Just a reminder that 2020 is not over yet...
The Authorities in Gurgaon, a city near New Delhi in India, has warned the citizens of the impending swarm, expected to cover the city on Friday.
Residents were forced to lock their doors and windows.
As expected, many of them shared amazing videos and photos as thousands of locusts covered the city.
Another uplifting story to come from this lock-down mess. As scary as times might be, there's still some beauty in this world and that beauty comes in the form of mother nature, reclaiming back her world.
We've seen less air pollution, deers chilling in the streets of Japan, clear waters that brought back the return of certain sea life. And now, with Eastern India under lock-down, sea turtles who are famously vunerable and threatened by humans and our pollution, were left completely undisturbed to lay an estimate of 60 million eggs.
That means hundreds of thousands olive tortoises reached the shore of Rushikulya beach and comfortably made their nests.
So next time you're feeling down about the certain situation, remember these tortoises who were able to nest in complete tranquility this year. It might bring some sort of peace.
Story via Fun-Owl
Photographer Aditya Singh quit his job, left Delhi and moved to Sawai Madhopur city, in Rajasthan, just outside Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. He moved here in order to be closer to nature. His wife, Poonam Singh, opened a tourist resort there to earn their living. And over the past 20 years, the Singh's has bought roughly 35 acres of land which shares its boundary with Ranthambore tiger reserve and left it completely undisturbed.
Now, the land is flourishing as it's covered in a lush greenery and is frequented occupied by wild animals, including tigers, throughout the year.
What inspired this new way of living? Poonam Signh tells Quartz India, "My first sighting was a tigress with three cubs on a hill. It was magical. At the end of the trip, I just asked him if we can move to Ranthambore. He wanted it, too, and within months we moved. As far as this land is concerned, it was a dream that we both saw and achieved together to have our own area of wilderness."
The future goal? To continue buying more land to expand the forest even further, and to inspire others to follow suit.
How incredible is that? The Singh's are our heroes!
This poor cat somehow got trapped very close to a body of water and was found crying for help. Thankfully, there's a lot of good people in the world and they were able to find a rope, throw it over the ledge for the cat to grab a hold of. According to The Times of India, the rope came at the nick of time as it seemed the cat had almost given up hope on finding a person who would care enough to help.
The cat is now safe, and we're very thankful for that.
Twice a day, Joseph Sekar, a camera mechanic, goes to the roof of his camera repair shop in Chennai, India, and feeds 8,000 parakeets. That's right, 8,000 birds, twice a day. It's a lot, but for Joseph, nothing brings more joy than watching the birds fly and knowing they are well-fed and healthy. He's the Birdman of Chennai—and he couldn't be happier.
How many of us wash our clothes by hand? Scratch that - how many of us have ever washed our clothes by hand? I'm betting that the answer is close to zero (especially if you're a millennial). Judging by the fact that you're reading this now, you've probably got access to utilities more necessary than the internet, i.e. a washing machine. So what's the big deal? The big deal is that there's a monkey in India that can wash clothes way better than you can. And monkeys don't even wear clothes (well, not naturally). How does that make you feel?
In some incredible and shocking footage, courtesy of Times of India, two stray dogs spotted a crying baby in the drain and pulled her out to safety! Then, the heroic strays began to bark which alerted passersby's who, in turn, informed the police.
According to the Times of India, the infant was dumped just hours after being born, in Haryana, India. The infant, was wrapped in polythene and had sustained critical head injuries.
It is said that she is currently in critical condition at the Kaithal Civil Hospital.
We pray for her recovery and thank the heroic pups who came to her rescue.
A story from 2017, yet is so beautiful that it deserves another round in the spotlight. The village women in a northern city of Mathura, near the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, have knitted beautiful and colorful garments for the India Elephants when the temperature at night hit sub-zero. Full story at Independent.
With the opening of the Wildlife SOS elephant hospital, injured, ill and elderly elephants now have a dedicated place to receive care in India. It is the first of its kind in the country and is located in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
Raj Sarkar is a Street Photographer and Educator. He is the founder of World Photographic Forum, Curator of APF magazine Street Photography and also a member of street photography collective called in-street. He loves exploring possibilities on street. His main object is to Freeze the emotions and actions of people and animals. Via: 121 Clicks
For more, visit his Website/ Instagram page
Every year, the elephants at Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India, are invited and treated to a week-long feast, which includes head and body massages, and a lot of FOOD!
The Indian Giant Squirrel - also called the Malabar Giant Squirrel - is an adorable creature which has been hiding in the depths of India for far too long. But thanks to some savvy photographers, we can now see the amazing sight of these brown, dark red, white, purple, yellow and orange animals. They usually hang out by themselves and are often seen early in the morning and evening.When they're stressed - often from predators - they freeze and lie on a tree trunk, hoping they won't be noticed. So next time you're in the tropical forests of India, bring some binoculars! These squirrels are not easy to spot. Via: Postize
Take a Cowfie! An organisation in the city of Kolkata has just concluded a selfie contest with cows to raise awareness about the politically controversial topic of cow protection and slaughter in India. The campaign comes at the end of a year when the consumption and sale of beef has become a polarising issue in the country.
Indian conservationist group Wildlife SOS has come up with an innovative solution to help elephants cope with northern Uttar Pradesh's chilly winters – by knitting jumbo jumpers for them. The NGO is working with village women to knit the giant jumpers for theelephants housed at its local conservation centre in the holy Hindutown of Mathura. Some of the jumpers are knitted by women in far flung towns and brought to the centre for the final fit outs.
At least 5 stray dogs in India have turned blue after swimming in a heavily polluted river near Navi Mumbai.
