POACHING: Even as the nation is busy conducting the third synchronised national tiger census across the country, the death toll due to poaching tells a grim tale, with this year’s figures showing highest number of tigers killed in the last seven years. According to Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), 39 tigers have fallen prey […]
Supreme Court Plays Traffic Cop: Trains to Slow Down in Forest Areas
CONSERVATION ACTION: Indian elephants may finally breathe easy while crossing railway tracks. Considering the high figures of wildlife death due to locomotive accidents, the Supreme Court of India has ordered the railway ministry to instruct engineers to slow down all trains while passing through dense forests. The news comes as a relief to wildlife enthusiast […]
Tripura’s Vanishing Vultures to be Bred in Captivity
The future of vulture species in Tripura remains an uncertainty as their numbers continue to rapidly decline. In a recent survey by the state forest department it was discovered that only 55 vultures remain in the entire state. This shocking revelation has prompted the forest department to initiate a captive breeding program for vultures at […]
2013 marks 15 Indian Bird Species as Critically Endangered
As per the 2013 Red List of Birds, prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 15 species of birds from India continue to remain Critically Endangered (CR). In fact, the report shows that three new bird species, which were earlier in the Least Concern (LC) category now face potential extinction, and have […]
Butterfly Park attracts Hundreds of Colourful Winged-Visitors
A butterfly park, setup by a college lecturer, Sammilan Shetty, in August this year, has already attracted over 118 species of butterflies. The regular winged visitors to the new park include a few rare species such as the Blue Nawab and the Southern Birdwing (Troides minos), which is the largest Indian butterfly with a wingspan […]
Global Warming can make Mammals Smaller in Size
Scientist have long known that mammalian body size significantly decreased during an ancient global warming event around 55 million years ago. Researchers have now found that similar mammalian dwarfing occurred again 2 million years after the first event and thus as the Earth begins to heat up again – mammal body size may again see […]
Tiger Population Slowly but Steadily On the Rise in Sunderbans
GOOD NEWS: In an exciting news for animal lovers, forest officials inform that there could be more tigers in the Sunderbans than what was earlier believed to be their numbers. This news comes in the wake of the sudden spurt in cub sightings in the mangroves. In fact, the latest camera trap census reveals that […]
Electric Cars to Replace Fuel-run Cars in Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary
CONSERVATION ACTION: It is always great to know when government bodies take up initiatives that benefit wildlife. In a recent eco-friendly initiative, the Himachal Pradesh government decided to ban fuel-driven vehicles from entering the Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary and introduce electric cars and golf carts for use by the visitors. This move aims at […]
Diesel Pollutants Snatch Honeybee’s Ability to Smell Flowers
RED ALERT: In a report published in the journal Scientist Report, researchers from the University of Southampton have confirmed that certain pollutants destroy floral smells that help honeybees locate flowers that contain nectar. The researchers specifically explored the group of highly reactive nitrogen oxide gases released by diesel combustion and found that these pollutants are […]
12 Gir Lions to Get a New Home in Kuno
Palpur Kuno is finally set to get 12 lions in the first phase of a conservation project involving translocation of Asiatic lions from Gir in Gujarat to neighboring Kuno in Madhya Pradesh. Experts from the Wildlife Institute of India had long identified Kuno in Sheopur district as the ideal location for a second home for […]
Captive Elephants Now Available For Hire!
In a significant setback to elephant conservation efforts in the country, the Kerala state government recently gave the green signal for the commercial use of captive elephants. The controversial proposal requesting for permission to let out captive elephants for hire was put forward by the Chief Conservator of Forests in the Department of Forests in […]