What’s the name of the deep-brown bird that sings by your balcony? Is the dotted lizard that lounges by your kitchen door dangerous? What’s the red-tailed, snake-like creature that scuttles under your garden debris called? Wildlife conservationist Preston Ahimaz’s A Guide to Some Urban Fauna of India has the answers. Published by the Madras Naturalists’ Society, the book was recently launched in the city.
In his 35 years in wildlife conservation, Preston has spotted the trinket snake just twice. Once at Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, and the second time, inside the compound of his house in Madambakkam in Chennai. “There is so much wildlife around us,” says the 57-year-old who set up the Tamil Nadu office of WWF-India in the city. City-folks live amidst a fascinating world of birds, animals, and reptiles, says Preston. All they have to do is look for them. He wants to show them these creatures they share their homes with. “The book has only a fraction of the fauna found in the cities of Tamil Nadu,” he says, adding that the variety is incredible. “We can find wildlife in cities that we cannot easily spot in the forest,” he says.
Preston calls his work a “layman’s guide” to wildlife in urban spaces. For instance, if a city-dweller finds a snake or an insect in his locality, “he will want to know if it’s okay to have it around,” he says. The book tells him this — it gives basic information on urban mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects; it has photos accompanied by a description that talks about the range, size, habits, and look-alikes of the species. Photos have been contributed by members of MNS and Preston; he has also done realistic line drawings and sketches of species that were too elusive to be photographed. “The book is not an encyclopaedia, rather a guide,” he adds.
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Presently a freelance consultant on Nature and environment, Preston organises Nature camps for school and college students, out bound trips for corporates, creates material for interpretation centres, and advices on the upkeep of forest patches maintained inside industries.
It has been 35 years since he stepped into conservation work — he started as a volunteer at the Madras Snake Park Trust when he was fresh out of college. He approached Rom Whitaker one day, who willingly took him on. “He was the one who professionally put me on this line,” says Preston. Rom has written the foreword for the book. As part of wildlife education and conservation programmes of the WWF, Preston has travelled to forests across the country and fallen in love many times over with all things wild.
He wants to inculcate this love for Nature amongst those who live in the concrete jungle in the hope that they will protect it. After all, “love tends to get protective,” he says. “We all have an in-born love for Nature. People might be indifferent towards Nature, but never dislike it.”
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He started work on the book 20 years ago. “It was a guide that I put together for reference,” he says. People regularly called him asking the name of a bird they saw in their neighbourhood and such. That’s when he decided to convert his guide to a book. Getting it published was not easy. That’s when the MNS and friends came forward to help him. “MNS members helped raise funds by underwriting copies,” he says. “Venu Srinivasan, the chairman of TVS Motor Company, was a huge support.”
Chennai, he says, is home to forest patches both private and under the forest department, that have to be fiercely protected. After all, “We are all children of Nature. It’s children who have to take care of their parents when they need it,” he adds. The best place for Nature-enthusiasts in the city to see wildlife? Says Preston, “Outside your window.”