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 […]
Speeding Vehicles bring Early Death to Sloth Bears
CONCERN: Imagine a life where you are constantly living in fear that the next day may be your last as a bullet pierces your chest. Even if you are safe, your kid may not be, snatched right at birth to be sold in far off places. Miraculously, you evade these problems, but there is another […]
How do Plants Tell the Time of Day?
As a kid, I was always curious about a plant in our garden called nine o’clock. My father informed that the unusual name popped from the plant’s habit to bloom like clockwork precision at nine o’clock in the morning. And so with clockwork precision myself, every day I would go out in the garden to […]
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 […]
Sea Rising in East Sundarbans – Growing threat to Tigers.
Regions in the eastern part of Sundarbans – world’s largest mangrove forest and key tiger habitat, are under threat of going underwater as the sea level continues to rise in these parts. A recent study by the World Bank and Institute of Environmental Studies and Wetland Management (IESWM) has suggested immediate measures to ensure the […]
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 […]
Crocodile Hacked to Death in Odisha highlights Rising Conflict
In a recent incident in Odisha’s Kendrapada district, a salt- water crocodile, (the largest living crocodile species) was found dead by forest officials near a water body in Kochila village of Barakanda Gram Panchayat. The injuries clearly show, the animal died due to wounds inflicted on it by locals. The huge 8-foot long reptile is […]
Breakthrough: Scientists Successfully Sequence Entire Tiger Genome
RESEARCH: In a ground breaking news, a group of scientists announced the successful completion of the full genome sequencing of the tiger. The data collected from the tiger genome will now form the basis of all future genetic studies related to conservation of the highly endangered species of big cats. The complete genome sequencing of […]
200 Endangered Birds Seized in Kolkata: Illegal Trade Continues to Flourish in India
ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE: The only reason pet bird trade continues to flourish is because many of us continue to buy caged birds. It is at times when the illegal and inhuman practices of pet traders are brought to light that a few pause to ponder over the plight of these unfortunate winged creatures. In one […]
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 […]
Pod of Rare Indus River Dolphins Spotted in Punjab
RARE SPECIES SIGHTING: In exciting news for dolphin lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, the officials of Harike Wildlife Sanctuary in Punjab reported spotting 12 Indus dolphins (Platanista gangetica minor) in a single sighting. This is the first time that a complete pod of the endangered dolphin species has been sighted near the sanctuary, which lies about […]