NO HUMANS are ALLOWED here

Landmines protect wildlife in the Korean DMZ! Electric blue pigs spark health fears, while endangered mega fish become collector’s items. Plus, communities unite to save marine life & ocelots. Dive into nature’s paradoxes & human impact! Get wild!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey guys, welcome to the Wild Bits show. I am Upamanyu and I'm Megna and we've got a

(00:08):
great show planned for you. We'll of course be talking about what is the headline
of this week where landmiles have become this unexpected protectors in a
demilitarized zone. We also have on the roster story about a mega fish which
has become this collector's item in silent. What else have we got Megna? Okay so

(00:33):
we also have this really interesting topic that Wild Bits are turning
electric blue in California and we're going to find out the reason that why is
this happening and after that we don't talk about how community efforts have
needed a new marine protected area in the Philippines so in connection with
this we're going to talk about another community project in Mexico that's

(00:57):
saving the oscillates there. That's about it from my side.
Cool let's jump great into what is the headline topic of this week. Landmines

(01:28):
have become the greatest protectors. This is a article from the Guardian and it
goes on to say how wildlife is thriving in the Korean demilitarized zone. So the
demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea, 155 mile 45 strip after the

(01:55):
1950, 1953 Korean War has become an ecological sanctuary. Despite being one of
the world's most militarized borders strewn with landmines this zone has
inadvertently protected biodiversity for over 70 years. That's a long stretch of

(02:19):
time in conservation in general. You don't hear that big a number often so that's
that's a good thing but also how it has gotten there is a little bit concerning but

(02:40):
we'll explore those things. Now an ecological oasis it hosts nearly 6,000
documented species. Again that is a very big number as well. 6,000 species including
white-naped cranes, deer and bears. So I think this also reminds me of another area

(03:07):
which was I think covered in detail in the BBC National History documentary series
called Mammals I want to say. That was the Goal on Region where it's a similar
case where there are wolves that are thriving there because of the same reason. So what

(03:40):
is happening here is the landmines are of course dangerous for humans we don't have the
sensory faculties to be able to detect or say where landmines are like without like fancy

(04:02):
equipment but these animals are more you know they have a more heightened sense of smell or
sense of all this all their senses are much more heightened than ourselves and what is happening is
because no humans can go there of course the hunting pressures and all the other pressures

(04:30):
that come on wildlife due to because of humans are absent in that zone. So wildlife has found its
way both flora and fauna and they are thriving there and I mean it's a big win as you know from

(04:57):
from the face of it but I also think like how this win is being achieved you know for something
where humans possibly cannot go that's the only place where you know wildlife can't thrive in that

(05:18):
zone talking about the North Korea South Korea border is says a lot of things about us as well. Yeah
I think I think I don't know if you've ever seen those videos of some YouTube it says I don't know why I

(05:39):
even watch them but it says what would happen if humans disappear right this second zone then you
would have this video where humans are walking and they just disappear and then it talks about you
know how all the nuclear reactors or the power plants are going to burst because there's obviously no one
manning it and controlling it it talks about how the pet dogs go wild and then eventually it talks about

(06:02):
a scenario where you know like like the cooling has happened up after the nuclear period and you can see
animals thriving and creepers going everywhere and you know the earth is back to this mix of like
used to be like whatever the buildings and everything but then now there's like everything growing
over it and all the animals are everywhere so it shows obviously the effect and the impact that if

(06:26):
we don't have obviously the impact is also something we created this nuclear power plants and
everything will be an impact that we created but the overall scenario is that once we go it actually
helps the environment and this is what I think this article is also showing that that you know
take the humans out of the equation let just keep them far far away and everything will be great.

(06:51):
Yes I think another thing that I was thinking recently is there's this one creator again that's my
that's my algorithm on YouTube but there's this one creator who has this huge lawn in his backyard he
actually has like cold course in his backyard and he spends immense amount of time maintaining the

(07:16):
lawn so the I just see the amount of effort I mean effort it's up to the particular individual
themselves but the amount of water and the amount of care that goes into maintaining that one species
of grass just because it's not where it's supposed to be so I see the amount of effort that goes

(07:42):
in there and the creator also talks about how you have to take care of grass how you have to replace
like dry patches of grass there's some there how they're like concrete or if there is like stones
inside the inside the surface layer of soil how the grass won't grow and dry out and things like
that but you see any abandoned space and this has been a theme of I think natural history documentaries

(08:11):
in in the recent sort of three four years where they have taken these abandoned nuclear towns
abandoned mining towns abandoned sort of abandoned places and spaces where both plants they have

(08:32):
like forget soil they have penetrated the concrete and all the other human made objects that are
there but also how wildlife is sort of thriving in those regions as well I was talking about gola
and heights yeah it's a similar case they were you know the minefields there is a safe zone

(09:00):
because no humans are allowed there and no humans can go there the minefields are the safe zone for
for the wolves there so I think this is becoming a theme and I think what Mignha said is very
important where the crux of the matter is that if you give wildlife and nature the chance or the

(09:26):
space to recover it will recover it is that resilient it is that sort of it has those checks and
balances that it is 100% able to recover and that just goes on to show that how big of a part

(09:47):
I think we as human beings play in this whole whole sort of equation and overall
yeah and I think it's interesting you talk about that grass thing because you know in some areas
of the world like New Zealand it rains almost the whole year because of how you know where it's

(10:08):
pleased and what the pattern's like but in India it's a really hot country but still we have a
particular monsoon season where it rains it may rain outside the monsoon season but just a few
showers here and there but just that one monsoon season and the water that the plants get
this survived to the next monsoon season so the trees that you see everywhere next to the road

(10:31):
and the trees that you see everywhere nobody is watching any of the trees but they are surviving
just based on that so you know that extra care that goes into growing something that doesn't
belong there as opposed to something that belongs there and can grow are two very different things
and yes yeah so I think that's the same thing with even animals like how we were talking about

(10:54):
like you know last episode when I was saying adopt the local breeds this is also the reason like
you know anything that's local and that belongs in that area is way more resilient than something
that you would introduce and that's not belonging to that area yeah and the article also says

(11:17):
this very clearly that ironically the very things designed to keep people out
barbed wire military installations and countless landmines have served as the greatest
protectors or for the thriving wildlife that now calls this for widend yet peaceful landscape
it's home so I think that goes on to highlight the the sort of like philosophical conflict that's

(11:50):
there in this scenario where we have to be taken out of the equation and it's really sad as well
but unfortunately the the way we have built our society the way we have built all the things that
we call necessary oh this is necessary for us to go about in our daily lives just because the way

(12:16):
society is built and it's very difficult I think to get out of that cycle for most people as well
but the way we have our society built we have to be taken out of the equation for
and and look at the look at the extent the animals are surviving like look at the you know

(12:43):
the success the amount of success these animals are having you know there's 6,000 documented species
and they've been there for like over 70 years in a peaceful manner they're not having us we're not
having them force like we had forced not to go there so we can't harm them basically so

(13:05):
and that that sort of is our discussion question as well how does the DMZ the milliprise zone
illustrate the paradox where human absence due to conflict can inadvertently benefit wildlife
conservation and I think what I would my question would be to you as well Migny I think

(13:27):
like of course this is a unique scenario and we don't want to repeat this scenario like we don't
want to go planting landmines and you know giving Bob wire in in most you know areas but
is there a way we can take inspiration from this and replicate this where it doesn't require for us to

(13:58):
plant like thousands of landmines and I think that's what they call national parks and forest I think
the areas that they codon off and protect in I mean this is just a one-off where we know now we do
not have documented evidences or of other areas now there are different areas across the world land
based borders where you might have same stretches you know these demilitarized zones where you

(14:24):
probably have like Bob wires in both sides so even with India Pakistan and a lot of other land
based countries probably have you know where the border relations are not great and those areas
have not been explored so we do not know how they are thriving this one has been explored so we know
they're thriving but I think this is a lesson for us to know that what our impact does to an area

(14:48):
and what we should be doing to not have that kind of impact and one of the main things that I would
say is population like that we know we are skyrocketing at an unprecedented pace obviously there are
some areas that are slower and some areas that have an aging population while other things are
are ruketing but overall we are ruketing and that's not good for us or the climate and obviously

(15:12):
we need the climate I mean we need the environment to survive on so we need to take care of it for it
to take care of us yeah I think that is yeah beautifully said and I think we as a whole
there are ways we can impact the environment directly and I think we have covered

(15:43):
a few of them and we'll continue sort of covering a few of them as and when sort of those things come
up in in our discussions but I think things like you know letting the animals thrive in the
you know protected ecosystems not wanting to for us as a society not wanting to always expand

(16:12):
into the national parks as Meghana said that is what we have decided as these protected
sanctuaries this has happened inadvertently but that is very intentional national parks and
other protected sanctuaries they're very intentional I also wanted to ask you like and I mean

(16:33):
I know the smallest species and them stepping on the landmines would not mean a thing but bigger
species like bears are they also able to snap out of the landmines and avoid them or how does it work
or biggest species with the landmines because if that is how you can keep humans away wouldn't it help
to just have landmines across all the border areas where porters come so that when the porters land

(16:57):
they you know they burst but the animals have no harm from the landmines yes I think that the issue
there in what I would imagine is the issue there is you know this has happened because this has
happened inadvertently and this is this is a military zone and this and that we we can't

(17:22):
we can't really do anything about it so yeah the animals can just exist but if we have to do it
ourselves like we have to intentionally plant landmines and things like that
to keep humans out especially landmines I mean Bob wires and all those other things might be fine
anywhere but to plant landmines I think it would need a lot more research for us to be intentionally

(17:46):
able to say okay we want to plant landmines there because again we'll need to study the animals
you know maybe if if you're talking about you know India or Africa but they're like bigger mammals
you know yeah elephants might even if they can sniff out the landmines they might not be able to
completely avoid it I don't know I don't know what how it happens but animals definitely can sniff

(18:12):
out landmines from small to big and they can avoid and that's what is happening in the
Golan region as I mentioned and that's what I believe is happening here as well
and if any of you know or have heard about African pouch rats they are really really good they're
like a kind of big size rats who are really good at sniffing out landmines and that's and they

(18:42):
are used to sniff out and eliminate landmines from like war zones across you know across the world
and like the places where we would like to use that place humans would like to use that place and
not just leave it there yeah the African pouch rats are very one they are very light as well

(19:06):
so it won't activate the landmine but also they are very you know the the sense of smell and
the also I think the sense to smell the radio activity is very high
where yeah it can go and sniff out the landmines um yeah so I think that's that's the whole point

(19:29):
like if we intentionally want to do that there will be a lot of backlash from all the different
groups even from conservationists I think um yeah so that's why I said like this might not be a
strategy we could apply this might not be a model we could apply but it would be a very effective

(19:50):
anti-pochicle I would think I agree I agree it would be a very effective one I mean everything
everything else that we're doing uh I don't know you know trying to do you on the rhinos and then
having whatever other rules for poaching and anti-poaching and trying to catch these
purchase the landmines would be just like one quick way I think this is this is the answer to

(20:11):
your question where you will you asked a couple of episodes ago like you know why de-home them why not
you know do something to keep us out and I think this this is one of the answers that
that that is that very effective very direct very bold strategy to keep humans out completely

(20:36):
it's just that I think when if there are like human petrolling um people then you have to be
likely to be able to feel about where the landmines are so it would be difficult to have a purchase
but at least the people have to have some kind of maybe device or something to tell them
yeah I think that's where the problem comes in if you plan and plan them land the whole point
of landmines is nobody knows where they are they just drop from the sky and then nobody knows where

(21:01):
they are but if you plan them then if the gods have that you know you have to guard that plan
plan map like it's some kind of secret and nobody can get access to it or nobody can get access
to the devices that are used to detect them or whatever so I think if there's a plan thing then

(21:24):
the poachers and everyone else can get access to it as well um I would know I mean I mean obviously
giving out a device would leak who the person is and without the device I think it would be harder to
communicate but either way I mean either way I think that that's that's a really good
solution to every problem that we have um do you know how long do landmines just stay like in

(21:50):
the sense can they detonate even up to 100 years after it or or do they like that they seem to be
really effective if you know I mean they can go up even after 70 years yes I think landmines have
a really big what is called what what I can call the shelf life I'll just do a quick search on it as well

(22:12):
yeah it says 50 50 years so yeah I think give or take a few years here and there if it's not
activated then it can probably stay there for for a long long time I would I would imagine
um I mean it has been going for 70 years and the the whole point of it is it's such a volatile thing

(22:40):
if it gets gets activated even if the sort of the deadline or whatever is passed
um even nobody would dare step there yeah in that area right but I I think if it's been 70 years now
then maybe probably all of them are deactivated by themselves right like they're not functional in

(23:02):
the in the DMZ area maybe I'm assuming I mean maybe what detours people from crossing that area are
the animals now than the landmines yeah and and I think this this border area is it it is de-militarized
but it is still I would think if it's a strip between the North Korea and South Korean borders

(23:27):
I would think that it is still a place where no ordinary person can wander and go
um I would think yeah yeah I mean I think on top of there being landmines the de-militarization probably
only applies to the area inside but on the back of the air and wherever there are check posts and
petrolling that obviously happens but either way I don't think people would want to go knowing that

(23:51):
their landmines knowing that their landmines are there yeah and knowing that there are bears and
probably other animals um and it's 155 miles it's going to take a load of days to cover that stretch
so either way I think it will be really foolish of someone to try to attempt that
true but it might it might help the animals have a change in their meat and you know other

(24:15):
things if people venture in yes um cool I think that's that was a great positive story net
positive I would say again the means um we say that the means do not matter as long as the result
is fruitful but I think here um you know the means the means to reach that fruitful result is

(24:41):
is kind of sad and goes on to show that you know how much of an impact we have been having on
the natural world but um I would say that it's a net net positive overall um cool we can probably
move on to the next item on the dock yep the next item is uh wild pigs are turning electric blue

(25:07):
in California yeah that's interesting so pharaoh hogs are displaying bizarre slushy blue innards
so the inside of um the body it's slushy blue and they were discovered in Monterey earlier this
year a concerning recurrence for the region this unusual internal discoloration in wild swine is

(25:28):
not unprecedented having baffled wildlife experts and locals in previous instances while the
exact cause of the hogs cellulian organs remains under investigation past theories frequently
attributed to the consumption of specific environment in few substances suspected culprits
include redenticides or particular native plants prevalent within the monetary system

(25:51):
pharaoh hogs are already a notorious invasive species known for their widespread ecological
damage and agricultural destruction the reappearance of the strange characteristic adds a perplexing
area to managing their population prompting urgent inquiries into potential environmental contaminants
within their foraging habitats identifying the source of the blue coloration is crucial for

(26:13):
understanding any broader ecological or public health implications highlighting an ongoing
environmental mystery and for those who do not know let me just share okay I think of says all
you share the screen so you can see how on that body it's so electric blue like you can see how
blue it is so it's quite interesting so now it's still speculative as to what has caused this so it

(26:41):
could be the road anticides or whatever they're using but it could also be probably the plants
but nobody can tell why but it's but it at the very least I would say it is some kind of
man-made chemical that is or like an introduced chemical that's causing this or is there a chance

(27:04):
that the article says that it could be natural something natural as well I mean it says if there is
a chance because they're not completely sure but they think it is more because of the road in
poison because the road in poison is usually dyed blue and probably so the whatever the bait is
used for as road anticide it's this chemical called diaphasin non so it could be that

(27:30):
that the the road in poison and then the hawks consume the poison rodents and for some reason
their system is ingesting the poison and not affecting them not affecting them to the same
extent that it would affect a rodent so for the same I think I would say the doze which would
be lethal for a rodent and would be would kill it might not be lethal enough for a hawk so

(27:53):
instead of probably affecting them directly indirectly it's kind of you know making their
internal organs and their skin go blue now we do not know what the long term impact of this is
but the poison is something that's being ingested and then it's coming out you know on their skin
and the insides right and I think also the the other the I think the reason why this is being

(28:20):
widely discussed as well I think is because people actually like kill those hawks and eat them so
I think it's also there has a chance to poison the poison the humans which is I would believe

(28:41):
that very reason you know a lot of effort is going into looking into what what is happening there as well
yeah I think it says here that in large doses diaphysal non-causes severe bleeding in humans and
other mammals that can eventually be fatal there isn't a lot of science to detail how much

(29:04):
game meat and at what level of contamination a person can eat before getting sick one study from
2011 found that cooking it would not make it make it safe so like how oops just mentioned
the people are hunting these hawks to eat them but if the hawks are poison and even if you cook
them really well the poison doesn't get out of the system and it can make us fatally sick so it is

(29:29):
possible that somehow the pigs are really resilient but we might not be as resilient to them as
the pigs and when we were bringing up this topic I think me and oops I mean we were having this
discussion so in New Zealand they use something similar it's called 1080 and they use that in areas

(29:50):
so that they can get these same invasive species out and what they do is like they they drop these
pellets from helicopters and then these pellets are eaten by the animals sometimes even the birds
and they all drop dead like it's it's really enough to make everything drop dead but in that
and because because sometimes these areas bother human areas it affects more than that so I remember

(30:15):
when I think I was doing a podcast this woman told us how her dog went out and then got this
little piece of skin and I think it must it might have been of a hawk or some other animal them
and they're looking at the dog like kind of ingest it or ate it or tasted it one of the two things

(30:35):
but it started fraughting at the smile and by the time it was taken to the hospital it died so
you know like we do not know how potent these chemicals are and how potent they are for different
species so we just know that okay you know it killed these animals but we do not know the long term

(30:56):
impact of these we just introduce such things to the environment and we're like yeah fine everything
will be fine yes and I think also you know achieving those goals as well I definitely know New
Zealand has a goal of getting rid of predators invasive predators by 2050 predator free 2050

(31:22):
as well and the problem problem with how we work as individuals and as species everyone would have
experienced this we don't we we are generally not doing anything about anything until the last

(31:43):
possible I mean until it affects us like I tell people that if COVID just stayed with the
bats and the animals and you know it don't really affect us directly we wouldn't be shutting down
airports we wouldn't be you know having lockdowns it's only because it came to our species that we
talk about it I think it's similar you know how we talk about how microplastics are now

(32:06):
entering our diets because it's come from you know different ocean animals are from different sources
definitely now yes so now this and like even kids I think small kids you can see microplastics in
the body so but but we still do not know if it's affecting us to the extent that it causes our
death or it causes long-term health implications so people are you know like trying to figure that

(32:28):
out but if we start dying because of the microplastics like suddenly like we will do something
like dying in large numbers I would say dying in large enough numbers for it to you know make
the headlines and tomorrow like just tomorrow there will be some new technology that writes out all
the microplastic out of the ocean I mean we will come up with that at bullet speed when it hits us

(32:52):
so I think that way we're really really selfish species because we will use the animals when we
win them but then we're like oh no no no but we don't want to be affected by them so yeah very
convenient yeah and I think that's where where it's it it forces us to take this drastic measures

(33:17):
like even when we have a goal you know maybe carbon free 2030 or whatever other goals that we have
because I know our country India it has a goal of I think carbon neutral 2030 or some year that is

(33:39):
it's supposed to go carbon neutral and that's a goal but we are not taking that incremental steps
to get there what will happen is the 2030 year as it nears we will have to take this drastic
measures if we want to hit that deadline and I think how our brain works it really works on deadlines

(34:08):
which is which can be a pro and a con and it's just the way we as a species evolved I think
of working on those deadlines so we'll do all the work or most of the work and will be our
most productive at that eleventh hour so we as a species we are not very far-sighted

(34:32):
as a society as a species and I think right now also they're only worried about the hogs because it
affects the eating patterns of people if it's not I mean they wouldn't care if some
groups will be would have been worried like you know conservationists and others but yeah I don't

(34:53):
think it would have been as swift and investigation or as swift yeah as swift an action
so and and the thing is that I mean with the hogs they're surviving with it and you can see their
skin and their insides being blue but with other animals we do not even know like I think one of

(35:14):
the things with ten eighty that was spoken in New Zealand was that a lot of other animals and birds
that you're not focusing on they die so like a lot of birds have dropped dead and there's no bird
jumping sound in that area so you know even though you're you're you're having these
chemicals for certain animals it doesn't mean that's that's the only animal that will ingest it

(35:39):
it could be like other species that you're not you know accounting for so you might be wanting
to protect the species but probably that species is also being impacted the same way as the
other animals that are being impacted so you have to take that into account like anything chemically
anything that's negative I think humans think that that it's like one box and that's how it will

(36:02):
work and then you don't go out into the wild and check if it's actually working like that and if
it's not working like that you will not tell in the news that that's how it's not working so
there are like I think a lot of parameters in such kind of uh green areas yes and but
but may not tell me this I would imagine that all like sanctioning um these chemicals

(36:31):
would have to go through some kind of uh you know first like a approval process that we can use
these chemicals but second a process where you know where you study the environmental impact
of those chemicals in general and although not a long study but there has to be the study that the

(36:55):
companies and factories have to do with uh sort of with a qualified scientist in that in that
domain um to be able to start using these chemicals do you think that part or that part of our
process also needs to be strong enough to detect some of these things early in the in the whole chain um

(37:23):
I think when the process happens uh that time they don't take it into account that you know how up
high in the chain of events and the food chain will it affect so I think that's that's the stage
where planning has to come in because you have to be assured and you have to be like 100 percent
you know you can you can be sure that okay if I give this animal the poison that this animal

(37:48):
would not be affected but if we see the article even in the article it says that um in 2021
hunters were warned of, diaphysinone contamination after a flock of geese with blue in the
San Francisco Bay area and the San Francisco Bay area is super popular it has a lot of people
and I think they have hunting season there but if the geese are also being poisoned exactly what

(38:12):
I was saying that you know it can be the birds as well it can be uh you know different animals
that you were not uh focusing on so that is what you need to take into account when you do these
approvals because I think what happens is that we kind of have this narrow approach when we
single out a species that okay this one is invasive and this one is the one we want to kill

(38:32):
we don't take into account everything else that it probably might kill like whatever we're doing
and I think the the discussion question we had is pretty interesting as well where um we were thinking
of asking ourselves that the blue di is a warning sign for humans as it points out in the in the article

(38:58):
as well but not for animals uh should manufacturers be required to include die colors universally
recognizable to wildlife uh if that's practical or is chemical exclusion the only reliable means
of protection um what do you think about that makeup? I then again obviously it will be really hard

(39:20):
because you have to take into consideration all the animals and every animal has a different spectrum
of colors that they can see so it probably might not be something that um you can
base that's possibly implement but maybe if you're sure about with species you want
the warning sign to flash forward you might be able to find a color that's neutral for all of

(39:43):
those animals but again even if you have like a like a color in it it may or may not deter the
animal from attempting to eat it right we do not know what is it that it is an animal from not eating
something so it might not be just a color die that might deter it it has to have something else maybe
a smell that that puts it off from it or something else that puts it off from it we are not sure that

(40:08):
the die is what will give them the warning and I think again as you said like
in New Zealand it was the pet's dying that really put this into the into the new cycle
and in this case it's humans not being able to consume the hog meat the bush meat

(40:30):
um which has you know pushed this into action um so I think
but I think one of the one of the interesting things also is that it says that um you know even
though these rodent poisons it won't turn animals always brilliant glue because it depends on how

(40:51):
much died beat the animal eats so it is possible that sometimes the animals consume less of the
died meat or the died bait and then they are not blue so it makes it even harder for the hunters to
know which animal is contaminated or not so that is also a thing that people need to take into
consideration with these dies and animals that consume it yeah I think I think as as a whole

(41:18):
these things as Megna was saying as well like we need to
stranded that process to make sure that we are near about 100% sure that this is not going to
cause a significant damage to our ecosystems and to our environments um yeah I think that's

(41:47):
that's sort of the lesson we should take from um from the plus plus I think we do not know what
this poison does so if we are giving a really hard life for this animal to live with the poison
in its system we do not know like even if it is an invasive species that's not how you would want

(42:10):
you know even a human to live or anything to live so why would you do that to an animal?
I mean yeah I think the the sort of counter or the justification for a lot of these
poisons especially the the sodium and fluorine salts um so 1080 poison that's sodium fluorositate

(42:37):
so it's a sodium and fluorine salt um those poisons are really really impactful and really like it
kills you within a second um so the justification we give again is that yeah it's really humane way of

(43:00):
killing you know these animals and whatnot um like we used the you know um shotgun like a
horse killing gun to get rid of like the old or in pain horses one shot and they're gone and yeah
so I think that's the that's the justification we give ourselves yeah I think that's where the problem

(43:25):
is because we do not know how it's impacting the hogs and they were not going to like put money
into that research because the hogs are invasive species so we do not know so until humans that are
consuming it don't want to really set we wouldn't know how the animals are actually feeling so that
that might not be taken into consideration until and unless it truly really starts impacting

(43:49):
our consumption yeah and I think that's the it's good like I would say that all these ecological
disasters if it can have a small very small not like you know dying humans are dying or even
one human is dying I would never wish that up one another human being but you know some sort of

(44:12):
impact it should have enough to enough for governments and everyone else to and the news media to
pick that up and be like oh we really need to focus on this this issue as well again sad that we
I'm having to say that similar to the last article as well but yeah I think the truth yeah and and

(44:44):
I think this is what it is like at least the first news was net positive right this this I wouldn't
I don't I don't know if it is negative but in my in my opinion it would be a negative news just
because it talks about poisoning and then it talks about animals living with that poison so it
can't be really great but yeah that's and this is this poison is also not intended to kill those

(45:09):
animals right like we are not wanting to get rid of them it's just an in it like side effects
of something else that we have been doing I think it's supposed to kill the rodents and then these
takes eat the rodents the hawks right that's where it's happening so it's the rodents
because they want the hawks to be hunted not to be killed by poison yes they're given yeah yeah yeah

(45:35):
so they don't want to take them off by poisoning them so it's it's really delicate but I think it's
one of those things where we think you know we can exclude something so you remember how we spoke
I think a few episodes back that when in New Zealand rabbits were introduced the rabbits started
multiplying so they were like oh let's let's get the stoats and ferrets in and then when the

(45:57):
stoats and ferrets came in then they said oh the rabbits are really fast but the birds are really
slow and they just stay on the land why don't we kill them so it backfired so I think this is what
in humans we don't take into consideration the backfiring that what if we do this what backfiring
what happens so with even this I think they know that okay the rodents would die but they did not

(46:18):
take the backfiring going to geese to hogs and other animals they don't take that backfiring
into consideration yeah I think that's that's where you know we we again I said this multiple times

(46:40):
we are very good problems of this we are very good like we I have got a very good
understood like if we put our minds to it we can understand a lot of different issues and
try and find creative but effective solutions for a lot of different issues so I think yeah
as Magna said very correctly beautifully that you know we should have those things

(47:04):
have that study in place have that you know foresight in place that process really
strengthen it as as much as we can like we can't do 100% I understand that but as much as we can
to avoid as many issues as possible would be what we can take away from this segment yeah yeah and I

(47:25):
think this is a good time to switch to the next not so happy topic yeah um yeah I feel like do you
want to do do you want to pick like a happy topic after this this is for some reason really
yeah yeah I think the topic that I'll be picking after that is a happier one so that's fine

(47:48):
you can go ahead with the fish okay let's do that let's do that um this is a report from
National Geographic and it says how uh 600 pound which is around 270 kilos how a 600 pound 270 kilo

(48:11):
mega fish became a collector's item in Thailand critically endangered
it make on giant catfish I think we we have this I don't know what we like we have this fascination with
like endangered exotic wildlife for some reason I don't know why why maybe because it's like

(48:33):
unattainable and humans like what is unattainable you know um exactly exactly that like it's like how
you tell them you cannot have this or you cannot want this that is exactly what you would want it
yeah it's the it's the thrill of the chase how you know yeah um yeah thrill of the chase how

(48:55):
one of those things yeah it's just like one of those things that oh that part is hot don't touch it
and then you're like now I want to touch it so it's the same thing that as soon as you say this is
endangered you shouldn't have it they should be in the wild and you're like no no no no how can
they've been the wild I want one in my house yeah yeah and I think that attitude really works well

(49:17):
in like the day-to-day things that we have created for ourselves like jobs and achieving something
goals in a life this and that all the all the take control of your life um stuff that goes around
um you know law of attraction this and that manifestation oh my god you know all those things

(49:40):
um it works really well but for the mechong giant catfish once plentiful but now vanishingly
drear in the wild a surprisingly abundant in captivity across thailand yeah it's funny how how the
article reads as well a two hundred pound specimen found at the at a flooded train station of all

(50:07):
places last year highlighted this hidden thriving population I mean so if it's a hidden population
if it's a hidden thing if it's not a popular thing like not pop it's it's a popular thing in those
circles but outside of the circles it's not very well-known that means those people know that this

(50:30):
illegal morally ethically wrong as well but still choosing um still choosing to do that yeah and imagine
like the floods came to this level that you had whatever like a pond in your backyard that flooded
and then this fish went swimming all the way to a train station and the people are like why is there

(50:50):
such a big fish here at the train station yeah um these mega fish along with the similarly threatened
threatened giant bob what's a bob it's another fish oh it's another fish um are extensively bred
in government hatcheries commercial farms and private bonds for various users like fishing

(51:14):
always got to be a religious purpose religious purposes or ornamental displays
this vastly undocumented captive stock significantly outnumbered a few remaining wild populations
of course if we like something yeah we'll we'll breed it to you know multiply you know as much

(51:36):
double triple the wild stock uh scientists such as Zeb Hogan are now actively exploring whether
these captive bred fish could be instrumental in reversing the species decline with proper scientific
conservation efforts these stocks might effectively bolster wild population and prevent the

(51:58):
disappearance of the these iconic freshwater giants offering a hopeful strategy oh I think
then this might not be something like an illegal trade or anything like that it's just people
uh wanted to keep this fish and you know having I mean we did not know what the what the

(52:19):
extent is of how they're allowed obviously there are government hatcheries so the government once
probably annoyed for like a commercial thing but there are commercial farms so they might be
licensed but we do not know uh the other areas and how much their license but even then yeah but
even then I think the the main the main takeaway from this article the main question here is that

(52:43):
there are more in captivity than there are in the wild and now we need the captive population to
help restore the wild population which is such an irony because obviously you know they must have
all been taken from the wild at some time and then they were bred in captivity and now they're
plentiful because they were bred in certain conditions and now we need the captive population to

(53:06):
to you know be like go go back into the wild and become a become plentiful where you're
going to be gentle yeah and I think we have discussed um the the problems of
you know we're having these isolated population in the wild as well right Magna like with with

(53:29):
with their gene pools and things like that and how it can cause a threat sometimes for them to be
released in the wild as well but it was the same with the tiger population I think most of you might
have seen this documentary which is a very fun documentary but it's called the tiger king

(53:54):
it's a human interest documentary but it also goes on to highlight the the problem the captive
breeding of tigers in the United States um yeah if you if you haven't checked that out go check it
out it's a it's a good one it's a good it's a binge worthy one but yeah and then they have they I think
in that documentary they even showed this species called a LIGAR which is like a lion and tiger makes

(54:19):
and they uh they're neither a lion neither a tiger and they are not able to operate as either one of
them and they just bake and huge and um okay that's a different topic but I think the main topic
there is also the same thing that there are more tigers and captivity than they're in the wild
which is concerning for any species when we say there are more than captivity than they're in the wild

(54:42):
especially an animal that's meant to be wild then it's really really you know uh
concerning because you need to yeah for an animal which takes that amount of effort to
you know keep them in the wild you need you always need to be aware of them you need
you know these giant huge prison like cells you can't really play with them in in a in a very safe

(55:07):
setting inside your home so if you want a bit why would you want a tiger as a bit why wouldn't you
want like a cat which is like a small tiger maybe get get a cat which looks like tiger
rough getting getting like an actual tiger um I mean I mean there is no way to there's no way to
justify or know why people want something I mean imagine that you want a 300 kilo fish in your

(55:31):
backyard like I mean you have to create such a big point for it to thrive one of them to thrive
or multiple of them to thrive but imagine a huge fish in your backyard or multiple huge fish in
your backyard and you're trying to create all these big spates for them instead of just letting
them feed the white yeah I would have understood if this was like a competition thing like um

(55:54):
like all the koi fish in Japan you know who grows the biggest koi fish or something like that
but it's not it's like a hidden market it's like a hidden not hidden as in not very popular thing so
um I would I yeah I have no idea why people would even want it except just being fascinated by it

(56:19):
and again as you said you know very very hard to say um why people are fascinated by it and this
article also what I was saying a minute ago it also says that you know researches first need to
know how many captive fish there are where they're being kept and how genetically diverse they are

(56:43):
that's the problem but also like using a captive population and and uh unmonitored captive
population I think as well um for to to restock the wild wild species is because you know we don't know

(57:04):
that um exactly genetically diverse they are one is the genital genital diversity other we do not know
if they are completely captive if they're released into the wild how they put uh survive what is
their percentage of survival so that needs to be taken into account and then also maybe like um

(57:24):
stricter rules about having them as pets because imagine that they are repropriated in the wild
and then people again start picking them up from the wild and bringing them to their houses so you
have to be very careful about um at what level are you you know commercially growing them and then
repopulating them and then what are the people doing about it because if you're going to have them

(57:46):
as pets and also have them in the wild then you have to have a clear distinction of how people
have access to them yeah um and I think that's that's where I think the the importance of studying

(58:06):
these animals or whatever we do um studying the impact of those things again is paramount in each one
of those scenarios because if we don't study it if we don't assess the long term impact of

(58:26):
of a thing and I'm not saying that everything we do must be um sort of preceded by a study study
that often as oftentimes maybe um you know counter into uh counterproductive to do that um but
I also think there should be our our general attitude should be that we are investing some

(58:56):
amount of the of the net effort towards science as well we are not just leaving something just
because it's we think it's going to be fine uh we're just not leaving something there and you know
not paying any attention to it until the time comes we have to kind of pay attention to it that's
that's what I think is is the right approach like we invest some amount of money effort resources

(59:22):
to actually validating what we think is is a valid approach um yeah and I think at least in this
story I wouldn't I would say there's one thing that at least the the captive populations if they
are successful in reproducing the wild population then it's a great thing that way that

(59:44):
they were they are existing in the captive in in captivity so that there's a there's at least hope
for the wild species yeah and from the sounds of it I don't think this I don't know I don't know
about the owners but um I I think there might not be too much back sort of backlash from the owners

(01:00:09):
because for the you know doesn't sound like it from the article it might be the case I don't know if
it's a collector item collected item it might be the owners might be very precious about their
collected fish and giant catfish but if it's not that big of a problem then yeah it can be a net

(01:00:29):
positive especially if they're like farms and stuff where it's purely a sort of financial
transaction where the government and other conservation societies can sort of pay that cost pay
that difference to be able to buy those back from those fisheries etc if that could save

(01:00:54):
endangered species like this then yeah it would be a net positive in my view in my view as well
because I think at the end of the day if something's called endangered uh you want to bring up
their population to a non-indangered status of the wild then keep them in your backyard and be like oh

(01:01:14):
you know at least we have them somewhere even a few in the wild that's not how it has to be I mean
every animal has its role to play in the ecosystem and if you if that animals not going to stay
there there's going to be some issue because with fish also they're in the food chain um of other fish
so they create it there'll be a gap created and we wouldn't know the impact for it till much later

(01:01:37):
so we need to make those efforts and it's created at least that effort is being made in this
species so hopefully the next time we read something about this then there'll be something more
positive that it's endangered status as being reversed and but but but I think maybe now like
it's it's sad that it's coming to the point where we hear um although not like very frequently but I

(01:02:05):
I believe it's it's a very frequent in sort of the geological time space geological timeline where
we hear this these reports of this species only surviving in the wild like IUCN which gives the
endangered status to old species has a special status called extinct in the wild um imagine that

(01:02:29):
like we have a status like an endangered status for animals which says extinct in the wild how wild is
that um so it's it's coming to that point for a lot of different species and I think as as I said
you know I keep repeating this this slide is a lot more visible for a lot of a lot of the megafauna

(01:02:54):
but you never hear even even what we cover um you know there's a lot less you know focus on the
the the insects or the the the microphone uh as we say or even the flora you know which which is not

(01:03:17):
very you know visible in terms of size and its impact so I think that's another thing that we have
got to sort out as as the species as well like what are we doing with all these extinct in the wild
species why is it why is it you know reaching that state you know um I mean we know why it's reaching

(01:03:43):
that state but at the same time we need to take bigger efforts to not only keep them in the
in captivity but have them first in the wild that should be our priority that wild animals belong
in the wild that should always be our first priority and then um you know depending on where
who are and what is then you can have them as pets I don't know yes I mean I would still be

(01:04:10):
very very discouraging of having anything wild as a pet but humans being humans they will
always want to have exotic species as pets yes and I think
um the mecon catfish was assessed by the iosian red list um last in 2011 um but it says it is least

(01:04:35):
concerned but it also says in in the habitat and ecology a section that it the habitat is wetlands
but mainly it's artificial um equate aquatic and marine um sort of artificial spaces that these

(01:04:57):
are thriving in so this least concern is not really a true representation of you know of it being
or it doesn't represent it it status in the wild it just says okay there's a stable population of it
but we don't know whether that population is genetically diverse or if it's even um you know

(01:05:23):
if it can even reach a space in the wild where it's not threatened in the wild as well so yeah I think
that space things being extinct in the wild is is completely um yeah it's a it's a

(01:05:44):
I don't know dangerous dangerous space to be in and I think we shouldn't have that
shouldn't exist in that reality where we are letting something get extinct in the wild just because
we know we have a stock in captivity I think that's where I would say no no no we we focus on that

(01:06:08):
population first um and then we also have this backup strategy is something you know
uh did you do you do you do you do you show the viewers how that fish looks I I did I did I did
share I can share it again but yeah it's it's not a it's not a pretty looking fish as well you

(01:06:32):
wouldn't want it in your aquariums and stuff I don't know maybe you would um I can't speak for
everyone um but yeah this is this is how this fish looks um yeah and the thing is um it's really
weird because it has a secret status as well like you know how they are uh for even religious

(01:06:55):
purposes yeah the religious yeah they're in temple ponds and everything so when when it's
religious I mean when it's important in a religious perspective that means that you actually care
for that animal so it's really weird that you would care for the animal in um you know in a
temple ponds setup or in your house setup but you actually don't care for it enough for it to

(01:07:17):
thrive in the wild that is the irony of it yeah yeah um I mean the again does that surprise you
know that it's not surprising right it's it's like you remember the temple tigers thing that got
really popular through I think a BBC documentary and only for us to later find out that it was

(01:07:40):
all this racket of like poaching and oh yeah yeah being to that place in Thailand I know so it was
uh they drug the I think the tigers and then they used to have these tiger uh I don't know
like a lot of things were found when they were caught I think there were like these
like the babies and the brine stored and all these they were basically you know uh trading those

(01:08:04):
parts of the tigers for like traditional medicine and things like that yeah but then they showed
like you know they had all these rescue tigers and they were keeping the tigers tame by feeding
them boiled me but did not have like traces of blood or something so there was a lot of like um what
would you say just anything being thrown about just so that they could have tigers for for

(01:08:24):
entertainment so yeah and I think religion is often that cover story a good cover story
for people who want to be to be doing that those those kinds of activities as well right
uh yeah religion is often that that cover story that gets people really compassionate and gets

(01:08:48):
people to drop their guards basically oh it's a religious thing they must be taking good care we
also thought that at some I thought that I know that um at some point or they must be really taking
good care of it and things like that so yeah don't use religion guys to cover up your um you know
all the nefarious things yeah but I think that is how it worked that is how exactly it's something

(01:09:13):
I don't know how even in India you would say that you have like these female goddesses that you
would uh worship in the temples but at the same time outside you would have all these
girlfriend molestation and drapes with women so it's always ironical what you would believe in a
temple setup is important but outside it does just doesn't matter so in a temple point that

(01:09:35):
probably that uh fish the you know the the catfish is breed and it's uh rebered and you know it
gets all yeah and it gets all the respect but outside and the while you don't care if it's dying
yeah I mean if you're commercially farming it I believe it would be for eating as well so yeah um

(01:09:58):
yeah I mean I I mean but then that would be ironical that you are praying to it and then
eating it it might not be I mean yeah uh I mean that's again a murky conversation to enter
as well considering um everything you know but um but yeah no I think yeah I think that's

(01:10:23):
our story we often use religion faith belief um in anything like it can be a religious belief but it
can also be like a legend or or something you choose to believe in like a fictional story that
we have created and law like oh it's not illegal to do this uh law is a fictional thing that we

(01:10:46):
have created for ourselves so just because it's not illegal doesn't mean it's um it's not immoral
or unethical or things like that um but anyway that's the story about the 600 pound 300 kilo
mega fish yeah um we're hoping that at some point of time um you know the gap that is there that

(01:11:14):
that the animals that are in captive we get at least a thousand times more than what remain in
the wild that gap reduces and there are more in the wild and they thrive in the wild where they
actually should be thriving yeah um all right could we move on to the next one magnet sure

(01:11:35):
so the next topic we have is a a happier topic um so community efforts yield a new marine
protected area in the Philippines the Philippines has officially designated the Bitao marine protected
area MPA in Sikihawar prevents culminating an 18 year campaign by the local communities

(01:11:58):
viscer associations and civil society organizations the wildlife conservation society announced in
August 13 that this nearly 150 Hick the 150 Hick tear MPA is the largest in Sikihawar in comparison
44 Hick tear core and 105 Hick tear buffer zone so protect the coastal waters rich in diverse

(01:12:19):
corals reef fish sea grass and commercially white and species including sharks and turtles
the MPA prohibits catching sharks and rays except for research and ecotourism activities like
snorkeling and diving are permitted with revenue reinvested into the community and local conservation
efforts so i think this is the best thing that you know i mean the people have worked so hard for it

(01:12:44):
so now whatever the people are helping on for it it's going back into their efforts of saving it
so the Bitao fish or fish or focus association instrumental in its creation will
co-manage the area with the local government realizing 18 year dream so this is amazing that
these people have worked for 18 long years and now the government is at least not sidelineing them

(01:13:07):
they're going to be working with the government in protecting this area so you know for these
fishermen they must have seen the changes that's happening in these areas and then pushed for the
you know the betterment of these areas and wanted the area to be protected because they're
seeing what happens when the area is not protected and this is something amazing that you see you know

(01:13:27):
if people come together and really want to make a change they can make a change this is one of the
prime examples of it yeah yeah and i think um it's always good to hear those local communities taking

(01:13:48):
a really keen interest because the local communities are the people who know about it's it's like
it's like saving your neighborhood you know you are the ones who will know the most about your
neighborhood you'll know the most about your backyard and things like that so you know if those

(01:14:11):
communities are motivated enough to take matters into their own hands and you know have those have
that really you know approach have that approach of we will protect our space we will try and protect

(01:14:34):
work to and it's an 18 year campaign so 18 year dream so it's it's really you know really a great
success story there as well yeah and i think this is what is really important that we have to see like
you know if you're local and you care for the environment and if all the people come together you

(01:14:57):
can make a change and this is where i think sometimes you feel like yeah there is hope because you
see all these people and you see these positive stories between all the negative stories that you
have that people are coming together and they're creating these you know they're they're lobbying so
that these protected areas can be created and similar to you know what the first news that we've

(01:15:19):
spoke about even though that wasn't intentional this one is intentional and the sharks and the
turtles would be protected leading to you know better fish population in that area and uh you know
and and now these these animals cannot be fish so they're going to be protected which is such a win
win i mean imagine working for 18 years on something and seeing it come alive that is that is exactly

(01:15:43):
right and it is such a great thing um it is such a great thing there and i think when when the
community effort is behind it that means you have got like a like a citizen science project almost a
citizen um also citizen policing project where every citizen is is that you know that aware of

(01:16:08):
all the things that's going on so that means if if a turtle comes and they try to um you know
hamper with all the all those things that's that's going on um you know every citizen is capable and
equipped with that very base level knowledge to be able to say don't do that you know don't

(01:16:31):
this is this is our effort that we are doing this is our community effort that we're doing this is
this has taken a long time and they might be able to explain that and this also means like
for generations to come that knowledge is being passed on from one generation to the next you
know that and and that that effort and that will to protect will only increase over time um it will

(01:16:59):
only um go up um you know so again very good net positive as well but also very inspiring um i
i would say yep so i think that is that is what it is that um if people can do that and i think

(01:17:21):
i think this is where it is really important so like you know um once when i was in Chennai
i went for this walk in the night where you could see turtles come to the beach and lay their eggs
and there's this whole um community that uh protect these hatcheries uh and what they were telling
me is that uh you know the local fishermen they can just tap on the sand and they can tell you where

(01:17:44):
or total nest is uh while people who are working in this um in geor this group they used to carry
this pipe and they had to like kind of just poke the hole you know the ground and where the the
pipe would kind of go inside that is where the nest is so the locals and their knowledge is on
parallel i mean the way that they know their environment so they are the ones

(01:18:07):
who have to first step up to save something so anywhere that you are local too if you have to
save something you have to step up to it because you know the local environment better than anybody
else and fishermen are really really um i think you know i mean the ocean is everything that they work
to where so when they see the ocean dying i think a part of them dies and so this is really

(01:18:28):
inspirational that they were able to save something that meant so much to them yeah and as you said like
nobody would have that local knowledge even the scientists would not have that you see all those
um i love watching the behind the scenes for any natural history documentary and you'll see

(01:18:48):
every you know even the scientists that are working there they would stress on the fact in those
you know behind the scenes interviews that you know the local knowledge is just unparalleled like
i watched this um this episode the other day it's called paedanthood again another another series

(01:19:12):
from david aton borough but they were tracking these chimpanzees in kongo um and they were like oh
we couldn't even tell whether chimpanzees were or whether they were going but these
local guides local people they instantly saw a half eaten leaf and they were like oh they went

(01:19:33):
this direction so yeah it's nobody has that knowledge except for the local people so it's very
inspiring as i said and as i keep repeating to see the local people getting and and i think this is
only possible this kind of an effort this intense in density of an effort where you work for

(01:19:57):
18 years for achieving something constantly this is only possible in this context like in in a
conservation context um it is only possible for the local people um locals in an area to achieve that
that is true uh you know talking about local there's a there's a same story similar story that's

(01:20:21):
happening in mexico so these there's this enjus that have launched a novel community project to
conserve them conserve mexico's oscillates um the oscillate and often overlooked small peline
is gaining scientific attention to surprising behaviors including interactions with opusums
despite sharing its range with more charismatic jaguars camera traps reveal its widespread presence

(01:20:46):
though often as bycatch and monitoring efforts for larger cats so they're not as important so
there are no camera traps set especially for the oscillates in mexico the oscillates in danger due
to habitat loss hunting and increasingly climate change so you know because you have longer dry
periods where they're not able to get to water they it drives them towards human settlements

(01:21:07):
during these you know during the summers so now they go in search of water so that has become a
human wildlife conflict issue so it doesn't scientist Esteban domingess near calacmole bias
theorizer has been instrumental since 2014 confirming their existence through camera trap data
despite their elusive nature his work highlights the species challenges and the vital role of local

(01:21:33):
engagement in conservation especially in buffer zones like connoas where communities face
rainforest proximity and like the last one was a community effect this one is is more a one man
like baguette so this person has you know kind of dedicated his research towards oscillates

(01:21:54):
and has also i think done these he's also tried to create like new water reserves so that the
oscillates don't start going into human settlements so this is amazing how one person and
you know the effort that one person can create and create this ripple effect where the entire like
NGO start getting involved so similar to the last story this is a whole community engagement and

(01:22:17):
locals striving to save a population yeah and i think this also highlights another
fact where what i was what i was saying a moment before as well that and it mentions in the article
as well where because oscillates are not as visible as jaguas demo shy of course there are more

(01:22:46):
more level species like historically not much of the conservation effort has gone towards that jaguas
obviously we know there's a huge conservation efforts to protect and you know make sure the jaguas
are all fine but obviously oscillates being living in the same space sharing the same forest but

(01:23:10):
just because just by being smaller which which in turn makes them shyer and you know harder to track
you know lot less has historically gone towards this species i think this is again something
that we were speaking about earlier like we we care more about the species that are visible like

(01:23:33):
that are bigger that are charismatic but we don't really focus our efforts towards the smaller ones
i mean when you have cats inside people's home and people love cats but when it goes into the wild
you just want to save the bigger cats like the lions and the jaguars and the bruma and the you know
the tigers you don't put in the same kind of conservation efforts into the smaller species like

(01:23:56):
the oscillates and i think one of this one of the parts of the article mentioned this and i'm
sort of sharing the photo on my screen as well educating children and taking school children
for this oscillot walking group which i think is you know you know the most brilliant thing that can

(01:24:22):
be done you know um getting the next generation prepared both mentally and getting them into
this course like children are so much you know impression impressionable we know that for a fact
and we know it intuitively as well um you know they have they have a very malleable mind and they have

(01:24:48):
they mirror the mirror the actions of adults for a long period in in in a person's life so
passing this message on to children and getting them involved like getting them involved in the day
to day running of these um organizations and the day to day running of these like like an after

(01:25:09):
school program you know i i agree we we must you know have those after school programs where
we are getting them more in tune getting our children more in tune with arts and you know trying
different kinds of um you know maybe training for a musical instrument and training for singing

(01:25:30):
dancing all these sorts of stuff we should be getting it but also i think there's enough
bandwidth or a child to also absorb things nature related as well and i think this is uh
is a brilliant thing that that this article mentioned and that these these people were trying to save

(01:25:52):
the osalots and trying to yeah i think i think one of the things is it's not a walking group it's a
working group working group oh sorry right right oh i i love that how they have used the you know
the prints to um yeah yeah that's that's even more brilliant yeah it's the paw and the print of the

(01:26:15):
oslo yeah yeah the print of the oslo um yeah that's even more brilliant so it's it's not even a
walking group it's a working group so the children are involved in the day to day working
yeah which is even more brilliant in some shape shape and form like they might not be doing you know

(01:26:35):
all the accounting and things like that but in some shape and form school children are being
involved which i find is an invaluable thing um for for this this these kinds of efforts as well
i think how oops said if we if we get them involved young then they will be interested in them

(01:26:58):
and save them when they get older so the same thing how we spoke last time i think how oops and
may were introduced to wildlife and nature when we were really young so we still care about it and
we talk about it a lot only because of how we were raised so that is a really really important
aspect of growing up that if you want your kids to be passionate about the environment and passionate

(01:27:20):
about wildlife you have to play a role in inculcating it into them yeah yeah and i think uh
this these kinds of efforts um for especially for you know smaller species um especially in countries

(01:27:40):
which have had um you know tumultuous history of poaching um that's wrong to say every country has
that impact of has had that impact of approaching poaching some more more or less than others but
every country has had that impact um so it's it's wrong for me to point out just the just the countries

(01:28:07):
which have been in the news in recent times but um yeah i would say every space that we can
implement these types of programs in um and as we said like it's only possible for
the locals or someone who has who has that connection to the to the patch of

(01:28:33):
grass in the forest patch of forest um it's only um possible for some of those people
to be able to take matters into their own hands and it's beautiful it's a beautiful story it's a
beautiful thing to be involved with um again governments should support these kinds of um events and

(01:28:56):
these kinds of efforts as well um because i think this is this is one of the most impactful and in my view
one of the only sustainable ways um to go about saving not only one single species but an ecosystem

(01:29:17):
i think that's the one that's true i think i think that is where you know it makes a big big change
that if the people get involved animals will always thrive so we need to instead of creating that
distance you know how we spoke about in our last episode that we disconnected with nature we need
that fostering and that reconnect so that we can actually save nature and we can save the animals

(01:29:40):
we can save the environment and it's great that we have these positive stories coming out because
if these positive stories continue to grow then we can probably save the earth for longer than we
anticipate because right now uh going by how the climate change and everything is happening you
maybe it's bleak it's bleak out there it's probably some 50 60 years uh you know give or take

(01:30:05):
but if we are able to actually sustain this and and and and the sad part is obviously the
generation going forward will have more pressure to save so if we can inculcate it into them
this young then the earth might have a fighting chance we might not be extinct as fast as we think
would be and it would be a beautiful thing um we'll enjoy it like it is an enjoyable process like

(01:30:32):
again for those of you who are i imagine most of you are watching this from a phone or listening to
this on a phone or a tv or or something like that um we have our urban commitments we have all
those things um but whatever we can do like one of the most impactful things i believe if you're

(01:30:56):
living in an urban environment obviously you'll have your responsibilities and nobody's like we are
not trying to say that oh leave everything and go to the forest we we are not able to do that we
are tied up in our um you know day to day life as well but ask your government ask your representatives
to use your tax dollars or tax um rupees in a way where they're supporting these kinds of efforts

(01:31:28):
some of those efforts die off due to lack of funding or things like that obviously funding
but i think second you should also be asked how you can get involved in it because the only way
you would have some kind of respect for the environment or nature is when you get involved so
you know like like maybe a little bit today today getting involved into maybe just an online

(01:31:50):
petition but get involved slowly into nature and environment take a take a walk going to the
province to a safari get connected and then you know get into like maybe uh volunteer in projects but
you know community engagement is very very important and very crucial to conserving any
species anywhere yeah be like these these school children get involved get involved and parents

(01:32:15):
let your children get involved um don't you know whatever they feel like like
introduce them to the these ideas these um you know these conversations have these
conversations with them early on um because they are they're the people who will go on to become

(01:32:37):
you know lawmakers and have those powerful positions they will hold um across the society so
yeah get get them introduced to these conversations and see see how it um how it impacts the overall
um overall approach um yeah um I think I mean that is a beautiful beautiful story too and our

(01:33:05):
episode on because we've had we started it with a net positive story and we're ending it on a
net positive story so I think um sometimes we have all gloom stories so it's nice to be able to end
and begin like begin and end with positive stories oh absolutely absolutely I think

(01:33:25):
I think we can sort of draw draw close there and um yeah as Magna said um you're
what what you do and what you do with your time and how you get involved completely up to you
but try try and get involved in some sort of way and I mean reach out to us as well like if you are

(01:33:55):
we share all these little ways that you can get get involved over over over episodes but yeah um also
comment what what you are doing um in your you know day to day life despite being busy
but you know job kids you know this and that what are you able to achieve there if if you're doing

(01:34:21):
anything you know as small as donating a dollar um or 10 rupees to some conservation cause as well
but um yeah anything else Magna before we close the episode out for the audience?
now I I mean I just hope um you know just like every time else if you have any feedback for us or

(01:34:45):
whatever you think about the show if there's something you think that we should be improving on
these two letters now and do let us know what you're doing um for your little bit in the community
engagement for conserving wildlife we would love to know it so that's about it
yeah and again don't forget to like and subscribe to all our different um modes of social media

(01:35:14):
we are here on youtube um then we are on twitch instagram facebook twitter tiktok we are basically
everywhere so yeah go give us a follow there and check out all the short on short form content that we
put out there as well if you're listening to a recorded version of this podcast then yeah do

(01:35:38):
feel like if you feel like leaving a rating and comment it really helps us out with the algorithm
and how our show gets you know more visibility and more viewers but apart from that that's it for today
and we'll see you next Sunday same time same channel have a good one guys bye