NATEXReview

Ranjini Das-Gupta1 month ago

1 month ago

I went batting! For the uninitiated, it means bat watching! Mumbai's first bat watching walk was held by Naturalist Explorers at the Mahakali Caves. It was conducted by a very learned researcher on bats - Raj Kumar Patil. And it was fascinating! Bats are such incredible creatures - some species eat fruits and help pollinate certain plants and actually help keep a forest alive. For example, did you know that we wouldn't have tequila today if a certain species of bats in North America didn't pollinate the agave plant crucial for tequila production? In India, for example, bats pollinate the wild banana plant. Some bat species are insectivores and save mankind billions of dollars in pesticides. Bat poop or guano is very rich in nitrogen and is highly sought after in Southeast Asia as a fertiliser. India, somehow, hasn't started using this as fertiliser as yet. Bats communicate using ultrasonic sound waves and use the echoes to detect different surfaces and their prey - insects. Moths - their prey - have figured out how to emit the same frequencies and use it to jam the bats' frequencies frustrating the bats' efforts! And the bats have retaliated by emitting sounds very rapidly which freeze the moths! What an incredible way species adapt to each other! And we spotted a bat species - Schneider's leaf nose bat - identified through the frequency of its calls. And we watched fascinated as it constantly emitted calls and furiously moved its ears to catch the echoes and detect surfaces and its prey. Special thermal heat generating cameras were used by the researcher to detect it and particular equipment for detecting ultrasonic sound was used to capture its calls. What a privilege it was to watch this little bat in action. I am very grateful that I had this opportunity. Of course, one must always take precautions and not make loud sounds and sudden movements and touch bats to avoid being bitten. Also, to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus, one should avoid nibbled on fruits and todi and neera - where fruit bats and their saliva and other fluids can get into during the process of extraction from the trees. Such an important and fascinating and misunderstood creature - the bat - I hope to go on more such bat walks and learn more about them. Naturalist Explorers did a wonderful job of educating us. Join a bat walk too with them if you can!

EstMin4 months ago

4 months ago

Joined the nature walk at BHNS led by Anurag - a passionate and knowledgeable naturalist. Learned many things about leopards and the native plants and insects along the trail. Refreshing experience, would recommend.

MN5 months ago

5 months ago

So far I have done few birding trips with Naturalist Explorer and just finished Kaas plateau visit with them a few days back. All their naturalist are super enthusiastic, passionate, dedicated and knowledgeable. They are very punctual, polite and helpful. I was so surprised to discover so many migratory birds in Mumbai and without them that would not have been possible. Now about my most recent visit to Kaas plateau - I have to express my heartfelt gratitude to Priyal, Sachin and Anurag. They made the trip happen inspite of several obstacles. And it is such a pleasure to talk to each of them! They are not only really really passionate about nature, they are very knowledgeable too. It was so easy to talk to Priyal, Sachin had amazing power of spotting rare plants (equivalent to find needles in haystack) and Anurag enlightened us with the history and background. The hotel was good, car was comfortable and they also entertained our demands of local food and numerous photos with a smile. Thank you so much for such a memorable trip and hopefully we will be able to join you again for turtles, fireflies, butterflies, star trails and many more.