Van Mahotsav

Van Mahotsav week is celebrated

To encourage people to plant more and more trees

That was cut down on a large scale for industrialisation and urbanisation

We all know, that trees contribute to the production of food resources

Maintain ecological balance, improve air quality, and climate amelioration

Water and Soil Conservation and supports wildlife

Reduces drought and prevents erosion and pollution.

The Day dates back to 1947

Organised first by Punjabi botanist MS Randhawa

Delhi Police Commissioner Khurshid Ahmad Khan started the event

To stress the impact of deforestation on flora and fauna.

International Tiger Day, is an annual celebration

To raise awareness for tiger conservation,

Held annually on 29 July and created in 2010

At The Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit

13 tiger range countries came together

to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022.

The goal of the day is to promote a global system

For protecting the natural habitats of tigers

To highlight issues and public awareness

To ensure support for tiger conservation issues

To celebrate these important landmarks

Come along with me

On an Eco-journey

To places where these observations

Have made a change.

Grab your notepads and cameras

To write and shoot

Up we shall fly!

To celebrate these global days

Our first stop is the Amur Heilong Landscape

Where the majestic

Amur leopards live

Though their homeland

Are 1,298 acres

The endangered leopard covers only,

56 kilometres

Did you know only 70-75

Of these big cats existed in 2020?

Yet the Russian government and the World wildlife fund

Raised awareness

Thus now in the region

97-120 leopards successfully thrive!

Let’s soar to the Andean Sky Islands,

The place was thought to be destroyed

But explorers discovered the island

Ecologists saw a pack pyranrean ibex and a devil-eyed frog

The creatures thought to be extinct

Discovered the tiniest species of frog -The Lilliputian frog

The eco-swat team found

2 new species of snake and butterflies galore

The Mount-fer-de-Lance, an enormous pit viper noteworthy

For the heat-sensing pits,

And the Bolivian flag snake

A newly identified slither-er with red, yellow and green colours

Named after the colours on the Bolivian flag.

Scientists were also able to spot four

New types of butterfly species deep in the wide jungle

includes two species of metalmark butterflies

Two other species, one of the metalmark family and one of the satyr

Funnily were spotted flying around

The explorers honey and apple pie.

The local people all say

The wildlife has been recovering

Since only 21 years ago

When they started celebrating

Festival de Bosque meaning

“Van Mahotsav” in Spanish

A sanctuary opened in West Virginia

It was full of wolves and hyenas

There were many herbivores too

The sanctuary then decided to give the carnivores to a zoo

Soon the sanctuary had to close down

As it became a no-tree land even in monsoon.

After, it has re-opened,

To a place for all the wildlife

Where they lived before.

After, it has re-opened,

To a place for all the wildlife

Where they lived before.

Follow me and leap into the next portal,

It will take us to Kaziranga National Park

Did you know only on June 23rd

A Golden tiger was spotted in this sanctuary!

A good sign it is thought to be

As it was hunted to extinction in the 19th Century

To restore this fascinating creature

Collaboration and Planting trees where needed.

Finally, after a century of decline

Overall Wild tiger numbers

Are on the rise

But, we need to work harder

To secure its habitat and future

Van Mahotsav and International Tiger’s Day are intertwined

Both, are on each other dependent

A symbiotic relationship

Co-existing since time!

Re-Wilding our Forests

Planting more trees

Will lead to more Big Cats and Tigers

Our Keystone Species

क्यूँकि वन हैं तो बाघ हैं

बाघ हैं तो हम

करे यह वादा

इन्हें मिटने ना दे हम!