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Nov. 7th, 2007 04:15 pmI'm supposed to research about fertilizers. I will, some time soon. *procrastinates*
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Prologue: The university campus is in the middle of a forest. That is to say, it was built in an uninhabited bush forest area on the Delhi ridge (Environment Issues LALALA) in the 1970s, and much of the forests have been retained till this date. Which means you run into all kinds of animals every day. Peacocks, in particular. Neel gais (the Indian bluebuck; there's a popular university myth: if you happen to spot a neel gai in your early days on campus, you're in it for the long haul). Rabbits. Snakes.
Yesterday was clearly my Animal Spotting Day. Not only did I spot (and failed to photograph; they have this uncanny thing about noticing cameraphones) as many as five peacocks hanging out together (usually there's only one or two at a time) on my way back from the library, but I also spotted a male neel gai hanging out with a couple of female neel gais in the short-cut back to my hostel. To top that, I finally have proof that we do, in fact, have foxes (as opposed to Fox, the dog) in the forest. Because I heard them howling at about four in the morning, and once more at about five, just when I was about to go to sleep, exactly the way you would occasionally hear them in my tiny hometown at night in my childhood (I have no idea if they are still there now). The peacocks, naturally, also chimed in, and the result was…well, rather scary. I think I heard a strangled Peacock Meow at one point (peacocks meow. they really do. it's not a Cat Meow, but it very definitely is a meow). Did the foxes kill a peacock? Maybe one of the tiny baby peacocks? Do foxes kill peacocks? Or were they just chiming in because they could and that strangled meow was something else altogether? Maybe one of them had a cough. 'Tis the season. Also of note is the fact that the foxes seemed to be in the forest around our shortcut. Which is a route I take everyday, because it's a short-cut. Never at night (except that one time when we were returning at four o’ clock. but there were four of us, and it was full moon), but still. Disturbing.
Here's a peacock, in someone's yard
( peacocks peacocks )
*
Prologue: The university campus is in the middle of a forest. That is to say, it was built in an uninhabited bush forest area on the Delhi ridge (Environment Issues LALALA) in the 1970s, and much of the forests have been retained till this date. Which means you run into all kinds of animals every day. Peacocks, in particular. Neel gais (the Indian bluebuck; there's a popular university myth: if you happen to spot a neel gai in your early days on campus, you're in it for the long haul). Rabbits. Snakes.
Yesterday was clearly my Animal Spotting Day. Not only did I spot (and failed to photograph; they have this uncanny thing about noticing cameraphones) as many as five peacocks hanging out together (usually there's only one or two at a time) on my way back from the library, but I also spotted a male neel gai hanging out with a couple of female neel gais in the short-cut back to my hostel. To top that, I finally have proof that we do, in fact, have foxes (as opposed to Fox, the dog) in the forest. Because I heard them howling at about four in the morning, and once more at about five, just when I was about to go to sleep, exactly the way you would occasionally hear them in my tiny hometown at night in my childhood (I have no idea if they are still there now). The peacocks, naturally, also chimed in, and the result was…well, rather scary. I think I heard a strangled Peacock Meow at one point (peacocks meow. they really do. it's not a Cat Meow, but it very definitely is a meow). Did the foxes kill a peacock? Maybe one of the tiny baby peacocks? Do foxes kill peacocks? Or were they just chiming in because they could and that strangled meow was something else altogether? Maybe one of them had a cough. 'Tis the season. Also of note is the fact that the foxes seemed to be in the forest around our shortcut. Which is a route I take everyday, because it's a short-cut. Never at night (except that one time when we were returning at four o’ clock. but there were four of us, and it was full moon), but still. Disturbing.
Here's a peacock, in someone's yard
( peacocks peacocks )
