Mother Teresa of Cats and Dogs - Part 2

Above pic shows about 5 dogs relaxing on Prof. Bindumadhab Banerji's bed. You'll be surprised to know that this was a regular feature...the dogs were given treatment at par with humans.
They really enjoyed the soft, cushiony feel that the bed provided them.

Alas , all that changed after Mrs. Gita Banerji had the debilitating fall. Now, with God's Grace, it is hoped she would recover from the hip fracture, but at age 83 would be in no condition to tend after 7 dogs.
Her two daughters, son-in-laws, grandson, granddaughter are of opinion that she can manage keeping only
1 or 2 dogs. After 4 visits subsequent to her fall, I am also of the same opinion.

So frantic search is going on for dog lovers who would keep a dog as a pet.

Above is another pic of the dogs chilling out on the bed. In fact, there used to be quite a tussle between the dogs and the cats for occupation of the comfortable bed. It goes without saying that the dogs won.

Now as you can see the dogs are all very obedient, well-behaved. They'll fit in very well with the household. So attached is Mrs. Gita Banerji to her dogs that an interview will be taken of the prospective person adopting the dog. Hope he or she doesn't mind, heh,heh.

Meanwhile, all our prayers are for the recovery of the hip bone fracture that Mrs. Gita Banerji has sustained.

Even the cats need a home, so to speak, but the dogs are the first priority. You can forward this posting to like-minded people who may be interested in keeping a dog as a pet.

Mother Teresa of Cats and Dogs - Part 1

Above pic is of Nonte, the cat, playing by our window sill. Nonte arrived, motherless, at our apartment, when he was 1 month old. He stayed over for 3 months, but due to objections by other flat members, we had to give him to Dr. Bindumadhab and Mrs. Gita Banerjee(aged 83), who is truly the Mother Teresa of Cats and Dogs. She resides in Kestopur.


This pic shows Nonte, entering adolescence, living happily at Dr. Bindumadhab Banerjee's residence. They stay at Meghnad Saha Abasan,Kestopur,Calcutta. Now, let me tell you about Mrs. Gita Banerjee(aged 83), who FEEDS AND LOOKS AFTER 11 CATS AND 7 DOGS by herself. But she changed my outlook by introducing me to Eco-Spiritualism.

Pic shows the Cats being fed. Now the Banerjees used to carry out their WORK WITH MISSIONARY ZEAL. I was introduced to the Teachings of her Gurus Bamakhyapa, Swami Omkareshwarananda and other Gurus. Their Teachings were similar - "All Creatures are Equal".



So deep is their love that once a Snake was fatally wounded by 4-5 cats. Then the elderly Banerjee couple gave water to the dying Snake, since it was just another "Kesto'r Jeeb". There are countless true stories about this couple.

NOW, COMES THE HARD PART - Mrs. Gita Banerjee suffered a debilitating hip bone fracture. Her Fate, as well as the Fate of the 11 cats and 7 dogs, hangs in Balance.

She is totally immobilized, and is developing slight bed sores. Her well-wishers/relatives are looking for Animal Lovers / Activists who would LIKE TO ADOPT A DOG INTO THEIR HOME. The ideal situation is Mrs. Gita Banerjee can manage 2 dogs and all the "hulo" cats. (meaning male cats).

If you know someone, you can forward this Blog Post.

IN SHORT, A FEW GOOD PEOPLE WHO CAN TAKE UP A DOG AS A PET ARE NEEDED.

Keep reading more on their WORK & BELIEF.

Reintroducing the Indian Cheetah

Above photo courtesy National Geographic.


Now vvv___vv_____vvvvvv_____
As we all know, the Indian (Asiatic) Cheetah became extinct from the grasslands of India way back in the 1950's , as far as I know. Now, here's a piece of great News. There are plans to re-introduce the Asiatic Cheetah.

Source: "www.timesonline.co.uk"

"Rhys Blakely in Mumbai

The Mogul emperor Akbar was said to own a thousand of the beasts as part of his 16th-century hunting retinue. Since then, however, India’s cheetahs have turned from hunter to quarry — the last three known were shot by the Maharajah of Surguja in 1947.

That may now change, with plans revealed by the Indian Government to reintroduce the world’s fastest land animal to the sub-continent.

A meeting of international experts is to be held in Rajasthan in September. It will draw up a preliminary budget, likely to be millions of pounds, to cover the import of cheetahs from Africa and the foundation of a “breeding nucleus” site, from which the animals can be introduced to other areas of India.

“We have to get [cheetahs] from abroad to repopulate the species. We soon hope to do so,” said Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests."

Debajyoti Dutta Roy's personal take :
This is an excellent move. Hats off to Jairam Ramesh. But all wildlife and environmental enthusiasts have to keep many parameters in mind:

• The cheetah flourishes in uninhabited grasslands. So, one has to choose a locale where there is minimum human population.
• One has to study the FOOD PYRAMID. If the base, that is, the grasslands are abundant, one can introduce deers to sambars to the cheetah's natural prey.
• So, the natural prey of the Asiatic Cheetah flourishes.
• The cheetah has a great time. But one has to be also careful that it is not threatened by other predators bigger than it is. Or pack predators like the hyena or indian wild dogs .."dholes" they're called, as far as I remember.
• One has to study the habitat where the Asiatic Lion is still surviving. These are, as far as I remember, from an excellent site felidtag (Cat Specialist Group) - Iran, parts of Saudi Arabia, etc. Congrats to these countries for still preserving the Asiatic Cheetah.

Hope the program succeeds. One can also have active monitoring / audiovisuals to generate interest amongst the common people. Another point that distinguished the Cheetah from the rest of the Big Cats is their extremely low genetic diversity.

Quoting
from catsurvivalist group -

"At the end of the last Ice Age, more than 10,000 years ago there was a massive population crash. Few individual cheetahs survived, consequently very little genetic diversity exists in their populations. There is ten to one hundred times less genetic variation in cheetahs than is observed in the other cats."

So, it might be a good idea to have 4 - 5 isolated , very sparsely populated grasslands where the cheetahs survive. Then cheetahs from ecosysytem 1 are introduced to ecosystem 3. More genetic diversity.

WILDLIFE ACTIVISM OBJECTIVES

Late Mr. Amitabha Sen’s name will remain ETERNAL through the work that will be done through this Wild Life Activism Group.

It will be God's Own Work.

I have promised to God Himself not to make a single penny / cent/ paisa of money from this Fund. ..let any independent global organization do the Audit…

Objectives:

• Saving Eco-systems. This is one of the most difficult tasks.

• Saving keystone predators like the Bengal Tiger, snow leopards, Gangetic dolphins, red pandas, 

• Afforestation (Planting trees)….Have identified SPECIFIC Project Sites also in West Bengal. As also Uttarakhand. 

Note that Uttarakhand people are VERY ENVIRONMENT-CONSCIOUS...and great work can be done over there.Field trips have to be taken. BIODIVERSITY OF PROJECT AREA HAS TO BE STUDIED. After that the afforestation Project has to be undertaken. You have no idea how tough it is to START and MAINTAIN a 1 km. X 1 km forest.

• Massive e-campaigning through the Internet.

• Raising Awareness through the usage of Media

• Tie-up with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), People for Animals (PFA),Cat Specialist Group,Greenpeace,Save the Elephants, etc. to make a difference.

• Saving cats and other pets within our own city.

• DONATE money to NEEDY people / family, who are carrying out God’s work by feeding/giving shelter to injured and homeless cats and dogs.

• Protest / Campaign against rogue people in the future for killing endangered species.

• Network with similar smaller organizations within West Bengal for e-campaign / joint ventures...

• Eco-Spiritualism..every Religion espouses tolerance towards the lesser creatures. Read the scriptures carefully. 

The last Objective is, of course, an almost impossible task..but it might be one way of achieving World Peace.

Disclaimer : I keep changing my auto-forwarding list so often....sometimes in a hurry forget revising the names...hope this doesn't reach the wrong person....hope you go through ALL my blogs 'n' enjoy the new look