The municipal workers clearing the Rajindra lake in the midst of Patiala city of Punjab in northern India were in for a surprise when they accidentally found a rare and endangered turtle in one of the busiest roads of the city. Representative image of Indian soft shelled turtle via biolib The 70-year old reptile was […]
New Species of Golden-backed Frog Discovered
Closely following his discovery of the 14 species of dancing frogs earlier this year, the frogman of India, Professor Sathyabhama Das Biju of the Delhi University, has made yet another exciting find. Seven new species of Golden-backed frogs (Genus Hylarana) were discovered by Biju and his team in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka global biodiversity hotspot. […]
Eco-Travel: Silent Valley National Park, Kerala
A monthly focus on one of the many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks of India The Silent Valley National Park forms the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Located in the Palakkad district of Kerala, the place was so named by the British in 1847 owing to the supposed absence of the loud and […]
Road Kills Pose High Risk to Leopards in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh may soon lose all its leopards if an action plan is not set in place very soon to conserve them. The beautiful spotted feline once found in good numbers in Madhya Pradesh is under grave threat mainly due to road kills. Image via cc/Flickr by Kosala Bandara On 24th September this year, at […]
Eco-Travel: Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Santuary, Assam
A monthly focus on one of the many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks of India Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, erstwhile known as Hollongapar Reserve Forest is so named after the major species of trees found here, Hollong (Dipterocarpus macrocarpus) which form the ideal habitat for the only apes found in India, the endangered […]
£1m Project Launched to save the Royal Bengal Tiger in India
India is one of last remaining abodes of the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger. Only 1706 of this big cat survive in India which means there is just one tiger for every 7, 62,016 people. However, the growing human population has also increased the constant encounters of the wild predator and humans giving rise to frequent […]
Diclofenac Poisoning Threat Spreading to Vultures Worldwide
Vultures, the huge scavenging birds with their large beady eyes and bald heads perform the very important task of cleaning up remains of dead carcasses of humans, cows and other animals. Once found in large numbers all over India, these birds are now in dire risk of extinction because of Diclofenac, a veterinary drug that […]
India has the Highest Forest Ranger Mortality in the World
Being a forest ranger in India seems to rank top on the list of jobs with high mortality rates. Based on statistics provided by a non profit organization called IRF (International Ranger Federation), past three years saw the death of 72 forest rangers in India. This number is very high as compared to their counterparts […]
Bengal considering Birth Control to solve Human-Elephant conflict
The continual decline in the population of a species poses a major threat to biodiversity. On the flip side, the unhindered and rapid multiplication of species also brings forth its own set of problems. It is this rise in the population of the elephants in West Bengal that has led to increased man-animal conflict, say […]
Surprise Spotting of Endangered Bird in Dadri Wetlands
When Rajeev Ranjan, an enthusiastic bird watcher got off early from work recently and decided to go bird watching, little did he know about the surprise that nature had in store for him. Much to the delight and amazement of this Greater Noida resident, he got a chance to capture a once in a lifetime […]
Whale shark Pups Pay the Price of Damaged Nets
The age old man-animal conflict continues to raise its ugly head from time to time and sadly one or the other seems to pay the price very heavily. This time it is the Whale Shark pups who have been the unfortunate victims of this conflict. Whale shark pups caught as a by catch while fishing […]