India is home to approximately 50,000 plant species in the world. Around 6 percent of world species of flowering plants are found in the country. It is one of the 17 mega-diversity regions of the world, and eleventh in respect to the number of endemic vascular plant species. Around 28 percent of flora in India […]
Saving India’s Leopards is not the Same as Saving India’s Tigers
As the number of leopard deaths due to the human-leopard conflict continue to rise in India, experts are trying to understand the leopard’s behaviour and think of out-of-the-box ideas to avoid conflict. “Sing off tune, never mind. Just sing and loud,” advises Puneet Nayyar, Deputy conservator of forest, Surat, Gujarat where leopard-human conflict is on […]
How to Save a Fish that Looks and Acts Like a Snake
More often than not all fish in our minds look like a version of the fish we drew in our school colouring books – cute beady eyes, fins, and a tail. The problem with this version is that if there is in the real world, a fish that does not fit the description, and does […]
A Scorpion with a Black Sting Discovered in the Western Ghats
It took the researchers 11 years to convince the scientific community that they had discovered a new scorpion. Because the specimen they had first spotted in Amboli Ghats of Maharasthra looked so similar to another commonly found Indian scorpion the Hottentotta rugiscutis, that it could possibly have been just a colour variation, thought the experts. […]
Endangered Plant to be Named ‘Shiv Suman’ to Honour King Shivaji
The Frerea indica plant was first discovered in Shivneri Fort of Maharashtra’s Junnar region in Pune in 1865. It was first documented by British scientist Nicol Alexander Dalzel and scientifically named Frerea indica Dalzell after him. But now, 154 years later, in honour of the state and the place of its discovery the plant is […]
Say No to Firefly Festival, Period
Have you ever noticed insects disappearing from your surrounding over the last few years? Try and recall the last time you saw a hawk moth, dragonfly, or butterfly around your house? Fact is, with the expanding city limits and other anthropogenic activities, we are losing wildlife habitats, green spaces, and wetlands in an unusual way. […]
How Mumbai Mangroves Save the City everyday
The Bombay High Court made a monumental decision in 2005 that led to the strict protection of the mangrove forests lining the city coasts. The decision came after the tragic Tsunami that struck the eastern Indian coasts and when it was found that the areas which had mangrove forests were saved from the disastrous high waves. These areas also recovered faster after the aftermath. Worldwide mangroves are fast depleting but because of the conservation order, Mumbai and its neighboring areas now boast of more than 5,800 hectares of mangrove land which is protected and will protect the city in future.
2,116 sq. km of Forest Area Lost In Maharashtra
CONCERN: In times when concerns about environmental changes comprise a major portion of most governments’ policy making mechanism, it comes as a shocking revelation that we continue to fight a losing battle against the effects of human impact on nature. In a report recently released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, it was […]
Bird-Lovers Wanted for Maharashtra Bird Census
If you happen to be a bird-lover residing in Maharashtra, here is a golden opportunity to participate in a bird counting exercise and feast your eyes on a wide variety of birds that can be spotted there. Maharashtra Pakshimitra, an NGO, will conduct a bird census in the state between January 11 and 26. Maharashtra […]
Citizen Volunteers to Patrol Tiger Reserve Soon
With the monsoons knocking on the doors, forest authorities of Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district of Maharashtra have decided to deploy citizen volunteers in the Jarida range of the reserve to improve patrolling. The reserve serves as an important corridor between the forests of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The project is currently in its […]
E-surveillance to track Tiger movements
To tackle tiger-train collision problems, government plans e-surveillance.