In Shades of Habitat - Palani Hills Conservation Council Executive Committee member Satheesh Muthu Gopal has shared a captivating memoir of his vast birdwatching and wildlife observation experiences in South India and beyond. He has afforded us a comprehensive storehouse of information about wildlife, threats faced and efforts needed towards environmental conservation.
Hailing from the Palani Range, in SW Tamil Nadu, of the Western Ghats, issues of biodiversity have had an longlasting impact on Satheesh. He opens his chronicle with a shoutout on the alarming deterioration of the once-rich Shola Grasslands of the Palani Hills - much due to deforestation in the name of development and urbanization. He depicts how the State Animal of Tamil Nadu, Nilgiri Tahr, has been threatened by human incursion and increasing herbicide/pesticide use in the Hills - which must be brought under control.
The writer, through his profound narrative, takes us on a tour of various places including Palani Hills, Kuthiraiyar Dam, Kodaikanal Hills and beyond. For Satheesh, the Western Ghats is Paradise and he speaks to how we humans are shrinking this beautiful Eden. Shades of Habitat is a wake-up call to curb such detrimental activities like deforestation, over-tourism, littering, pollution etc. The book describes challenges faced by the PHCC and other NGOs in concert with the Forest Department in restoring Grasslands and preserving the Shola forests. The author critiques the education system for its failure to inculcate common sense and appropriate forest behaviour in students and tourists seemingly blind to the nuisance they impose on wildlife, for instance, mimicking the call of wild animals when near forest zones and not slowing down for animals crossing the forest roads! He discusses forest and bush fires resulting from irresponsible visitors tossing cigarette butts into the dry underbrush.
Shades of Habitat covers a wide variety of aspects in environmental study like elephant corridors, the sheer beauty of the birds of Thekkanthottam etc. Satheesh shares his numerous volunteering experiences and wildlife awareness workshop activities he’s been part of, proving that he walks the talk. Subsequent chapters describe the lakes of Tamil Nadu, their wonderful birdlife, and how horrible poaching is still ongoing in spite of awareness campaigns and strict laws. He constructively critiques policymakers’ obliviousness to how their policies impact wildlife; for example, the boom in windfarms near birding hotspots as a threat to avian life.
He goes on to share more memories of his Birder Life - the thrill of entering the wild for the first time to view native birds and animals. Through his wonderful book, he shares his wildlife experiences across various countries - and, on a personal note, I cannot forget my birding experience with Satheesh and friends at Panti Bird Sanctuary in Malaysia. I couldn’t put into words the joy of spotting a rare avian for the first time! One chapter called “Lunch with a Falcon” is one of my favourite episodes I am sure will be a treat for Nature lovers.
Shades of Habitat is great reading and important documentation on the life of the natural world. As responsible children of Mother Nature, each one of us must carry the book in our hands and its content in our hearts that we might pass on our stewardship of Mother Nature to the next generation and beyond. Happy reading! -- Akshay Kalyanakumar.
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Thanks a lot Akshay for taking time to read and write this wonderful review. Really encouraging.
The book is available in Amazon
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