Whispers from the wild

by Geetanjali Krishna

They say that the current rate of extinction of species on our planet is well over the historical norm. Estimates suggest that the very survival of one in eight species of birds, one in three of amphibians and one in four of mammals is under threat today. Blame it on over-exploitation of natural resources, the degradation of forests or on the poaching of animals for their meat, skin and body parts – the fact is that soon a day may come when the Tiger may leave his jungle forever, and the Blue Whale, the sea.

What would this mean to you and I? How will it affect us if the last Lion Tailed Macaque or Malabar Spotted Civet were to die? Or if Rhinos ceased to walk through Assam's grasslands, and the alpine meadows of Ladakh became bereft of Wild Yaks? Whispers from the wild tries to show that we can't measure this question in scientific terms alone. It does not matter if the reader has never seen a Dugong or heard the cry of a Forest Owlet yet. It does not matter if the Himalayan Wolf or the Dhole has no direct bearing on the reader's life. The fact is, if these animals were to vanish from the face of this planet, we'd all be poorer for not having had a chance to know them…

Experience the world through the eyes of some of India's most endangered animals through this collection of short stories, beautifully illustrated in water colour by Isa Esasi and written by Geetanjali Krishna. Each story is in the voice of a different animal, and tells the reader a little about the beauty and the drama of its life. Key facts mentioned about the animal's habitat, diet, habits and adaptations are based upon current scientific knowledge. The rest is all imagination…