It's raining abundance in the city forest

MUMBAI: The forest looks dark and deep; and is covered in mist. Trek to the highest point of Sanjay Gandhi National Park this monsoon, and witness nature’s spectacle of abundance. “There’s plenty of food, so populations explode; it’s like a buffet for plant-eaters and predators alike,” explains butterfly expert Issac Kehimkar. While some get preyed upon, others use defence strategies evolved over time. The gaudily coloured painted grasshopper has no fear of predators. It sits in the open gnawing at the leaf of the poisonous milkweed plant. “It retains the toxins in its body, and its ‘warning colours’ keep predators away,” says Kehimkar.

When the Hill Turmeric flower lures a pollinating insect inside, its stalk sprinkles pollen on the insect’s back. The insect carries the pollen, only to transfer it onto the female organ of another hill turmeric flower. (Photo by Rizwan Mithawala)
It’s also the season of love. The Common hawk-cuckoo (Pavsha in Marathi), one of the harbingers of monsoon in rural Maharashtra, attracts its mate, filling the air calling with its “brain-fever” call reaching a crescendo. When the Hill Turmeric flower lures a pollinating insect inside, its stalk sprinkles pollen on the insect’s back. “The insect carries the pollen, only to transfer it onto the female organ of another hill turmeric flower, and the cycle of life continues,” says conservationist Anish Andheria.