Who would think of travelling 70-odd kilometers from Panjim in the forested area of Tambdi Surla, late in the evening in heavy downpour to be part of a night trail? Those who love nature and are eager to explore the marvelous wonders it has to offer will surely do. That’s what a group of 30-odd people from all over Goa did recently, to witness something out of this world, which is hard to explain in words or even to capture in your cameras.
It is the beauty of bioluminescence fungi which is seen in very few places of Western Ghats. This wonder of nature is seen in only those places where there is balance of moisture and humidity in forests of tropical and temperate climate. In Goa, it is mostly seen during monsoon season.
With this information, the participants explored the private forest in the village called Talade, near Tambdi Surla. They ventured out in the heavy downpour with strict instructions from the resource person as this place is also known for hump pit nose viper. All precautions and care was taken by organisers, Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade (VEAB).
Thus, as part of this night natural trail, the participants got a rare chance to witness some amazing species of amphibians, reptiles, and insects in their pristine habitat. They saw Bristly Tropical Cup (Cookeina tricholoma) or cup mushroom while releasing its spores with the help of a torch light. It looked like a waft releasing from them. They also heard deafening calls of various frogs like Indian Bull frog, Amboli Bush frog, Cricket frog and Ornate Narrow Mouthed frog (Microhyla ornata). Many of these creatures are critically endangered and also endemic to Western Ghats.
The night trail also gave them a scope to see Coromus millipede, beautiful purple tree crab which resides in tree holes, variety of grasshoppers, stick insects, etc. However, the highlight was watching two hump nosed pit vipers—one sub-adult and another adult from close quarters.
Such exploration is possible when one is teamed with experts like Gajanan Shetye or Ramesh Zarmekar, to name a few, who are associated with VEAB and are working hard to document a variety of flora and fauna of Goa’s forests.
After walking for few meters which involved even crossing a small stream, the participants were told to start the return journey. The participants were little apprehensive as they thought that they may not see the bioluminescence fungi.
But then they were told to gather in a circle under a tree. Gajanan then told them to look down and switch off all torch lights. As soon as they did that, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
It was an unbelievable sight of glowing twigs and dead tree branches on land. It was as if the forest land was lit up with some underground light. And one interesting aspect of this was that this glow became brighter as they continued watching it. Indeed, it was nature’s dazzling light show.
It is stated that bioluminescence is a natural light-emitting process and it has been observed in 71 out of the 1,0,0000 documented species in the kingdom of fungi. It is not clear yet why these fungi glow.
Goa’s forests are so rich, diverse and full of magical wonders including wonders like myristica swamps—freshwater swamp forests, so many endemic species of flora and fauna. Looking at this biodiversity of the forest it is now pertinent to work on its conservation more than before.
President of VEAB, Chandrakant Shinde believes that such excursions and educational programmes will help create awareness and will make local villagers aware of their biodiversity and also help them economically. The trail concluded with scrumptious dinner made by the local women, who are part of Shri Brahmani self-help group.