All About Slugs, Geckos And Snakes With Varad Giri

¡°It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change¡±

--Charles Darwin

The quaint little hill station of Amboli in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, just welcomed a new kid in town, and it¡¯s a new genus and species of semi slug now known as Varadia amboliensis. A member of the eupulmonate molluscan group Stylommatophora (air-breathing land snails and slugs), Varadia amboliensis is the new slimy jewel in Amboli¡¯s crown.

Varadia amboliensis is named after Dr. Varad Giri of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), in honour of his contribution to the study of Indian herpetofauna and Amboli, the biodiversity hotspot of Maharashtra. Dr. Giri¡¯s efforts towards conservation of species, and his work towards sensitising the non-scientific communities about the rich biodiversity of the expansive Western Ghats, is exemplary. The discovery of this species also sheds some light on the fact that they may face the risk of extinction. And we have habitat loss and degradation contributing to that. As per studies, Varadia amboliensis is currently known from a few localities in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, making it endemic to the Northern and Central Western Ghats.

Varadia amboliensis | Photo: Omkar Yadav

I came to know Dr. Varad Giri from #IndiAves, a community of passionate bird and Indian wildlife enthusiasts on Twitter. Posts on birds, insects, and amphibians always had nuggets of information. One such post screamed discovery! How was I to scroll past something like that and not spread the good word?

A conversation with Dada, as Dr. Varad Giri is lovingly called in our birding and nature community, takes us on a journey that starts with a slug and weaves its way through various aspects of our natural world, conservation, species awareness, and most importantly, the contribution of common people.

Cyrtodactylus varadgirii | Photo: Varad Giri 2

How would you react if I were to tell you that you don¡¯t need to be a research scholar or a scientist to proudly say that you helped describe a species or ten? What if I were to tell you that you could also become a Citizen Scientist?

Citizen Scientist: The What, Who and Why of it

Cnemaspis girii | Photo: Zeeshan Mirza

To put it simply, Citizen Science is the direct involvement of nature enthusiasts in the study of our natural world and its varied elements. It is a concept that accommodates even those with no science background. For instance, you have observed something in nature, you have put your smartphone or camera to use and have clicked a photo. Next, you have uploaded that photo onto platforms like India Biodiversity Portal and iNaturalist. Along with the photograph you describe where the species was found, its behaviour, food, and habitat. All this information becomes important data. Expecting researchers to cover every part of our natural world, expecting them to create a database of everything on this planet, will be too far-fetched. Hence, there are Citizen Scientists. Dr. Salim Ali, a naturalist and one of the best ornithologists India has ever seen, the Birdman of India, is not an unfamiliar name. He was a Citizen Scientist.

Harshil Patel | Photo: Varad Giri

Why one hesitates to contribute to science is because one doesn¡¯t know what to do or how to do it, explains Dr. Giri. Nidus (https://nidus.in/), an organisation founded by Dr. Giri, is all about encouraging Citizen Science. To involve people into conservation work, organisations like Nidus and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), to name a few, organise workshops, field visits, and online seminars where people can learn how to identify and describe taxonomy and species. Researchers need not apply, Dr. Giri quickly adds.

Western Ghats and its denizens: The Bad, The Feared and The Ugly

For people with herpetophobia, a fond discussion on the creepy crawlies might seem impossible. Fear is our reaction to a particular event, our reaction which is primarily governed by the information we have or the lack of it, explains Dr. Giri. His work mainly focuses on the conservation of caecilians and lizards, and their fragile habitat¡ª the Western Ghats. Decades of studying and documenting herpetofauna of the Western Ghats have led to the description of two new genera and 56 new species of amphibians. Because the geography of the Western Ghats is so unique, with hills, coastal areas, rocky plateaus, and dense forest, all in one, these new species are described as endemic to the region.

varadia

It is not only about discovering new species but also about working with the local communities so that they have a better understanding of the natural world around them. Working on the grassroot level with the community is where most challenges lie, explains Dr. Giri. As our conversation approached the end, Dada reminded, if Salim Ali sir could do it, why not you?

Semievergreen Forest Amboli | Photo: Varad Giri

Words to ponder upon.