Ranjit Lal

Inside Goa’s abyss aquarium: A dazzling, dangerous world beneath the surfaceSubscriber Only

April 01,2026 15:20:34 PM

A visit to Abyss Marine Aquarium reveals an arresting underwater spectacle—from invasive turtles and venomous lionfish to ancient gar—while raising uneasy questions about ethics, conservation, and spectacle.

Meet your ocean cousins: The fascinating link between sea anemones, urchins, and humansSubscriber Only

March 24,2026 06:00:03 AM

Of the nearly 18,000 protein coding genes of a starlet sea anemone, as many as 7,766 are shared with us

Travelling north from Lake Mayem to meet the swamphensSubscriber Only

March 18,2026 16:56:00 PM

If you look far enough, you can't miss the purple swamphens, the sandpipers and the spoonbills near Goa's almost-forgotten waterbody.

Why the butterfly couldn’t flySubscriber Only

March 11,2026 16:27:20 PM

Its caterpillar cells which had been dormant till now were developing into various parts of the butterfly

Why Goa’s Mapusa never stops givingSubscriber Only

March 04,2026 10:00:48 AM

Much of the produce has been locally sourced – from farms, fields, orchards and villages scattered around the state and you wonder at the logistics of it all.

Masters of camouflage: How tigers, chameleons, octopus and other wildlife vanish in plain sightSubscriber Only

February 27,2026 06:00:11 AM

From exploding flocks of green pigeons to ghostly crabs in tide pools, discover how nature’s finest illusionists—on land, in trees, and beneath the sea—perfect the art of disappearing to hunt, hide and survive

Exploring Morjim’s Tide Pools: A Quiet Wildlife Escape on Goa’s Northern BeachesSubscriber Only

February 21,2026 11:49:54 AM

The finest fissures in the rocks were jam-packed with minuscule shells, like commuters hanging on in a Mumbai local

The disappearing insects of Goa: A poolside reflection on ants, butterflies and a sterile futureSubscriber Only

February 11,2026 16:42:52 PM

This year, I noticed that the tree stumps that had given refuge to both the ants and termites had gone.

How warblers can outdo rockstars and nightingales with their energy, passion and showmanshipSubscriber Only

February 05,2026 18:09:26 PM

Old-World warblers, some 350 of them, seem to like wearing the same uniform – dusky olive brown, beige and grey -- which makes them a pain to identify

Raptors, silence and wide blue skies: A day on the Socorro plateauSubscriber Only

January 31,2026 14:58:05 PM

Birds here have been few and far between, but fewer the number, the better you see them.

Meet the bee-eaters: India’s dazzling aerial hunters with a taste for beesSubscriber Only

January 22,2026 18:06:56 PM

With bills like a pair of pincers, bee eaters have amazing insect-catching skills. They can anticipate where an insect would be or can change direction when dodged

Waiting for raptors: A morning of birdwatching on the golden grasslandsSubscriber Only

January 17,2026 13:04:13 PM

Brahminy kites are common yet distinct with their russet wings and white heads

Why animals fight: Territory, survival and the nature of conflict in the wildSubscriber Only

January 10,2026 06:00:44 AM

Big cats and birds, even insects, guard their territories rather ferociously, sometimes at the risk of their own lives

Why birdwatching at Karmali Lake in the morning is a misty wildlife spectacleSubscriber Only

January 05,2026 15:11:11 PM

Lake Karmali in Goa is a paradise for birdwatchers but do keep an eye out for the King Croc

Why the coconut palm is nature’s most useful treeSubscriber Only

December 24,2025 10:00:42 AM

The tree, whose USP is its nut, is a marvel of natural engineering that can survive gale-force winds and hurricanes

Why millions of birds migrate each winter—and how India becomes their refugeSubscriber Only

December 19,2025 12:57:02 PM

While many birds will splash down near Delhi's wetlands, so,e will fly further south, to places such as Pulicat lake and Point Calimere.

Birding on the Sirocco Plateau: North Goa’s ancient laterite wilderness and migratory raptorsSubscriber Only

December 12,2025 18:34:54 PM

One can spot harriers, Brahminy kites and even if you are lucky enough Amur falcons

Jacanas on a vanishing lake: A morning in PilerneSubscriber Only

December 04,2025 17:00:28 PM

In the Jacana clan, it is daddy dear who brings up the brood but it’s his wife who wears the pants

The hidden life of India’s shores and why it rivals the mountainsSubscriber Only

November 26,2025 17:08:33 PM

A kaleidoscopic and astonishing number of life forms exist on every shoreline – from property-obsessed hermit crabs and chrysanthemum-like anemones to shape-shifting octopuses

What’s not to like in the magnificent views of the Himalayas, the crystal air, the vivid birds and bloomsSubscriber Only

November 26,2025 07:00:09 AM

The mountains will always be a draw, though these days with wide smooth roads running up and tunnels boring through them, getting up there is no longer an adventure

When friends come calling – be it the purple rumped sunbirds or the mellifluous magpie robinSubscriber Only

November 12,2025 09:39:16 AM

Some squeal, some shriek, some are quiet, either ways, there is always a rousing welcome when one is in Goa

200,000 killed by cars, a few by tigers: Double standards in man-animal conflictsSubscriber Only

November 05,2025 07:00:51 AM

In most cases, the reportage of the man-animal conflict often glosses over the fact that the root cause is humans themselves

The lost seasons of India: From Delhi’s crisp winter to monsoon magicSubscriber Only

October 29,2025 15:59:43 PM

A look at how human recklessness has cost India the joy of its characteristic seasons

Why humans are masters of the planet but fools of the futureSubscriber Only

October 22,2025 13:33:53 PM

Human intellect is accelerating environmental collapse. This is what we can learn from animals.

Ruffled, ready and unrivalled: The dandy gents of the bird worldSubscriber Only

October 15,2025 15:47:52 PM

No two ruffs wear the same outfit. It may be because the birds don’t call and this individual fancy dressing is one way the reeves can identify them.