Call of the wild in concrete jungle

The monkeys were growing deadlier, and the tales were scarier. Mrs Bhat had been attacked while tying her saree by a huge male, and Mrs Patil’s entire provision basket, which just arrived on Big Basket, had been shoplifted!

We had all just moved into a new apartment complex, and like all such projects, we had disturbed the local flora and fauna. Huge bees buzzed into someone’s bedroom during a housewarming ceremony, bats flew into corridors and houses at night, and a snake was found cosily sleeping in someone’s utility area!

Naturally, there was a clamour among the residents for something to be done about all this faunal activity, which included the bee invasion and the bat menace. It seemed that other newly constructed apartments were facing similar problems. The reason was not far to seek.  From being a garden city, Bengaluru was fast changing into a city of skyscrapers. Lovely individual houses were being converted to multi-story flats, and in the process, gardens and trees were disappearing, displacing creatures like monkeys, bees, bats, and birds.

Recently, we heard that a huge python had been found in the playground of a newly built apartment. It seems there had been a banyan tree with a snake pit where the playground had been made. The snake had been disturbed and found its way into the play area.

A tiny pair of birds once built a nest behind our split A/C on the balcony. Should we break it or let the birds nest there with their eggs? It became a dilemma for us, as we could not use that A/C until the eggs hatched and flew away. Obviously, the birds had been building their nest on one of the trees around here. But they had all been cut down to build an apartment.  They were now moving into houses to build their nests.

Some time ago, my cousin’s gated complex in Coimbatore was invaded by elephants. Apparently, the complex had been built bang into the elephant corridor, which these pachyderms used to move for forage and water.

Of course, development is necessary. We need houses, metro stations, and shopping complexes in our cities. But every time we cut a tree or dug up a garden to do this, we were displacing an existing habitat. Reserve forests are planned for our bigger fauna, like tigers, elephants, lions, etc. But we hardly give a thought to the unsung ones like bees, bats, monkeys, and everyday birds. And development hits them the most. Like the bees who were disturbed in their hives, the bats on whose way of flight we had built up the apartment, and the monkeys who could no longer scamper around freely.

Was disturbing a habitat for development a way of right for humans, or did the little creatures have a right of way to their habitat?