Go wild!

The first week of October is celebrated as National Wildlife Week It was initiated by the Indian Board of Wildlife IBWL to create awareness about protection of wildlife Across the country officials environmentalists activists and educators organise various activities to accelerate the awareness of wildlife conservation As part of the Wildlife Week celebrations two of the cityrsquos upcoming ecological and wildlife travel companies The Western Routes and Wild Quest have organised a range of activities in the city A tiger one of the world39s most powerful predators snarls to show its displeasure Kickstarting the events on October 3 will be Sanctuary Asiarsquos Wildlife Photography exhibition ldquoThe exhibition will include some of the best entries for Sanctuaryrsquos Wildlife Photographer of the Year award Apart from exhibiting stunning wildlife images texts covering both natural history and conservation issues will be on display thus adding value to the communicationrdquo said Ishan Potbhare from Wild Quest An image on display showing a herd of Indian elephants blocking the track There will be lectures and workshops as well Jayesh Paranjape director of The Western Routes says that researcher Prerna Agarwal will speak on preserving the Kaas Plateau and herpetologist Vikram Hoshing on reptiles and amphibians of Maharashtra ldquoWe will also have a workshop on how to make birdfeeders from plastic waste by Blueiwss Environment Enrichers a film screening of The Truth About Tigers a film by Shekhar Dattatri tree walk at Empress Garden birdwatching trail at Kavdi and postermaking competition in schoolsrdquo Around 50 wildlife photos will be displayed at the event An image showing a herd of deer which will be on display at the exhibition There will be certain activities at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park as well Ashwini Shitole Educational Officer at Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park and Wildlife Research Center explains that the lineup will include photography exhibitions elocution competition cultural events debates on wildlife etc The exhibition at the Park will be open from 10 am to 6 pm The Maharashtra Forest Department Pune will be conducting various events on the occasion of Wildlife Week A tiger jumping into the water at Sunderbans Once locals used to trap and kill any tiger that strayed into their villages they now alert the forest staff who are able to tranquillise and subsequently release the cat into the core area away from human habitation ldquoThere will be movies on wildlife debates nature trails etc as well as a photography exhibition on wildlife photographs at Yashwantrao Chavan auditoriumrdquo says RS Kadam Deputy Conservator of Forests Dholes or Asiatic wild dogs are sometimes called the Whistling Hunters on account of their highpitched calls used to communicate with pack members when hunting Until the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 came into force these animals were killed as vermin Snake rescuer and environmentalist Ram Bhutkar will give a lecture on how to preserve snakes conserve the environment and whether catching snakes will help or not It will be held at Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal Sadashiv Peth today 630 pm to 8 pm From October 3 to 6 At Dr Diwakar Dengle Art Gallery Gurukrupa Alkapuri Society Paud Road Kothrud Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park Kartaj Call 9011040773