“As far as wildlife conservation goes, India is doing far better than other Asian countries”

IF you saw a strange animal in India and wanted to know more about it, you would be hard-pressed to find a source. There was no comprehensive book on Indian mammals until now. Biologists and conservators only concentrated on the bigger and the more popular mammals like the tiger or the rhino. However, A Field Guide to Indian Mammals (Dorling Kindersley/Penguin) by conservation biologist Vivek Menon is one book which lists all mammals found in the Indian habitat. Released recently, the book lists over 400 mammals found in India. Besides colour photographs, the book has a short note on the behaviour, size, and habitat of these animals and conservation threats faced by them. It was an ambitious project for which Menon enlisted the support of over 80 photographers and dozens of biologists.

Besides educating the public on mammals through books and documentaries, Menon is in the forefront of combating wildlife crimes like poaching. He founded the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), an NGO devoted to animal protection and welfare, in 1998. Though Menon is worried about the rampant trade in animal parts across the world, he is not disappointed at the progress made in wildlife conservation in India. According to him, India is doing much better than other Asian countries in wildlife conservation. He gives the bulk of the credit to the common people. "We have certain ethics towards animals. Unlike others we do not kill animals for game or sport," he says.

He took out time to speak to Sanjay Austa about his book, his efforts for wildlife conservation and the dangers of poaching.

I am often asked this question. Because of Salim Ali the interest in bird watching increased and the need for bird guides grew. It was usually British naturalists and the need for bird guides grew. It was usually British naturalists who wrote books on birds or mammals. Perhaps what put biologists off was that a quarter of mammals in India are bats and rodents. People who could have written a book on mammals wrote only on the larger mammals.

Yes absolutely. They are ignored not just in India but all over the world. We have charismatic flagship species, for example the tiger is the best-known charismatic flagship species. It is something you want to put on your standard or flag. Everyone is fascinated by the larger and the fiercer mammals while the small mammals are ignored.

The African lion still exists and the Asiatic lion is a sub-species and not a distinct species. It could be one reason but not a good enough reason as tiger also exists in other regions. I guess the reason is that the tiger is more mysterious whereas the lion is more visible. "Tiger sees you a thousand times for every time you see a tiger," it is said. But lion had been the national animal in the past. The lion was on the Ashoka pillar. It was proposed to be the national animal but the lobby for the tigers won.

The common man of the country. It is for the lay reader. But professionals can also use it as I have made the book as technically correct as possible. But my idea was to popularise mammals. The aim is to reach everybody.

Yes, I have covered all mammals, though I could not write as much as I wanted on each one of them. There was lack of space and also I wanted to make it a user-friendly guide. Every single mammal in India is there in the book. The book is meant for use in the field.

I have just presented a paper to the ministry that there must be a natural action plan to combat what we call ‘wildlife crime’. I don’t want to call it poaching. Wildlife crime is the second biggest illegal occupation in the world after narcotics and it should be recognised as such. It should not be left to a bunch of forest officials and biologists to combat it. It must involve the police, bureaucrats and the villagers who are in conflict with wildlife.

That is why we did not start an education wing at WTI. We, instead, went to schools and colleges near the forest where no one goes. We address the man-wildlife conflict by buying land. Elephants and large animals need space. They are migrants. If elephants stay in one forest the forest will die. The vegetation has to regrow. There are 60 forest corridors in India and it is important they should be left alone.

Wildlife habitat and species across the world are going to face a crisis but in Asia, India is doing far better than other countries. India still has 65 per cent of tiger, 85 per cent of Asian rhino, 80 per cent of Asian elephant and 100 per cent of Asiatic lion — all highly endangered and poached animals.

Twentyfive per cent to the government, to be specific to the policies of the Indira Gandhi regime, 25 per cent to the NGOs and people like me but 50 per cent of the credit to the people of the country. It is the basic ethics of the land that we don’t go out and unnecessarily kill animals. Not because they are Hindu symbols, because some of the best wildlife protected areas fall in the Muslim- dominated areas. Do you know in India over 200 people are killed by elephants? But in America if two sheep are killed by a wild animal there is so much noise and eventually the animal is found and shot.

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