A young rabbit by Petersrockypics on 2 April 2014. Photograph: Petersrockypics/Green Shoots/FlickrFinding a comfortable patch by Peter Bardsley. Photograph: Peter Bardsley/Green Shoots/FlickrWater vole, Bremen by Paul Mills on 12 April 2014. Photographer: Paul Mills/Green Shoots/FlickrRiver and bluebells by Chris Grimwood. Photograph: Chris Grimwood/Green Shoots/FlickrSmooth newt by Peter Bardsley, 14 April 2014. Photograph: Peter Bardsley/Green Shoots/FlickrBee fly in Warley Place, Essex, by David Howarth on 24 April 2014 Photograph: David Howarth/Green Shoots/FlickrRoe deer in Micheldever woods, Hampshire, by Donna Robinson on 21 April 2014. Photograph: Donna Robinson /Green Shoots/FlickrGoldcrest in Halesworth, Suffolk by Cliff Watkinson on 19 April 2014. Photograph: Cliff Watkinson/Green Shoots/FlickrOn the edge by Sarah Walter, April 16, 2014. Photograph: Sarah Walter/Green Shoots/FlickrShort-eared owl by Andy Pritchard, 14 March, 2014. Photograph: Andy PritchardNew Forest (an early start) by Donna Robinson. Photograph: Donna Robinson /Green Shoots/FlickrChecking me out by steb1. Photograph: steb1/Green Shoots/FlickrA primrose pitstop for a beautiful Brimstone to refuel! by Steve Maskell on 30 March 2014. Photograph: Steve Maskell/Green Shoots/FlickrOystercatchers are back by Nicola, 19 February 2014. Photograph: NicolaBug's view of a Michaelmas daisy in flower in March by Steve Jeffreys 29 March 2014. Photograph: Steve Jeffreys/Green Shoots/FlickrLong-tailed tit nest building by Jon Mee on 25 February 2014. Photograph: Jon Mee/Green Shoots/FlickrTrees by sorau2013 on 31 March 2014. Photograph: sorau2013/Green Shoots/FlickrGrass snake by Nigel Murgatroyd in March 2014. Photograph: Nigel Murgatroyd/Green Shoots/FlickrGreen shoots : Sitting on a branch by Cherine Koubat Photograph: Cherine KoubatBarn elms catkin by Dave Roberts on 22 March 2014. Photograph: Dave Roberts/Green Shoots/FlickrMallard with ducklings by Matt Cawrey, 13 April 2014. Photograph: Matt Cawrey/Green Shoots/FlickrRed kites at Watlington Hill, Oxfordshire by Watlington Hill by Bruce Clarke on 16 March 2014. Photograph: Bruce Clarke/Green Shoots/FlickrWhite-faced whistling duck, Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, by Joy Russell on 4 March 2014. Photograph: Joy RussellMountain hares by Derbyshire Harrier on 4 March 2014. Photograph: Derbyshire Harrier/Green Shoots/FlickrFrog by Nigel Murgatroyd on 8 March 2014. Photograph: Nigel Murgatroyd/Green Shoots/FlickrReed bunting gathering nest material from a reed mace, early in the morning. Middleton Lakes, Tamworth, Staffordshire, by Ed Marshall on 24 March 2014. Photograph: Ed Marshall/Green Shoots/FlickrA brown common garden snail can have reproduce 430 in a year by Natures Art Photography on 7 April 2014 Photograph: Natures Art Photography/Green Shoots/FlickrMating blue tits in our garden in Tamworth by Sarah Walters on 15 April 2014. Photograph: Sarah Walters
GURGAON: Residents of Sector-56 are a troubled lot, harassed by a group of monkeys for the last three months. Over 150 monkeys have made the locality their home in past few weeks.
They randomly enter houses in search of food. In some cases, residents have been injured by these monkeys, said a resident of Anasals society.
To shoo them away, residential colonies have hired langur walas. Residents say that normally monkeys enter homes during morning and evening hours.
We are forced to keep all windows and doors shut. Two days ago, I forgot to lock the door and three monkeys entered my house. They opened the fridge and spoiled all the food. My daughter was so scared that she cried for hours, said Sudha Bhimsariya, a resident.
Residents have urged civic authorities to start a drive to catch these monkeys and shift them to open areas.
But owners of trained langurs are making the most out of the opportunity and ranking in moolah: Langur owners are charging us as much as Rs5000 for every langur. Till the time administration helps us, we have no other option but to pay them, said a RWA member.
Some residents said that disposal of garbage in open and absence of adequate dustbins is responsible for attracting monkeys.
D Kumar, general secretary of Skylands RWA said: Along with another society, we are paying Rs10000 per month to langur wala for this purpose. He comes during evening for a few hours to shoo away monkeys.
The Haryana government plans to take a cue from Himachal that has been quite successful in handling the simian problem despite criticism. Himachal Pradesh trained unemployed youths to sterilize thousands of wild monkeys with lasers in a bid to combat the aggressive primates who had been attacking people and raiding farms.
Conservationists condemned the plan, saying it was cruel and would not solve the problem.
Sujoy Chaudhuri, an ecologist who co-authored a report by prominent primatologists and conservationists that was submitted recently to the federal and state governments, said inexperienced youths would not be able to sterilize the monkeys properly.
"It was a ridiculous idea and what was worse, it did nothing to contain the problem and probably made it worse," said Chaudhuri.
"Can you imagine what having badly sterilized monkeys running around will do to the levels of aggression?" he said. Chaudhuri said sterilization was not an effective way to contain the monkey population
Only an effective, scientific and humane culling program, or confining the monkeys to reserves they could not escape, while providing them food would work, he said.
"So much work and thought and expertise has been put into the subject, you feel foolish," said Belinda Wright, the director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. "The government chooses not to act on recommendations from experts and instead comes out with these absurd proposals," she said.
As we grow more men we get less food and habitat. Most of the animals that can eat 'man' is near extinct. He keeps and rears the animals he wants to eat. For this purpose he has a veterinary wing that cares for man's pet animal and pet food. The big animals like the elephants, tigers,cheetahs,lions are still found albeit in minimum numbers. They happen to foray into the human habitations and his farm lands. In many parts of the world this is happening. He calls it as 'man-animal conflict'. From barbed wires to 'live fence' or trenches he follows innumerable methods to keep him and his farm away from the attacks of these animals. Now a researcher working with Save the elephants has come out with a 'natural way' of handling the 'elephant invasions'. They are not going to use fireballs or bullets but the simple honey bees. The honey bees are known for their stings. By keeping required boxes of honey bee hives, the farmers can ward off the elephant attacks. Elephants are very sharp in memory. Once stung by these bees they avoid the farm further.
The hives, connected by wires, are hung every 10 meters around the perimeter of a field. The farmers leave wide pathways between their crops so elephants can move past the fences along their migratory routes. If an elephant makes contact with one of the hives or the connecting wires, the beehives all along the fence will swing and release the bees.
Lucy King, a researcher working with Save the Elephants, has spent many years investigating the problems involved in crop protection. Her goal is to find long-term solutions that reduce the frequency of human-elephant conflicts—and that can be financed and managed by local farmers.
As Ms. King looked into the elephants’ habits for any clues to keeping them out of fields planted with crops, she noticed that they tended to avoid acacia trees with active nests of African bees. Elephants, it so happens, are afraid of the bees, and will move away from an area and warn other elephants if they hear bees buzzing nearby.
And so the beehive fence was invented. The fences are simple, inexpensive, and easy for the farmers to build and maintain. The thatched roof over the hives keeps the bees dry in the rain and keeps them from getting overheated in the sun (they get aggressive and eventually leave the hives if they get too hot). The hives are hung at chest height which makes it easy for the farmer to harvest the honey, while also making them highly visible to the elephants.
Beehive Fence Schematic
The hives, connected by wires, are hung every 10 meters around the perimeter of a field. The farmers leave wide pathways between their crops so elephants can move past the fences along their migratory routes. If an elephant makes contact with one of the hives or the connecting wires, the beehives all along the fence will swing and release the bees.
Lucy King and a beehive fence installation
This approach has proven to be extremely effective, reducing crop destruction and human-elephant conflicts by up to 85%. And, according to Lucy King, there’s an added bonus:
Elephant-friendly honey from beehive fences provides additional income for the farmers.
“Not only do low-income farmers benefit from higher yields through reduced damaging crop-raids, but they also benefit from honey production and sales. This diversifies both their income and their food production options as honey is financially valuable, nutritious and does not require refrigeration.”
This is the kind of solution we need more of: easy to implement and manage by local communities, with immediate and long-term benefits. And we’re not the only ones who think so: in February, Lucy King won a 2013 Future for Nature award, and it was just announced on May 3, 2013, that Ms. King and the Elephants and Bees project has been awarded the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.
Simply the most violent animal on this earth is man. The history of this humanity is scarred by blood. As he wants to continue his legacy, he never ceases to be violent. Billions of dollars are spent in researches for the invention of more lethal weapons. The man who talks of Gods and love leaves not a day without violence. He searches for reasons to fight. At home- domestic violence, in streets- street violence; no end is visible to this madness. If somebody talks of peace or non-violence he also falls to the bullet. (Mahatma Gandhi)
The world over countries small big compete to purchase arms at any cost. The people who have to act do not act or even if they act with no positive results. The largest world body the U.N has clearly failed to contain violence across nations and among peoples. A posting with the U.N is seen a gift from the God to tour around the world. This is not to belittle the sacrifices made by members of many a nations. But the organisation must have stopped the bloodshed. It should have peace ambassadors in hundreds who can convince the minds that long to wage wars. Mostly politicians land in the UN as diplomats. These men have been dividing and ruling the peoples for decades. All of a sudden they can't become noble. Unless the UN acts with more conviction and commitment the world'd continue to suffer.
Man receives quality education which makes him prepare weapons with more precision. The man who heads a team of 'nuclear bomb makers' showers love on his kids and wife. But he has no eyes with vision. and most of the wars are fought over protecting Gods. Man thinks he has to protect his God/s lest his God will cease to exist. Man is the only animal fighting to save his Gods and their abodes As long as man is going to protect his Gods from his fellow man, this violence will continue. He has to believe that his God/s are more powerful and He can fend himself.
"South Sudan’s government said at least 400 people were killed by rebels allied with former Vice PresidentRiek Macharwhen they seized the capital of oil-rich Unity state last week.
BAGHDAD — Violence across Iraq in February killed 703 people, a death toll higher than the same period a year before as the country faces a rising wave of militant attacks rivaling the sectarian bloodshed that followed the American-led invasion in 2003, the United Nations said Saturday.
Can you guess who these innocent kids were? Clues at the end of the page. 1. 2. Indian election: Kashmir violence leaves three dead
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1. Adolf Hitler 2. Osama bin Laden Photo Courtesy: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1932318,00.html
