The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s in India engaged in

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publishes the ''

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society The ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' (also ''JBNHS'') is a natural history journal published several times a year by the Bombay Natural History Society. First published in January 1886, and published with only a few interruption ...

''. Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists

Sálim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrot ...

and

S. Dillon Ripley Sidney Dillon Ripley II (September 20, 1913 – March 12, 2001) was an American ornithologist and wildlife conservationist. He served as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for 20 years, from 1964 to 1984, leading the institution throug ...

, have been associated with it.

History

British hunters in Bombay organized a hunting group around 1811, their activities included riding with foxhounds and shooting. A Bombay Hunt was supported by Sir Bartle Frere from 1862. A natural history society was begun, possibly as spinoff from the Bombay Geographical Society, in 1856 by Doctors Don (of Karachee), Andrew Henderson Leith (surgeon), George Buist, and

Henry John Carter Henry John Carter, FRS (18 August 1813 – 4 May 1895) was a surgeon working in Bombay, India, who carried out work in geology, paleontology, and zoology. He worked as an army surgeon in Bombay from 1859 on Her Majesty's Indian Service, Bom ...

along with

Lawrence Hugh Jenkins Sir Lawrence Hugh Jenkins, KCIE (22 December 1857 – 1 October 1928), was a British judge. He was the chief justice of the Calcutta and Bombay High Court, as well as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.Great Britain. India ...

, then a registrar of the Supreme Court. The group did not last more than three years. On 15 September 1883 eight men interested in

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

met at

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in the Victoria and Albert Museum (now Bhau Daji Lad Museum) and: According to E. H. Aitken (the first honorary secretary, September 1883-March 1886), Dr D. MacDonald was the ' (Latin for "source and origin") of the society. The other founders were Dr G. A. Maconachie, Col. C. Swinhoe, Mr J. C. Anderson, Mr J. Johnston, Dr Atmaram Pandurang and Dr

Sakharam Arjun Sakharam Arjun (sometimes Sakharam Arjun Ravut in official documents but he did not use the caste-linked surname in publications) (1839-16 April 1885) was a physician and social activist in Bombay. An expert on Indian medicinal plants, he was one ...

. Mr H. M. Phipson (second honorary secretary, 1886–1906) was a part of the founding group. He lent a part of his wine shop at 18 Forbes Street to the BNHS as an office. In 1911, R. C. Wroughton, a BNHS member and forest officer, organised a survey of mammals making use of the members spread through the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

to provide specimens. This was perhaps the first collaborative natural history study in the world. It resulted in a collection of 50,000 specimens in 12 years. Several new species were discovered, 47 publications were published, and the understanding of biogeographic boundaries was improved. In the early years, the ''Journal of the BNHS'' reviewed contemporary literature from other parts of the world. The description of ant-bird interactions in German by

Erwin Stresemann Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (22 November 1889, in Dresden – 20 November 1972, in East Berlin) was a German naturalist and ornithologist. Stresemann was an ornithologist of extensive breadth who compiled one of the first and most comprehe ...

was reviewed in a 1935 issue leading to the introduction of the term ''

anting Anting () is a town in Jiading District, Shanghai, bordering Kunshan, Jiangsu to the west. It has 96,000 inhabitants and, after the July 2009 merger of Huangdu (), an area of .

'' into English. Today the BNHS is headquartered in the specially constructed 'Hornbill House' in southern

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. It sponsors studies in Indian wildlife and conservation, and publishes a four-monthly journal, ''

'', as well as a quarterly magazine, ''Hornbill''. BNHS is the partner of

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

in India. It has been designated as a 'Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation' by the Department of Science and Technology. Its headquarter is in Mumbai and has one regional centre at Wetland Research and Training Centre, near

Chilika Lake Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon with estuarine character that sprawls along the east coast of Indian sub-continent in Asia and second largest coastal lagoon in the world, covering an area of over . It is spread over the Puri, ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

BNHS logo

The BNHS logo is the

great hornbill The great hornbill (''Buceros bicornis''), also known as the concave-casqued hornbill, great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. I ...

, inspired by a great hornbill named William, who lived on the premises of the Society from 1894 until 1920, during the honorary secretaryships of H. M. Phipson until 1906 and W. S. Millard from 1906 to 1920. The logo was created in 1933, the golden jubilee year of the Society's founding.

William

According to H. M. Phipson, William was born in May 1894 and presented to the Society three months later by H. Ingle of

Karwar Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...

. He reached his full length () by the end of his third year. His diet consisted of fruit (like plantains and wild figs) and also of live mice, scorpions, and plain raw meat, which he ate with relish. He apparently did not drink water, nor use it for bathing. William was known for catching tennis balls thrown at him from a distance of some 30 feet with his beak. In his obituary of W. S. Millard, Sir Norman Kinnear made the following remarks about William: Image:Buceros bicornis -illustration in book.jpg, Profile by E. Comber (1897) of the great Indian hornbill, "William," who lived on the premises of the society from 1894 until 1920, and who would later be the model for its logo. Image:William office canary2.jpg, Another photograph of "William," by E. Comber published in the ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'', 1897.

Initiatives

National Dragonfly festival

The festival was started in 2018 in order to inform the public about integral role played by dragonflies in our environment. The Bombay Natural History Society has been organising the festival since then in association with WWF India,

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

and National Biodiversity Board of India. The local events which are the part of this nationwide festival are also organised by WWF India in association with various state agencies. The "Thumbimahotsavam" is a state butterfly festival of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

which is organised as a part of National Dragonfly festival.

Asian Waterbird census

The Asian waterbird census is an annual exercise undertaken in India by Bombay Natural History Society in association with

Wetlands International Wetlands International is a global organisation that works to sustain and restore wetlands and their resources for people and biodiversity. It is an independent, not-for-profit, global organisation, supported by government and NGO membership from ...

, in which enthusiastic birdwatchers count the birds by observing them near their respective breeding grounds. The exercise is a part of 'International waterbird census', an international exercise. It also aims to create awareness regarding bird species as well as health of the

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, which are facing severve threat amidst anthropogenic disturbance. It is conducted in the month of January every year. Education Programmes The BNHS Programme Department, currently led by Mr Asif N. Khan is an integral component of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), focuses on education, research, and outreach initiatives.

References

External links

Official website

*Mehta, Sarika. (18 March 2005)

The Hindu Business Line. {{Authority control Natural history societies Clubs and societies in India Organisations based in Mumbai Animal charities based in India Bird conservation organizations BirdLife partners Nature conservation organisations based in India Natural history of India Organizations established in 1883 1883 establishments in British India Environmental studies institutions in India