Owls are amongst the most ecologically and culturally important group of birds in India. They act as biocontrol agents due to their predation of rodent and insect pests in agricultural and urban landscapes. Not only does this reduce the dependence of pesticides in agricultural areas but also preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases. Owls, especially barn owls are often revered as a symbol of the Goddess of Wealth, Goddess Laxmi. However, in some parts of India, owls are often treated as a bad omen. Unfortunately, these superstitions make owls susceptible to to the illegal wildlife trade, especially around the time of Diwali when these bids are used for black magic rituals.
With Diwali around the corner, tune in to this episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, as I am joined by Debangini Ray to discuss the plight of India’s urban owls. Debangini is a PhD Scholar at the Chatur Ullu Lab of the MIT World Peace University. She is the founder of The Urban Owl Project, which aims to study owls across cityscapes in India through multispecies ethnography. Moreover, it aims at understanding how humans and owls coexist within shared urban spaces and the impacts one may have on the other. Additionally, the study also works towards dispelling cultural misbeliefs and animosity that humans may have towards these nocturnal raptors and informs citizens about current anthropogenic threats that seriously impact owl populations. Tune in to learn about why India’s owls are doomed for darkness.
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Meet the Host
Anish Banerjee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anish-banerjee-79ba63189/
Think Wildlife Foundation: https://thinkwildlifefoundation.com/
Meet the Guest
Debangini Ray: https://www.dakshin.org/dt_team/debangini-ray/
The Urban Owl Network: https://www.instagram.com/urbanowlnetwork/
Recommended Wildlife Conservation Books
Wildlife Conservation in India by HS Pabla: https://amzn.to/3Ypx9Zh
Indian Mammals: A Field Guide by Vivek Menon: https://amzn.to/4fhMiCL
At the Feet of Living Things by Aparajita Datta: https://amzn.to/3BZmtsN
S3|E2- Exploring threats to urban owls in India with Debangini Ray