SALIM ALI-THE BIRDMAN OF INDIA
Salim Ali was born into a sulaimani bohra muslim family of bombay, the ninth and youngest child.His parents passed away when he was very young.He was bought up by his maternal uncle and aunt who didn't have children.
Once when ali was hunting he shot a sparrow which had a yellow throat.He showed it to his uncle Abbas Tyabji who was freedom fighter.He uncle seeing salim's interest intoduced him to Mr.w.s.millard who was the secretary of the bombay natural history society.Mr.Millard identified the bird as a yellow throated sparrow and showed young salim around the societys collection of stuffed birds.He encouraged salim ali to make a collection of birds and offered to train him in skinning and preservation.Skinning is the process wherein you cut the skin by circling it around each ankle.After that you cut open down the center and pull everything out.Cut off head and paws.Preservation of shot birds involves many techniques like enclosing in a glass jar.To preserve a specimen without loss of colour we need to use a pickling using salt,ground pepper and alum and drying for a month with threads holding the bird in a natural position or the entire bird can be preserved in alcohol.
Salim Ali went to primary school at zanana bible medical mission girls high school at girgaum along with two of his sisters and later to St.Xaviers college in bombay.
Due to ill health he was a frequent drop out of the class and could barely managed to pass the matriculation exam of the bombay university in 1913.
He studied commercial law and accountancy at Davars college of commerce and B.SC in Zoology from St.Xavier college,bombay.
He was married to a distant relative,tehmina, in december 1918.
After studying the above mentioned courses he was hired as guide lecturer in 1926 at the princes of wales museum in mumbai.
After two years he decided to go on study leave in 1928 to germany where he was to work under professor Erwin Stresemann at zoological museum of berlin university.
On his return to india in 1930, he conducted systematic birds surveys all over india.
The places where he did systematic bird surveys are
1.Burma(Myanmar)
2.Dehra Dun(uttarakand)
3.Travancore(kerela)
4.Bahawalpur(Pakistan)
5.Eastern Himalayan:Between central nepal in the west to myanmar in east,occupying southeast tibet in china,sikkim,north bengal,bhutan,&north-east india.
6.Afganisthan
7.tibet
8.kutch
Apart from these he was very influential in ensuring the survival of the BNHS and managed to save the then 100-year old institution by writing to the prime minister pandit Nehru for financial help.He Also guided many M.Sc,p.hd zoology students.
He was Awarded the Padma Bhusan in 1958 and The Padma Vibhushan in 1976.He was also nominated to the rajya sabha in 1985.
Dr.Salim Ali died in 1987,At the age of 91, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.
In 1990,the salim ali centre for ornithology and Natural History (SACON) was established at coimbatore by the government of india.
Pondicherry university established the salim ali school of ecology and environmental sciences.
The government of goa set up the salim ali bird sancturary and the thattakad bird sanctuary near vembanad in kerela also goes by his name.
The location of the BNHS in bombay was named as Dr.Salim Ali chowk".
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