23rd Conservation Speak series held at Zoo

Mysore/Mysuru: Deep J. Contractor, who is the first woman forest officer and the third forest officer to reach Antarctica, delivered a talk on her Antarctica expedition at the 23rd Conservation Speak that has been revived now by Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, popular as Mysuru Zoo.

The talk, ‘My Journey to Antarctica’ was held at the Zoo premises last evening. Deep conquered Antarctica as part of the 2041 Climate Force Antarctica 2022 expedition. In her address, Deep said that she feels good that she can motivate young girls to also embark upon journeys like this.

“At the age of 38, I never thought that I would be able to physically do something like this. However, nothing is impossible and if there is a will, there is a way,” she said.

Throwing more light on her personal experience of the expedition, the IFS officer said that she had to work hard to prepare herself physically and mentally for such a big challenge. “I had to do gruelling exercises and tone up my body. I developed arthritis and had to undergo physiotherapy and strengthen my legs. I was also detected with appendicitis and had to undergo surgery,” she said.

Despite many challenges, she told the audience that she continued with her decision to go on this journey and saw success.

At the event, IFS Officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre who is the Regional Director of Forest Survey of India, Bengaluru H. Venuprasad shared his views on ‘Changes in Forest Cover in Karnataka and its Implications’ where he outlined the impressive forest growth in Kodagu and Shivamogga in the last decade.

Through a power-point presentation, Venuprasad noted that the forest cover at Chamundi Hill, Mysuru, Chikkanayakanahalli and Saragur has increased and no change has been observed in the last 10 years. “Thanks to the involvement of people in the conservation, forests have thrived and there is a need for better conservation strategies,” he said.

Zoo Executive Director Ajit M. Kulkarni, Member-Secretary of Zoo Authority of Karnataka B.P. Ravi, Zoo Education Officer M.S. Sujosha and others were present. Conservation Speak Series has been revived and yesterday’s talk was the first one after COVID-19 pandemic.