Scientists Study Rare Species With Unique Behavior UNUSUAL: Have you ever come across a weird-looking purple colored frog with a plump body and characteristic pointed snout? Chances are you have never even heard about their existence until now, because these fascinating members of the animal kingdom were only discovered as recently as in 2003. Now […]
Rainforests are luxuriant, dense forests rich in biodiversity, found typically in tropical areas with consistently heavy rainfall. Here are a few interesting facts about rainforests and why they are vital for our existence. Types of Rainforest There are two types of rainforests: temperate and tropical. Temperate rainforests are spread across some coastlines in temperate zones […]
The Western Ghats, India’s veritable treasure of some of nature’s best specimens, became the country’s 32 World heritage site after The UNESCO world Heritage Committee at its 36th meeting in St Petersburg inscribed it as a natural world heritage site.
Children today are getting closer to technology but distant from nature. They listen to music on MP3 players but cannot recognize the sweet song and calls of the birds. They enjoy Jacuzzi baths and swimming pools but don’t know the joys of swimming in ponds or just diving into a free flowing stream. They watch videos about animals on the internet, but have never seen the magnificence of a lion in the wild. They play war games online, but do not know the exhilaration of climbing trees and skinning their knees in the process. The virtual world of computers has practically replaced every aspect of Nature.
Chirrups, squeaks, roars and howls may not be much more than animal calls for most of us but for one man these are music to his ears quite literally. a j mithra is a self taught Zoo musicologists, someone who uses animal sounds to create music.
The next time you pick up a paint brush or a make-up brush, think twice. Chances are the brush might have been made of mongoose hair and you have inadvertently become part of an international illegal trade which is going unnoticed for decades. India is the one of the largest exporters of such kind of brushes made by killing thousands of mongoose annually.
Not everyone might appreciate the ‘croak-croak’ of a frog, but few researchers from India are listening to these amphibian sounds night and day to better understand the affect of climate change on these species.
The most common of Indian butterflies are becoming uncommon these days. Mega species like tigers and elephants get a little attention but insects are regarded more like pests or mere things of beauty that have no bigger roles to play. But experts say it is this loss of interest in saving small sized species like butterflies that is most fearsome because with the disappearance of these fluttered friends, plants too will lose their pollinators and fail to bloom, bear fruit or provide food for the planet.
In the dark, dense tropical forests, few men sat stooped and observed the minutest movement. Others pushed rocks and looked carefully under them for traces of life. For days and months, these few trekked the jungle paths and finally found what they were looking for – 12 new species of frogs and 3 that were believed to be extinct.
Discovery of new frog species at the Western Ghats of India has further strengthened the claim that these Ghats are the heart of biodiversity. While frog species round the world are driven to extinction due to habitat destruction, pollution, climate change and of late, much sought frog legs, the discovery of new frog species is refreshing news. The expedition in the Ghats was carried out by biodiversity researches, voluntary researches and nature enthusiasts without any funding from agencies and they succeeded in discovering ten new frog species.
Man’s increased preference for frog legs to satisfy his palate has been posing a great threat to the survival of amphibians round the world driving them to near extinction. The first ever comprehensive study on frog leg market reveals how their reduced numbers and extinction can have devastating effect on the environment and the natural ecosystems; the situation warrants immediate action by way of stopping use of frog species for international trade.
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