Yours naturally

Raising a toast to this society, which has aged very gracefully, an exhibition highlighting the genesis and expansion of the society8217;s functions was hosted by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. After this photo-heavy peek into the society, now a hub of wildlife conservation, a year-long packed schedule has been worked out.

A look at the society8217;s schedule is proof enough of their motto, 8216;Discover the living world8217;. Nature trails conducted shortly are a day trip to

Parsik Hill in Navi Mumbai, nature camp at Nannaj, near Solapur, and visits to the special camp for butterfly watching in Sikkim in October. Two other major outings of the year are trips to Periyar Tiger Reserve in

November and to bird watching camp at Little Rann of Kutch.

The Hornbill House that houses the BNHS, an NGO, is only 43-year old. It came up in 1965 with the government grant of Rs 3.3 lakh. By then, the BNHS had changed many addresses in the city, including Mr Pipson8217;s wine shop. For those who wonder about the building8217;s name, here is the trivia. William, a Great Pied Hornbill, arrived at the Society as a nestling in 1894, and it lived in the society8217;s rooms till 1920. Hornbill House is named after William, affectionately known as the office canary. He also became the society8217;s mascot.

When the society started in 1883 at the Victoria and Albert Museum presently named as Bhau Daji Lad Museum, thanks to the enthusiasm of eight residents of Bombay, including six Englishmen, to the study of natural history, its main function was documentation, says Isaac

Kehimkar. 8220;Over the years, it has swing into action to conserve the wildlife too,8221; he adds.

After sounding alert over the rapid decline in vulture population, the BNHS has taken up their breeding. It is also working with the locals for the protection of Giant Clams in Lakshadweep and in Vidarva to conserve tigers. Next, it wants to check the extinction of Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican. All these, keeping in mind its late president Dr Salim Ali8217;s guiding principle of conservation based on scientific research. Though the society8217;s operations are spread across India with 20 centres, Kehimkar says they now want to increase their presence in the eastern India.

The society8217;s role has been further diversified as it dabbles in publication. The first step toward this was taken in January 1886, with the publication the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. In the following years, a

number of books on wildlife has been brought out by the BNHS. The most popular most them is the magazine, Hornbill, which was started to reach the common man.

To achieve its goals, the society needs to strengthen its corpus. Its director A R Rahmani says, 8220;The corpus needs Rs 10 crore to ensure the society8217;s financial independence in going ahead with its conservation and other plans.8221; The society8217;s membership helps its financial affairs to some extent. The number of members at present is over 4,000. Its honorary secretary J C Daniel says, 8220;This figure is appallingly inadequate.8221;