Ousteri Lake, a wetland known for sometime as an important feeding and breeding ground of several bird species has been declared as a bird sanctuary by the Tamil Nadu government taking the number of protected areas in the Southern Indian state to 4 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 national parks, 15 bird sanctuaries, 4 tiger reserves and […]
Hyderabad’s Hidden Jewels: Four New Species Discovered in Five Years
Hyderabad, a city known more today for its Silicon Valley connection has revealed its nature connection too with researchers discovering not one but four new species in the city in the past five years. This includes two spider species, a plant species, a lizard and even the re-discovery of a snake species that was thought […]
Elephant Calf Rescued from Well
Here is a story of a fiercely protective mother elephant looking out for her young one while it was in distress. This is also the story of quick and compassionate action by forest officials. A one-and-a-half year old elephant calf that fell into a non-fenced well on the Tamil Nadu- Karnataka border reserve forest area […]
Why the Ocean Ecosystem needs Whales
All species big and small have a role to play in the natural world defining the habitat and the ecosystem they live in. Now scientists have found the important tasks whales have been given to maintain the health of the oceans. A recent study shows that these giant mammals have an influence on global carbon […]
Captive Bred Rare Cheer Pheasants to Be Released into the Wild
On the foothills of the Himalayas, on rocky, moist terrains, a bird called the Cheer Pheasant was often seen, flying around in groups, occasionally digging the soil with its beaks and feeding on seeds and small insects. Sadly, as the terrains vanished so did the birds with IUCN marking them as a Vulnerable species. But […]
Pay a Fine if You Step on this Hill! The Unique Tribal Way to Protect Nature
It is often saddening to see the rapidity with which last expanse of wildlife is turning into concrete jungles in India. The growing population and with it the challenges of limited resources is turning even small wilderness pockets into space for high rise buildings. Among such news it is thus a pleasant surprise to find […]
Scientists Find World’s Highest Number of Song Birds in the Himalayas
There is a new song they sing and that’s what makes them unique. The results of the first ever mapping of birds in the eastern Himalayan region of India has confirmed that there are more than 360 different songbird species in the regions, most of which are not found anywhere else on the planet. Scientists […]
Tiny Catfish from the Western Ghats Baffles Scientists with its Uniqueness
Nature is full of suprises and we get to re-establish this fact everyday when new discoveries bringforth ever new challenges into the world that we human falsely believe we know a lot about. The latest puzzle by mother nature thrown to us humans is a tiny Catfish Kryptoglanis shajii, hardly the size of a little […]
New Species of Catfish Discovered
A new species of catfish has been discovered by a team of ichthyologists from Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The catfish species has been named Creteuchiloglanis payjab. This is the second species of the same genus discovered here after a span of 48 years! The team informed that the […]
Rare Egyptian Vulture Held Captive by Villagers Rescued and Released into the Wild
Prompt action by volunteers of an NGO following a tip-off about a rare Egyptian Vulture being held in captivity led to its rescue and subsequent release into the wild. The incident happened in the Darend area of Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. Egyptian Vultures are classified as Endangered. Egyptian Vulture A team of volunteers […]
Critically Endangered Gharials Tagged in Hope of Saving the Species
In an initiative to restock the numbers of critically endangered (CR) Gharials (Gavialus gangeticus) in the wild, six captive-bred gharials have been satellite-tagged and released into the the River Gandak, bordering the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar. This is the first time that the rare species have been satellite-tagged. The program was undertaken by the […]