PAWS-Mumbai Team on Snake Rescue Mission
Snake Friend Sunish Subramanian on Snake Rescue Mission
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Horses rescued in Andheri
MUMBAINewsline . Saturday . July 18, 2009 . News . Page 3
Mumbai : A month after two horses— which were part of an illegal tonga race— fell off the Andheri flyover to death, the Bombay SPCA along with Plants and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) Mumbai, an NGO, rescued two horses from a person suspected to be one who had owned the dead horses. The horses were rescued by the SPCA from the house of Robert Sakipilis at Dharam Sai Nagar slum in Andheri after a six-hour long raid on Thursday .
As Sakipilis is absconding, his wife Reeta Sakipilis (35) was taken to the Sahar police station where a case has been filed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for keeping the animals in bad condition without access to adequate water, food and shelter. The SPCA officials said Reeta moved the Andheri court on Friday and she was granted bail after paying a fine of Rs 800.
When Newsline contacted Reeta Sakipilis, she refused to comment on the issue.
The horses, adult grey studs, were found to be kept in dismal conditions in makeshift sheds with no provision for clean drinking water. Also, there were multiple injuries on their bodies. They are now recuperating at the BSPCA hospital in Parel. Lt Colonel (Retd) Dr J C Khanna, secretary of the hospital said, “One horse is anaemic and has a large wound in its neck probably caused after using cheap saddles. The other horse is injured in its left limb. The treatment will take about 15-20 days.”
On June 16, Newsline had visited a plot of wasteland behind Hotel Leela near Sahar Road in Andheri. Residents in the area had admitted that the dead horses belonged to Sakipillis, a resident of Dharam Sai Nagar. According to them, these horses were used for wedding parties, races and joyrides.
PAWS representative Sunish Subramanian, who accompanied Newsline to the spot, later filed an FIR at the Andheri Police and the investigation is still on.
Subramanian said, “The SPCA recently approached us to organise a raid. On Thursday, I along with six SPCA inspectors and one field officer made an impromptu visit to the spot and found three horses kept in makeshift sheds. Two other horses were also found in an open plot nearby. The animals had several small injuries and were very weak. They were eating something from a garbage bin.”
However, when the inspectors reached the spot, the Sakipilis family whisked away one horse to a field nearby, where two other horses were found.
SPCA field officer Manohar Jadhav, who led the raid, said, “We visited the spot at 12.30 pm and found the horses. However, when we began questioning the Sakipilis family, the slumdwellers ganged up and there was a riot like situation. But somehow we managed to rescue two horses after six hours.”
Sakipilis can take the horses back to their place after the animals fully recover. However, they will have to pay for the animals’ treatment.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Over 1,000 flamingoes visit Bhandup
Friday, July 17, 2009
Flamingoes are tall, delightful migratory birds which come to our city from the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat somewhere in the month of October and remain here till July.
They can be spotted near the Water Filtration Plant in Bhandup.In the words of S Subramanian from PAWS (Plant and Animals Welfare Society) Mumbai, a Bhandup based animal welfare organisation, "Flamingoes can be spotted in areas like Sewri and Thane creek but few know about the mangroves off Kanjurmarg which attract the flamingoes.
This is because the place is not easily accessible. As the area is a private property, not many visitors come here to disturb the birds."
Adding further he stated, "The pink colour in their plumage is due to 'Beta Carotne' rich food which they consume in the form of blue green algae and shrimps. In zoos, the flamingo food is often mixed with carrots. As the breeding season approaches, adult flamingoes are adorned with rich pink colour all over the body with wings and legs getting almost scarlet.”
Describing the sight of the birds leaving, he said, “Before leaving the shores of Mumbai, they perform a spectacular display by marching together which resembles flames rising from water. We can call it the 'flame dance'. It is an amazing experience to watch birds, twisting and turning their necks or opening their wings in between."
The spectacular 'flame dance' was witnessed by our lensman, thus signalling the flight of these birds from our city to their breeding grounds in a short time.
Snakes are making themselves at home in the rain
Friday, July 17, 2009 . Times City . Page 7
Mumbai: With the rains hitting the city in earnest, it isn’t just Mumbaikars who fear water entering their homes. Reptilian residents too have an aversion to living in waterlogged homes. No wonder then that a Lokhandwala resident found an eight-ft-long python curled up in his home on Wednesday night.
The monsoon is typically the time when animal welfare societies receive the maximum calls from residents who’ve spotted a snake in their home. During the four months of the monsoon alone, professional snake-catchers claim they get calls to rescue between 400 and 450 snakes.
“Trying to find a safe place when their holes fill with water, snakes often enter homes and industrial estates. Last year, we rescued a 12-ft python which had entered an oil tanker. During the monsoon especially, our inspectors receive many such calls,’’ Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals secretary J C Khanna said.
According to professional snake-catchers, as snakes often live in sewers and nullahs, they enter homes through the toilet or bathroom when the nullahs overflow. The high tide also floods mangrove areas near the city. Venomous snakes like the spectacled cobra and Russell’s vipers which inhabit the mangroves, come out in large numbers.
Animal lover and professional snake-catcher Anil Kubal said, “This monsoon I’ve already rescued 112 snakes. A lot of the snakes we rescue are baby snakes as the monsoon is the birthing season for Russell’s vipers.’’
While venomous snakes like the cobra and viper have been known to enter residential areas, the snakes most commonly rescued by animal welfare societies are the nonvenomous rat snake and sand boa. Just last week, a rat snake was found on the premises of a college in Thane. “The snake entered the first floor of the college through an air-conditioning duct. We were obviously scared when we saw it. But once the snake catcher trapped it, he explained that rat snakes aren’t venomous. He also held out the snake for us to touch, but none of us took him up on the offer,’’ said Sachin Karavle, a college staffer.
On a positive note, animal lovers add that while earlier the tendency of residents was to kill snakes, there is more awareness now. “The number of snakes that were killed was quite high earlier but it’s almost nil now. Residents call us if they spot a snake and we immediately rescue it. The snakes are then released into the wild—either at Sanjay Gandhi National Park or Yeoor and Vikhroli,’’ said Sunish Subramanian of the Plant and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) Mumbai.
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