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| Home >> Wildlife >> Sanjay Gandhi National Park |   Email this Page |
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MONSOON MAGIC
It’s the middle of the wet season and a pristine blanket of green has enveloped the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Glimpses from the forest
The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) has magically morphed with the advent of the rains. Birdsong is everywhere, and narrow rivulets run where dry pathways used to be. With the monsoon cloud having covered the city, the forest has spawned a unique ecosystem.
Incidentally, Mumbai is located in a “biogeographically rich zone’’, although much of the natural habitat is steadily being sacrificed to construction activity. Still, certain areas like the national park, Aarey Colony, Powai, Vikhroli and Kalina are spots which naturalists visit for study and research.
Environmentalist Sunjoy Monga recently took photographs of some curious specimens of flora and fauna that are peculiar to Mumbai. “Nature shakes off its sloth during the onset of the rains in June-July, and from August through October, the regeneration is complete,’’ he says.
Touched by the proverbial magic wand, the SGNP forest trail is playing host to some interesting specimens. This time of the year, more than any other, the park is an ideal place to spend a day.
Fauna The male baya commands his best architectural skills to weave an intricate nest in order to attract a partner. Nothing wrong with that, except that the philanderer works on three or four nests at a time, which keeps him busy during, and after, construction. Huge armies of grasshoppers sing special courtship songs when they spot a female, and usually, the best man wins. One step ahead in the chain of evolution are the 500-600 species of moth that are seen in India. Of these the uranid moth appears like a blob of white bird dropping on a green leaf. Flora Experts are celebrating the appearance of the Karvi flower which blossoms once in seven years. Its purple blooms are small but abundant, and, along with Commelina (blue), have currently carpet-bombed the national park. Like the bristle gourd (yellow), which is a flower irrespective of the misnomer, the Karvi is rich in protein and draws insects by the dozen. The fruit of another plant, named cup and saucer, is also consumed by tribal populations for its nutritive value. TNN         |
