Activists upset over destruction of natural habitat of animals, birds

“As part of World Forest day and sparrow day, we are reaching out to students’ community on the need to conserve the ecosystem. As on date almost all the flagship species ranging from elephant to sparrow are facing habitat destruction,” said K Brinda, biologist, Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Trichy. Currently the census works are underway in Trichy and the details of the nesting birds are added to the government database, the biologist said. Degradation of forests occur due to displacement of wildlife and elephant is a classic example. An elephant can raise 20,000 saplings annually through seed dispersion. In case of Chennai, the spotted deer are facing habitat loss and extinction due to biotic pressures like construction and stray dog menace. IIT Madras campus is an example for such deer deaths due to stray dog attacks, Brinda noted.

“House sparrows are almost extinct due to human activities and it was a unique, remarkable day in environment history that the day is celebrated annually to sensitize the common man on the bird which is facing extinction. Once, a common bird in towns and villages it is disappearing from TN,” S Davidson Sargunam, environmental educator associated with Kanyakumari Tribal foundation.

World Sparrow Day falls on March 20 and the day is celebrated worldwide aimed to bring back the dwindling population. Conversion of tiled roof houses into concrete storey buildings, conversion of open water wells into septic tanks, lack of feeding ground in house gardens, explosion of vehicle population and smoke pollution also contribute to the decreasing population of the sparrow, he added.

Davidson said that the Kanyakumari tribal foundation has multiplied its population by fixing cardboard boxes, bamboo nodes and wooden boxes and multiplied the population from just four pairs to 400 pairs over a span of 10 years. A survey of the sparrow in Kanyakumari district has revealed that is spotted in about 12 villages and the tribal foundation has planned to fix nest boxes to multiply its population over the next few months.