VIEWPOINT: There are tiny little insects called the Rhinoceros beetle that can lift 285 times their bodyweight. Humans can manage 1.7 times their bodyweight only. The starfish can regenerate their entire body from a cut off limb. Humans of course, can only regenerate a broken toe nail perhaps. Elephants can keep track of up to […]
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 […]
Indian Teenager Wins Prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Barely 14 and already in the world’s radar – that would be the most apt way to describe Indian teenager Udayan Rao Pawar who won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide for the year 2013. His photograph, “Mother’s little headful,” which shows a mother crocodile […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Rarest Egg in the World!
Scientist in Scotland stumbles upon Critically Endangered Indian Bird’s Egg RARE DISCOVERY: In the drawers of the Zoology museum of the University of Aberdeen, lay an egg, preserved but uncatalogued and unrecognised, until Dr Alan Knox found it and sent it for DNA analysis. What he discovered he aptly describes as a ‘eureka moment’ in […]
Rare Butterfly Seen after 74 Years!
RARE SPECIES SIGHTING: Viewing a group of butterflies fluttering by is always a pleasurable sight. However, the joy of naturalists Sanjoy Sondhi and Purnendu Roy doubled when they discovered not any other butterfly but a rare sub-species, the Tibetan Brimstone at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Tibetan Brimstone has […]
Vanishing Medicinal Plants of Kashmir Himalaya
RED ALERT: The practice of using local herbs as medicinal remedies for a variety of health conditions is widely known in India. It is a knowledge that has been acknowledged by the world as India’s Ayurvedic medicine tradition. Even as modern drugs gain popularity, the tradition of using herbs to cure a headache, a cough, […]
3 year old Tiger Bitten by Rabid Dog
SPECIES WATCH: In a rather bizarre incident, a three-year old tiger cub was attacked by a rabid dog at Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh causing much concern to park authorities and veterinary doctors. The dog charged at the tiger cub in Hinauta range on September 10. Unfazed initially, the tiger walked away. However on […]