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Ranjit Lal

Lal is an author, environmentalist and bird watcher.

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More From Ranjit Lal - Page 3

How birds, tigers and bear use feet as weapons of defenseSubscriber Only

January 14,2025 17:48:22 PM

From climbing trees to ripping prey, from scuttling up tree trunks to using feet as hands, evolutionary engineering is at work in Nature

Tue, Jan 14, 2025

The cheetah, with a 110 kph top speed, has quicker acceleration than a Ferrari (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

How most animals can give any 4WD a run for its moneySubscriber Only

January 08,2025 17:54:35 PM

Our wheels may speed us over specialised roads but over natural, rugged terrain, animals will beat our vehicles hands down

Wed, Jan 08, 2025

Why do some migratory birds lose their way?Subscriber Only

January 04,2025 14:42:18 PM

A Little Gull spotted in the Chandu wetlands near the Sultanpur National Park, far off its course, drew birders from far and wide

Sat, Jan 04, 2025

Winter travel special: How a Corbett safari ended in an encounter with a wild elephant overdosed on testosteroneSubscriber Only

December 29,2024 06:00:37 AM

I must have been in the middle or towards the end of the ‘queue’ when I was suddenly confronted by all the pioneering leaders rushing pell-mell back urgently whispering ‘Pagal haathi! Pagal haathi!’

Sat, Dec 28, 2024

What makes the ratel or the honey badger — street fighters of the animal world — my favourite animal?Subscriber Only

December 21,2024 10:08:25 AM

While not shredding the dignity of inquisitive lions and leopards, ratels hunt for smaller animals with the same degree of ferocity and are vital in keeping animals like rodents and lizards under control

Sat, Dec 21, 2024

There you have the mother of all traffic jams and all you can hear are skylarks or bulbuls singing their hearts out all around you. (Credit: Ranjit Lal)

Why not replace car horns with bird sounds?Subscriber Only

December 13,2024 19:48:44 PM

If the guy behind you in the Humvee warbles like a skylark or bulbul, you’ll gladly give way to him or her with a smile and a wave, even if he is purple with rage

Fri, Dec 13, 2024

If it weren’t for fruit bats we probably could kiss goodbye to mangoes and bananas and a host of other fruit, which they pollinate

Fruit bats: the Boeings and Airbuses of the animal kingdomSubscriber Only

December 04,2024 16:44:01 PM

The only mammals that can maintain sustained flight, a fruit bat can give you the heebie-jeebies while flapping close past you

Wed, Dec 04, 2024

Dragonflies are said to have a success rate of 95 per cent in their hunts

How dragonflies rely heavily on their vision for hunting and survivalSubscriber Only

November 30,2024 06:00:17 AM

About 80 per cent of a dragonfly’s brain is devoted to vision

Fri, Nov 29, 2024

There’s one drastic step we could take, maybe just as an experiment. Impose Covid-era restrictions over North India immediately. (File Photo)

Delhi today is Bhopal in slo-moSubscriber Only

November 24,2024 17:23:56 PM

We don’t crudely make people clutch their throats or vomit blood and die overnight like flies. We stretch it out — let them linger hacking and coughing and clutching their chests for the next 10 years. We let them go gradually, but surely.

Mon, Nov 25, 2024

There’s much to see and hear around usSubscriber Only

November 16,2024 17:55:19 PM

In the last few weeks, I’ve been back in Goa and here’s a list of what I’ve seen and heard, with, mind you, not making any special effort to do so

Sat, Nov 16, 2024

Once the mountains were places we fled to. now we see pine forests crackling and exploding

We now have fire, flood and fog as our seasonsSubscriber Only

November 09,2024 05:00:10 AM

Certainly the climate has changed and all within the span of a single lifetime

Fri, Nov 08, 2024

Do animals get the gigglesSubscriber Only

October 16,2024 10:00:39 AM

Scientists believe that laughter and pranking strengthens bonds between animal groups and measures hierarchy

Tue, Oct 15, 2024

Saffron-gold dragonflies at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park (Credit: Ranjit Lal)

What makes the best aerial insect attackers voracious predators yet ethereal, all at onceSubscriber Only

October 09,2024 17:08:31 PM

The dragonflies are here – with their shimmering wings, they drift and float, and rest fitfully on strips of grass, appearing and disappearing like magic

Wed, Oct 09, 2024

How we went from charming to rescuing snakesSubscriber Only

October 03,2024 18:07:57 PM

American herpetologist Romulus Whitaker helped Indians start milking snakes for their venom to make anti-venoms, the only cure for snakebite

Thu, Oct 03, 2024

The defiant bougainvillea sprouts again (Photo credit: Ranjit Lal)

The promise of life – how seeds can find their way through rubbleSubscriber Only

September 26,2024 19:31:30 PM

The rose plants were sticking new leaves out of the stumps and a solitary straggling pink bloom was defiantly sticking its head out. Talk about surviving Armageddon

Fri, Sep 27, 2024

Of cats, cat ladies and Mr TrumpSubscriber Only

September 16,2024 11:48:25 AM

If illegal or legal immigrants, or for that matter anyone, in a country as wealthy as America has to sneak around hunting pet cats and dogs for dinner – well, it doesn’t say much for the nation and is frankly something every red-blooded American should find insulting, and not just in the way Mr Trump intends it.

Wed, Sep 18, 2024

The ecosystem around Goa rainsSubscriber Only

August 21,2024 11:40:52 AM

When there are no visits to beaches, one can still spot owls, bats, caterpillars, spiders and magpies

Sun, Aug 25, 2024

The melting of the ice-caps has caused sea-levels to rise ominously, inexorably drowning coastal communities the world over

What nature has in its arsenal to wipe out mankindSubscriber Only

August 14,2024 15:36:51 PM

Nature’s once stable weather patterns has been upended and now we have apoplectic hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes and cyclones that can level entire cities in seconds

Wed, Aug 21, 2024

As the summer gives way to warm humid weather, koels get increasingly hysterical. (Credit: Ranjit Lal)

The various soundtracks accompanying rainSubscriber Only

August 08,2024 13:22:18 PM

From babbling birds and the patter on roofs to the concert of frogs, the rains bring with it a world of sounds

Sun, Aug 11, 2024

Frogs taught us the breaststroke and we copied their webbed hind leg design for our swimming flippers (Credit: Ranjit Lal)

Frog: An integral part of our ecosystemSubscriber Only

August 01,2024 15:43:55 PM

Acting as a natural pest control, and inspiration for several methods adopted by humans, a look at the fascinating lives of frogs

Sun, Aug 04, 2024

While clouds seem ethereal – especially when they wisp silently into your garden in the hills – they can be hugely powerful

Do you know your clouds?Subscriber Only

July 24,2024 10:00:10 AM

Predicting the weather by looking at clouds has become a fine science, but Nature often has the last laugh

Mon, Jul 22, 2024

Solar panel par excellence (Credit: Ranjit Lal)

What it means to pass Mother Nature’s quality control testSubscriber Only

July 17,2024 18:48:53 PM

Nature's engineering departments adhere to strict rules – everything is to be recycled, broken down into component parts, reused again and again

Wed, Jul 17, 2024

How do animals (and humans) know when it’s hot or coldSubscriber Only

July 10,2024 19:36:03 PM

It seems our bodies are riddled with various temperature sensors, each tuned to a specific temperature, that send signals to the brain, telling it whether it’s getting too hot, too cold, or when it is just right

Wed, Jul 10, 2024