ATREE-ACCC Internship Experience

ATREE's -ACCC Internship Experience

Harshit Mishra

Before this internship I was a Nature Enthusiast whose wildlife experience was visiting the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad and watching videos on YouTube, Animal Planet, Discovery and National Geographic. It is perhaps these videos that kept me focused on pursuing research in Ecology and Evolution then and even now. And my dreams of walking in a proper Evergreen Rainforest of the Western Ghats, one of the Global Biodiversity Hotspots, to pursue what I saw in those videos came true through this internship at ATREE’s Agasthayamalai Community Conservation Centre (ACCC).

I was involved in the various outreach activities of the Centre over the 2 months of my stay there. I was a part of the following:

Two Wild camps conducted for school children at Mundanthurai for 3 days each and a one day nature trek, all of which involved exposing them to the Forest environment and its components through painting, presentations, observations, games, forest walks and interaction with forest officers. It is these programs that exposed me to science communication and environmental awareness, two important aspects connecting science to the people.

      Snake Bite Mitigation Workshops conducted by ACCC with the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) to educate people on avoiding snake bites, identifying poisonous snakes from non-poisonous and the emphasis on anti-venom rather than other useless and particularly harmful ways of treating snake bite. 

  

I also got an opportunity to give a presentation on Global Warming and Climate Change on World Environment Day on 5^th June 2019 to school children at Tirunelveli Science Centre followed by a Cycle Rally to spread awareness regarding Air Pollution. It was a one of a kind experience that I had in the realm of citizen science and outreach.

 

      I also got the opportunity to go on a trek with the staff members of ACCC to Naraikadu, a part of KMTR. It was again the first trek I had done and the experience was priceless. A 10 KM one way trek where I overcome my physical limitations and spent a night in the rainforest.

 

I had also assisted with the field work of the two other interns doing their Master’s Minor Project at that time. It was another learning experience and a chance to visit other parts of KMTR.

 

The centre itself is full of wildlife. I had encountered Common Krait, Common Sand Boa, Rat snake, Russell's Kukri snake, Bronzeback tree snake, Brown Vine snake, Skinks, Geckos, Bats, Frogs, Toads, Grey Francolin, Brahminy Kite, Indian robin, Yellow billed Babblers, Spotted Owlets, Peacocks and Cicadas.

The Wild encounters during field work include Large Scale Pit Viper, Hump Nosed Pit Viper, King Cobra, Blue tailed Skink, Leopard, Nilgiri Tahr, Bonnet Macaque, Hanuman Langur, Slender Loris, Nilgiri Langur, Asiatic Wild Dog, Gaur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Emerald Dove, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Jungle Fowl and a multitude of Butterflies, Moths, Odonates, Leeches and some other invertebrates. 

Top left to bottom right: 1. Large Scale Pit Viper, 2. Hump-nosed Pit Viper, 3. Emerald Dove, 4. Common Krait and 5. Nilgiri Langur

These outreach activities of the centre and the generous opportunity given to me to take part in them had made sure that my stay during the internship was not just work but also enjoyment. I have swam in forest water bodies, drunk the cool water right from the forest streams, had close encounters with poisonous snakes, had my first wild Leopard sighting, attacked by leeches and walked in the forests with a mixture of fear, excitement, wonder and accomplishment. I have overcome my physical limits and to some extent the fear of the forest with the support and encouragement of the staff members. I was constantly kept company by the fellow interns, my guide, the staff members and visitors at the Centre. I have also got a better picture of my future in research in Evolution and Ecology. This has been my first and probably the all-time best time of my life in the wilderness.

Picture Credits for all the pictures so far:

 Thalavai Pandi, Maria Antony,  Prashanth Soluna,    Vinod Kumar,   Shruthi Kottillil,  Raja,  Dr. Roy