Indian Wildlife on Pitara Kids Network

Golu Rabbit's Day Out

Thu, 14 Feb 2002 08:02:01 +0000

In the Kanha forest in India, lived a little bunny rabbit called Golu. He was called Golu because of his small round ball of a tail.

Golu lived with his mother Molu in a deep burrow under the tall grass of the forest. The burrow had large rooms and many doorways and Golu loved to run from room to room hoppity-skip.

Every morning Molu went out into the forest and nearby farms to hunt for carrots and radishes.

Where is the Rare Blind Dolphin Found?

Tue, 20 Mar 2001 03:21:47 +0000

What comes to mind at the mention of Varanasi? The peals of temple bells in this ancient pilgrim town; people performing puja at the ghats and elsewhere; bodies being cremated at the banks of the river Ganga. Do dolphins come to mind?

Dolphins?! That happy looking performing artist which looks more like a shiny inflated balloon toy? Yes, and this freshwater dolphin is a rare specie, found in Indian and Pakistan – in the Ganga and in the Indus. It is a blind dolphin.

Of Rat Snakes and Boys who are Different

Sun, 20 Jun 1999 17:47:57 +0000

Kali and the Rat Snake
Written by Zai Whitaker
Illustrations by Srividya Natarajan
Published by Tulika, Chennai

An excerpt from the book:

Kali’s father was one of the most famous snake-catchers among the Irula tribe. He had caught over a hundred cobras just this monsoon and bought many good things for the family. The snake cooperative paid Rs 150 for each poisonous snake. They took out the poison from snakes to make anti-venom serum. When Kali went snake-catching with his father, his legs worked like machines. But now he slowed down…

Kallu Raven's Breakfast Treat

Mon, 18 Sep 2000 21:44:39 +0000

This happened years and years ago in a bright and busy forest.Two trees, the Neem and the Peepal, faced each other. A big, black raven called Kallu had his nest on the Peepal tree, while the Neem tree was the home of Nanni sparrow.

Kallu was a wily bird and he felt no fondness for Nanni sparrow. After some weeks, Nanni laid three tiny, beautiful eggs. Soon they hatched. Her nest came alive with the sweet twitter of the baby sparrows.

Polluted India

Fri, 19 Nov 1999 14:45:31 +0000

Where: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad is a lake famous for the thousands of migratory birds it attracts from other parts of India and abroad, in the winter months. But the seagulls, ducks and other migratory birds no longer find it hospitable. They only use it as a stopover and prefer to fly away elsewhere.

Too many idols spoil the lake

The lake has seen more clay idols of deities such as Ganesh and Durga being immersed in its waters than any other lake in the vicinity. The chemicals used to paint the idols are highly toxic. They contaminate the waters, the algae and the water plants in it.

Pushkar Lake Water or Sugarcane Juice?

Tue, 29 Apr 2003 20:14:14 +0000

May 19: If you take a glass of water from the famous Pushkar lake in Rajasthan, it looks like sugarcane juice. But, that is where the simile ends. It is neither sweet, nor does it smell fresh.

It has a rotten smell and you will not feel like tasting it. Plus, it has fish bones and mud in it – because, in the past two weeks, 200 fish weighing between 5-20 kilograms have died in the brown depths due to lack of life-sustaining oxygen, The Indian Express newspaper reports.

The Emperor and Chitranjan Cheetah

Sat, 01 Jul 2000 13:10:12 +0000

Mughal emperor Akbar loved hunting. Four hundred and twenty eight years ago, when he was passing through Rajasthan, he decided to go for a hunt. He used to keep cheetahs in his hunting party. Being very fast they were quick to catch their prey. But on that day he chose to hunt without the help of his cheetahs. He only took his attendants with him.

Without meaning to do so the attendants freed a royal cheetah in the hunting area. The cheetah’s name was Chitranjan and it ran after its prey – a deer.

Jumbos have some oily fun

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:12:29 +0000

August 9: It’s a slippery situation that has officials of the Oil India Limited (OIL) in Assam religiously muttering the Ganesh Mantra. The public sector company owns and operates the world’s oldest oil producing wells here and they’re helpless against the antics of wild elephants who love the swooshing sound of oil spurting in Digboi’s oil fields.

Jumbos have some oily fun [Illustration by Shinod AP]

According to a report in The Indian Express, the wild tuskers move around freely in the oil fields, often opening crucial valves in the pipelines that connect the oil wells to the refineries.

चूं चूं चूं चूं म्याउं म्याउं

Tue, 24 Aug 1999 18:57:55 +0000

चूं चूं चूं चूं चूहा बोले
म्याऊं म्याऊं बिल्ली
ती ती कीरा बोले
झीं झीं झीं झीं झिल्ली
किट किट किट बिस्तुइया बोले
किर किर किर गिलहैरी
तुन तुन तुन इकतारा बोले
पी पी पी पिपहैरी
टन टन टन टन घंटी बोले
ठन ठन ठन्न रूपैया
बछड़ा देखे बां बां बोले
तेरी प्यारी गइया
ठनक ठनक कर तबला बोले
डिम डिम डिम डिम डौंडी
टेढ़ी मेढ़ी बातें बोले
बाबाजी की लौंडी

From Ayodhya Singh Upadhyaya ‘Hariaudh’. First published by National Book Trust