve managed to right a few wrongs. In the past few years, the campaign to save frogs has been picking up steadily, and least year, besides the media focusing on the issue, the forest department actually arrested 10 people that were caught hunting. This Thursday, 16^th April, we will informally meet for an hour at the lawns of Kala Academy in Panaji at 5.30pm to chalk out the course for the 2009 Save the Frog campaign. Everybody that’s interested in the cause is welcome. See you there!

Clinton Vaz, 28 lives in Benaulim and works on environment and wildlife issues in Goa. He can be contacted at klintvaz@gmail.com or +91 9890936828 This article appeared in the Goan Local Daily Gomantak Times on Friday, 10th April 2009 Pg. 12