It is not so common to see caterpillars spinning to form cocoons, in the thickly overgrown areas of the CMC campus. I noticed a reduction in the number of butter flies in the gardens. I suspected it to be because of a reason.
I watched this sparrow perched in a tall tree and suddenly landing on a bush and returning to the tree with a caterpillar in the mouth.(I apologise for the lack of clarity of the caterpillar between the beaks of the sparrow). Then I knew, that the sparrows are short of their corns and millets and have made caterpillars their target!
This is the survival threat!
I spoke to the gardener about this observation. He gave me a probable reason for the change in the feeding habit of the sparrows.
The Bagayam area, where CMC campus is located, used to be relatively less habited until recently with large stretches of land under paddy, corn and millet cultivation. These areas have now become dwelling places with hundreds of houses.
The sparrows usually hover around human habitations and feed from the fields. But the vast stretches of housing complexes, is a concrete jungles without trees and vegetations. So they now confine themselves to the wooded areas in the college campus and feed on the caterpillars, which is not their normal feeding habit.
This made me pause about the terrible consequences of all that we do for ourselves, for our well being. In our attempt to live well, we silently and often unconsciously add stress to the animal kingdom.
The frequent incidents of elephants, tigers, bears, etc trespassing into human habitations or food and water indicate that, humans overuse the forests and disturb its ecological terrain.
Ours is a delicately balanced eco system! Humans are stewards of it! It is important to bring a consciousness about nature as a resource, to the younger generation so that they have a more reverential approach than my generation has had!
I know families who teach children kitchen gardening, caring for pets, having domestic pets, water conservation, etc.
We are custodians of nature accountable to our future generation for what we bequeath to them!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
I watched this sparrow perched in a tall tree and suddenly landing on a bush and returning to the tree with a caterpillar in the mouth.(I apologise for the lack of clarity of the caterpillar between the beaks of the sparrow). Then I knew, that the sparrows are short of their corns and millets and have made caterpillars their target!
This is the survival threat!
I spoke to the gardener about this observation. He gave me a probable reason for the change in the feeding habit of the sparrows.
The Bagayam area, where CMC campus is located, used to be relatively less habited until recently with large stretches of land under paddy, corn and millet cultivation. These areas have now become dwelling places with hundreds of houses. The sparrows usually hover around human habitations and feed from the fields. But the vast stretches of housing complexes, is a concrete jungles without trees and vegetations. So they now confine themselves to the wooded areas in the college campus and feed on the caterpillars, which is not their normal feeding habit.
This made me pause about the terrible consequences of all that we do for ourselves, for our well being. In our attempt to live well, we silently and often unconsciously add stress to the animal kingdom.
The frequent incidents of elephants, tigers, bears, etc trespassing into human habitations or food and water indicate that, humans overuse the forests and disturb its ecological terrain.
Ours is a delicately balanced eco system! Humans are stewards of it! It is important to bring a consciousness about nature as a resource, to the younger generation so that they have a more reverential approach than my generation has had!
I know families who teach children kitchen gardening, caring for pets, having domestic pets, water conservation, etc.
We are custodians of nature accountable to our future generation for what we bequeath to them!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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