Two new species of jumping spiders have been discovered from the Valley of Flowers National Park in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, raising the number in the catalogued diversity of this family of arthropods to 250. Specimens of both these new species measure between 2mm to 5mm and were collected from the alpine meadows of the […]
Elephant And Unborn Calf Electrocuted In Assam
A highly tragic incident has been reported from Assam, where a female elephant was electrocuted after coming in contact with live wires. The baby that the young female was carrying was also lost in the mishap. The live wires were set up at a riverine island near Borgang river of Assam’s Biswanath district, about a […]
Rajasthan gets Drones and Cameras for Wildlife Monitoring
The state of Rajasthan is installing an advanced surveillance mechanism which includes drones and thermal cameras to curb the menace of poaching and other anti-wildlife activities in an attempt to protect its wildlife and forests. This includes over 9% of the state’s geographical area and include biodiversity-rich national parks like Ranthambore and Sariska. This surveillance […]
Researchers Describe Two New Lizard Species from India
The termite hill geckos are now scientifically split into 3 species – the Whitaker’s, Sahgal’s and southern termite hill geckos found in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Bengal Becomes the Hub of Wildlife Trade in India
Quick Notes Raids conducted in different parts of the state in June reveal 6 cases of large wildlife seizures in just a month Wildlife trades include rare and protected species like the pied hornbill, slow loris, great Indian hornbill, bear, tiger, tokay gecko etc. Bengal is used as a hub and a transit point by […]
Direct Count Survey Reveals Elephant Count of Bengal to be 682
The State Forest Department of West Bengal undertook a direct count survey of the pachyderm population in the state. The tally stands at 682. The census covers both north and south Bengal. In the previous survey, 590 elephants were spotted in North Bengal only. The new survey by direct counting method showed that there were […]
Shark Awareness Day – Interesting Facts About Sharks
Today, July 14th is Shark Awareness Day and we are celebrating with some interesting facts about sharks. 1 Sharks Need to Swim to Stay Alive Some sharks need to swim continuously to stay alive. Sharks obtain oxygen for breathing from the water that flows over their gills. If they stop swimming, no more water flow […]
Poacher Guilty of Killing 125 Tigers and 1025 Leopards Convicted
Five poachers were sentenced for four years by a Madhya Pradesh court for poaching tigers, leopards, pangolins and jackals. One of the convicted men is Mohammed Shamim, a close aide of the late infamous poacher Sansarchand who was responsible for wiping out all tigers from Sariska. This is one of the fastest convictions of poaching […]
Over 1000 Turtles and Tortoises Rescued in Bangalore from Smugglers
A group of smugglers trying to make away with 1012 exotic turtles and tortoises, valued at about Rs 4 crore in the international market were caught right on time by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials last week in Bangalore. They were trying to make their way across the state border over to Chennai and […]
Asiatic Lion Pride Spotted on Coastal Highway
Travelers on the coastal highway between Bhavnagar and Una in Amreli district in Gujarat were in for a surprise when they sighted a pride of seven wild Asiatic lions casually walking by. The pride was earlier seen by some locals resting on a hillock near Balani Vav village close to the coastal town of Rajula. […]
New Aquatic Species of Snake Discovered in the Western Ghats
Quick Notes A new species of aquatic snake has been discovered in the Western Ghats. It is endemic to India. The snake prefers to live in fresh water streams. Juveniles and adults have different coloration. The snake was earlier mistaken to be Olive forest snake but was correctly identified after DNA testing to be a […]