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Hindustan Times
01-06-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Pretty lizzie dares the Thar noon
Only those as mad as a hatter would venture into the noon / afternoon heat of the Thar desert for a foodie binge. But for the Brilliant Ground agama (Trapelius / Agama agilis Olivier), a lesser known lizard and commonly confounded by locals with a girgit/korkirla (Garden lizard), the inferno of the desert is best suited for predation on insects and its own safety. This is precisely the time, as the wise lizard knows, the avian hunters such as falcons, hawks and eagles will have beaten a retreat to a shady 'thikana'. Insects, too, are active at this infernal time in the native flora of the Thar: Kheep, Ber, Jaal, Kumbat, Aak etc. Insects feed on foliage and lay eggs, and in turn are gobbled by the 'lizards who duel at high noon'. The lizard is a burrowing species, with the female adapted to dig into the soil for nesting and protection while the male simply slithers under the Thar rocks. 'In summer, male lizards always stay in the open. As temperatures can rise to 55°C, male lizards also get affected by the heat but they counter the onslaught by changing into beautiful colours, which are known to be less absorbent of debilitating sun rays. To humans, it may appear that the lizard has turned magically into a gorgeous creature but the stark colouration changes are critical for survival. So, the head and abdomen changes from the standard dull brown, sandy colour into a vivid blue peppered with white spots while the tail turns yellowish-orange. The male's entire lower surface turns white,' principal of the SBK Government PG College, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and professor of zoology, Shyam Sunder Meena, told this writer. Meena was the first to venture into the field and study this neglected species of the Thar, resulting in a research paper: Sexual Selection and Sexual Dimorphism in Agama agilis. 'To further cut down on heat absorption, male lizards alternatively move their legs up and down to minimise contact with the warm surface. They also select perches on foliage which are 6-9 feet above the hot earth,' Meena added. The monsoons tail this cuckoo The very early advent of the monsoons this year has manifested itself in avian form. The Pied or Jacobin cuckoo, which is partly a resident species as also a summer migrant from Africa, has been spotted pretty early. The cuckoo migrates to the northern regions of India to lay eggs surreptitiously in the nests of other birds, especially the Turdoides babblers. Cuckoo chicks are then reared by surrogate babbler parents in what is known as 'brood parasitism'. A very early record for Punjab came on May 24, 2025, when birder Manish Ahuja spotted a cuckoo on a power transmission wire just outside Ferozepur. This writer heard a cuckoo late at night the next day in Sector 19 A, Chandigarh. The earliest record for the cuckoo as far as the tricity is concerned is May 23, 2009, when this writer observed one at the 16th hole of the Shivalik Golf Club (SEPTA), Chandimandir. Ebird India, which collates data on avian sightings, shows an unusual record. Samay Srivastava recorded a migrating cuckoo at the Jalvayu Towers Society, Gurugram, on May 1, 2025! Ebird also shows cuckoo records of May 18 and May 23, 2025, from Uttarakhand. The migratory component of the cuckoos is adept at harnessing monsoon winds blowing from the Horn of Africa to migrate 1,500-2,000 km to the Indian coastline and then fly further inland. The pattern that seems to come across is that the monsoon winds come in from the south west but the rains spread southeast to northwest in India. The cuckoos come in with the winds but then spread over India with the rains, southeast to northwest. Due to the cuckoo's augury of the impending monsoon, the bird enjoys cultural resonance, including a reference in Kalidas' Meghdoot as the 'Chataka': '(O cloud) the wind will be favourable, Slow and soft for thee and waft thee ahead, Close on thy left, The Chataka or the Rain lark, Will sing sweetly.' vjswild2@
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Beauty lies in beholder's soul
'To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower', are lines from the English poet and painter, William Blake, that have aged well. To embark on a variation on Blake's theme, it could be said that one, who can find 'beauty in a sweet, little lizzie', is possessed of a blessed soul. Principal of the SBK Government PG College, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and professor of Zoology, Shyam Sunder Meena, lives at the rolling edge of the Thar desert. Meena's boundless empathy for the forgotten, and often despised as 'ugly, poisonous, dangerous' creatures, is stirring. His sensitivity mists the eye because he can literally feel a lizzie's sigh. His camera rolls are dominated not by tigers, leopards and King cobras but the hoi polloi of the natural world. The venerable professor expends much of his time observing and wondering about geckos (lizards) clinging to the walls of his home or those modest shadows slinking about in the crevices of Thar rocks. Meena's eye beholds an extraordinary aesthetic to the scale patterns of a house lizard, just as a noble lady may revel in the art and intricacy of Kashmiri embroidery. Meena has documented gecko species of the Thar displaying vivid colour changes and behavioural adaptations as temperatures vary from 55°C to near-freezing. Meena's father dwells in an Alwar village and shares none of his son's empathy. In his nineties, the father clings onto the unscientific beliefs of the anciens rooted in hereditary hearsay. 'My father believes that a monitor lizard (Goh) is so venomous that if a human is bitten, the victim will perish at once and will not have time to even take a sip of water. I asked if he had come across any such victim of a Goh in his long life but he was unable to recall a single case. Fact is, no lizard species of India is venomous. They are misunderstood creatures. Truth is, lizards play an important, unsung role in insect / pest control and are thus an inalienable part of the Thar's complex food web,' Meena told this writer. A spectacle from the Sukhna Reactions to an unforeseen appearance of a spectacled cobra have evolved over the years with growing awareness of its behaviour and availability of quick-reaction rescue personnel. It is, fortunately, no longer a case of bludgeoning the cobra with a handy brick or stick. On Wednesday at 6.30 am, Dr Rajiv Narwal, who holds charge of the Sub-divisional Civil Hospital, Kalka, was on his morning walk at Sukhna Lake. A keen wildlife photographer, Narwal enhances the joys of dawn with clicks of creatures and flowers. That day, he came across an unusual spectacle near the grand Peepul tree opposite the regulator-end gates. 'The striking snake known for its distinctive hood markings and venomous propensity drew onlookers, who took photos and videos. The sighting caused a stir with people maintaining a safe distance while capturing the rare moment. A police team that patrols on electric vehicles was informed and people sought the speedy requisition of the Chandigarh wildlife department rescue team. In the meanwhile, I fetched a long stick not to harm the cobra but to relocate the serpent so that no one suffers an accidental bite. The cobra eventually slithered into a hole leaving the spectators in awe of the encounter,' Narwal told this writer. Delving on what the cobra must have gone through besieged by a crowd of well-intentioned people, Narwal assessed the serpent's predicament thus: 'The cobra's reaction is driven by instinct rather than complex thought. Cobras are solitary, defensive creatures and tend to avoid conflict. Encirclement by humans would have triggered a stress response. The cobra raised its hood as a classic threat display to appear larger than life and intimidate the crowd. This is an automatic response to feeling cornered or threatened by the people taking photos and videos. The snake was likely 'thinking' (in a primal sense) about finding an escape route, scanning for a gap in the crowd or eyeing cover near the Peepul to slink away and hide.' vjswild2@
