<p>As many as 55 bird and 66 butterfly species visit and breed on the Christ University campus amid the hustle and bustle of Hosur Road. <br /><br /></p>.<p>‘Guhanagari - A Book on Urban Wildlife at Christ University’, brought out by two BSc (Wildlife) students of the university, documents the flora and fauna on the campus in the last three years. <br /><br />The university published the book compiled by Pradeep Hegde and Sathya Chandra Sagar H S in August 2016. “We studied the biodiversity of the campus, spread across 25 acres for three years. In the first two years, we prepared a checklist of birds, butterflies, insects and mammals. During our final year, we started working on the book. I photographed most of the fauna on the campus while Sagar focused on the writing part,” recollected Hegde. <br /><br />Students and members of the campus’ Green Army will use it as a database to continue adding more species. “I am from Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada district and Sagar is from Chikkamagaluru. We were amazed to see such a healthy biodiversity amid such an urban sprawl. Initially, we spent hours photographing and documenting Dark Blue Tiger butterfly on the campus and on bird-watching. The passion grew and we compiled everything on campus,” Hegde said. <br /><br />The two completed their BSc in Wildlife Biology in 2015. They say that this book has provided them a sound experience to make a foray into documenting biodiversity.<br /><br />Already, they are busy documenting wildlife in the Western Ghats, wildlife in Northeastern states besides going for higher studies. Sagar left for France in August on a European scholarship to study MSc in Applied Ecology. <br /><br />Hegde has got a scholarship to study MSc in Science Communication and Natural History in filming in New Zealand starting January 2017. <br />DH News Service</p>
<p>As many as 55 bird and 66 butterfly species visit and breed on the Christ University campus amid the hustle and bustle of Hosur Road. <br /><br /></p>.<p>‘Guhanagari - A Book on Urban Wildlife at Christ University’, brought out by two BSc (Wildlife) students of the university, documents the flora and fauna on the campus in the last three years. <br /><br />The university published the book compiled by Pradeep Hegde and Sathya Chandra Sagar H S in August 2016. “We studied the biodiversity of the campus, spread across 25 acres for three years. In the first two years, we prepared a checklist of birds, butterflies, insects and mammals. During our final year, we started working on the book. I photographed most of the fauna on the campus while Sagar focused on the writing part,” recollected Hegde. <br /><br />Students and members of the campus’ Green Army will use it as a database to continue adding more species. “I am from Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada district and Sagar is from Chikkamagaluru. We were amazed to see such a healthy biodiversity amid such an urban sprawl. Initially, we spent hours photographing and documenting Dark Blue Tiger butterfly on the campus and on bird-watching. The passion grew and we compiled everything on campus,” Hegde said. <br /><br />The two completed their BSc in Wildlife Biology in 2015. They say that this book has provided them a sound experience to make a foray into documenting biodiversity.<br /><br />Already, they are busy documenting wildlife in the Western Ghats, wildlife in Northeastern states besides going for higher studies. Sagar left for France in August on a European scholarship to study MSc in Applied Ecology. <br /><br />Hegde has got a scholarship to study MSc in Science Communication and Natural History in filming in New Zealand starting January 2017. <br />DH News Service</p>