These Mumbaikars are helping in preserving the ecosystem

While the origin of life on Earth is still being debated upon some of us still need saving The rate of extinction of species is estimated to be between 1000 to 10000 times the natural rate In 2013 the UN General Assembly declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day to spread awareness about conservation and the theme this year is a shoutout to marine life mdash Life below water for people and planet And while we still have world leaders ignoring climate change here are four influencers in the city making a differenceAesthetic thinkingIn the art community there is awareness about conservation but not sensitivity artists are too concerned about aesthetics All of us are inspired by nature but how much are we giving back Ashvini Menon questionsAshvini MenonThe illustrator runs a creative studio that uses art as a medium to channel thought and action and has also collaborated with the Bombay Natural History Society and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau Menon says Designers are always making products for an audience I try to merge aesthetics with awareness Last year my studio created ink illustrations of 57 mammals and people picked it up just because it looks good But we plan on making another seriesLog on to ashvinimenoncomstoreMaking the right callWhen you mention the word wildlife the images of big carnivores automatically crop up leaving smaller animals in the background And the distinction between a complaint and a distress call is often forgottenA monkey found on a tree of a society near a national park is normal but a jackal trapped in a well is a distress call Theres also a difference between interference and intervention explains Pawan Sharma the founder of RAWW an NGO that tackles rescue operations for urban wildlife Sharma is currently seeking R14 lakh to set up a 24x7 wildlife rescue service ambulance We as a society have not understood the meaning of conservation We do whatever is convenient for us But compassion is the most important factorLog on to milaaporgfundraiserssupportraww To donateNot rocket scienceScientific research often seems overwhelming But Sachin Rane founder of the Naturalist Foundation a citizens group working towards wildlife conservation and research aims to shatter that notion Hes a commerce graduate with a keen interest in the subjectA marine survey on the Haji Ali shoreWe welcome anyone to help out in our ongoing projects that include a study on the ecosystem at Haji Ali and the Juhu Koliwada areaCratena sea slug with hydroid coralsMany college students also join us he says Till date theyve found a variety of fauna including porcelain crab cratena sea slug with hydroid corals octopus maroon stone crab and hard coralsLog on to naturalistfoundationcomSaving specimensA report released last year revealed that India ranked third on the list of countries with the largest number of threatened turtle and tortoise speciesGreen sea turtleAnd after the demise of a hawkbill and a green sea turtle at Mumbais Taraporewala Aquarium Dr Santosh Gaikwad a professor at Mumbai Veterinary College mdash who may just be the last taxidermist in India mdash was asked to create the specimensHawksbill sea turtleYou cant find these in the city anymore The colour of aquatic animals fades away quickly so applying a colour tint is very important You also permanently lose the eyes so glass eyes have to be inserted he sharesSantosh Gaikwad