Running after Giant Squirrels

A short issue this week...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Munnar, Kerala, India!

This issue will be a short one because I’m travelling.

I’ve spent the last week roaming the rainforests of Munnar, searching for frogs, birds and squirrels. I’ve dedicated an entire chapter in the book to my experiences in Munnar.

I started working on the feedback I’d gotten on my book chapters, but I soon felt burnt out and stopped. Guess we all need a break at some point.

Here are some links I enjoyed this week:

• Common Fauna of Kallar and Mankulam, Kerala: For the past few years, I’ve been documenting the wildlife of a small region in Munnar, Kerala. This is an interesting landscape because it comprises both lush rainforest and sprawling cardamom plantations

• Why Threads is a bigger deal than you think: This new platform threatens to change our current social media climate. Many writers I know find their readers on twitter. Now that might change. This video explains the impact of this new social media app.

• Viper Bite in Slow Mo! | BBC Earth : Ever wonder what a snake bite look like in slow motion? Watch this video where Romulus Whitaker studies the science behind snake bites…

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Nature and Wildlife

Looking up, I found a furry rodent looking back at me. I watched it roll around a leaf in its tiny hands before scuttling along the branches and leaping towards the next tree.

The Malabar giant squirrel is an animal endemic to India, meaning it isn’t found anywhere else. This one-kilogram rodent has a maroon coat, bushy tail and white underside. Munnar is bursting with these squirrels. You can find them on virtually every tree. I like to think of them as commas hooked onto the branches.

I can’t write too much about my adventures with these rodents without spoiling the chapter in the book. So I’ll just say this:

These squirrels are just as interesting as the tigers and elephants of lore. In my book chapter, I hope to showcase these animals in the same light as these larger, “more charismatic” animals.

Book Update

I felt slightly uninspired to write and edit the book this week. And I’m on the road, travelling across the southern state of Kerala. So I took it easy, doing some light editing here and there.

I also opened Netflix again after several months. As an aspiring author (of more than memoirs—of fiction, non-fiction, movies, shows, documentaries and more), watching good films is very important. Believe it or not, I NEED to watch more Netflix for my creativity.

The only problem is that I get overwhelmed by the choices on the app. There are so many options; I don't know where to start!

My question is, what Netflix show/movie/documentary impacted you? (It could be from Amazon Prime. or Hotstar as well).

Postcard

Munnar is home to more than just giant squirrels. It hosts a plethora of frogs, snakes, birds and more.

The question is, can you spot them?

Find the frog in this shot…

Favourite Quote

India will be much poorer—the whole world will be poorer—when the wild places of this earth and of this land are bereft of animal life, and mankind has grown so materially minded that the calm, sweet hour of solitude and meditation will have become lost to him forever.  - Kenneth Anderson, This is the Jungle.

Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)