Monsoon: July 2011 Part I
This is the roundup of some observations made during the second month of this bountiful season. To avoid the overdose of pictures and text, I’m going to write this in two parts. On July 2nd, WWF-India MSO had organized a trail at Jijamata Udyan (formerly Victoria Gardens) for kids. I and a few friends tagged along to explore the urban fauna, and surprisingly, none of the fauna here is urban in their habitat, but almost strictly natural – and this is what drew us to this, ironically, lost paradise. I am not just talking about wildlife caged for education (and entertainment for some), but the ones that are very free to roam inside and out of the cages. Jijamata Udyan is not just a zoo; it is a sanctuary of many trees that are found nowhere else in Mumbai, including some exotics such as the Baobabs and some rare endemic Ficus species. Getting to know these trees was a bonus of this visit, because I mainly focused on the lesser known fauna of this zoo, and this zoo harbours some amazing...