It’s an age-old debate for coffee lovers. Which is better: Arabica beans with their sweeter, softer taste, or the bold, deep flavor of Robusta beans? A new study by WCS, Princeton University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison appearing in the journal Scientific Reports has taken the question to unlikely coffee aficionados: birds. The researchers, led by WCS […]
New Frog Species Discovered in Goa
A new terrestrial frog has been discovered in Goa, seen in the high elevation areas near paddy fields and ponds. The frog is brown coloured and has been given the scientific name Fejervarya goemchi in honor of the state where it was identified. The team that made the discovery was led by KP Dinesh, from […]
Bhargavi’s Quest for the Lost Bats of India
In 2016, Hipposideros hypophyllus slid to the bottom of a list that no species wants to be on – the ‘Critically Endangered’ section of IUCN’s Red List. The assessors stated that only 150 to 200 of these creatures remain, all of them confined to a single cave near the village of Hanumanahalli in Kolar, Karnataka. Today, the bat […]
A Year Back Into Nature
“The extinction of wildlife would likely be caused not just by the greed of poachers, but equally by the rapacity of developers,” writes Prerna Singh Bindra in her book The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis. The year 2017 has given ample proof of both – the remorseless operations of the merchants of wildlife who will sell […]
To Breed or Not to Breed? Migratory Butterflies of India Make Smart Choices, Finds a New Study
Quick Notes Butterflies of peninsular India that undergo a bidirectional migration every year choose a reproductive pause to conserve energy. Migrating and non-migrating female butterflies have distinct morphological and physiological differences. A non-reproductive state helps migratory butterflies to use energy for the exhaustive 300 km migration journey from Western to Eastern Ghats. Post migration the […]
Over 1000 Turtles and Tortoises Rescued in Bangalore from Smugglers
A group of smugglers trying to make away with 1012 exotic turtles and tortoises, valued at about Rs 4 crore in the international market were caught right on time by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials last week in Bangalore. They were trying to make their way across the state border over to Chennai and […]
Going Wild Over Mushrooms
Come monsoons, and the thick undercover of Western Ghats forests are transformed into a magical kingdom of mushrooms – ending their mysterious life spent underground and popping out for a brief moment as if just for the purpose of enhancing the life nurturing quality of the season. Unlike the supermarket versions of the packed button […]
Snow Leopard Photographed for the First Time in Arunachal Pradesh
Scientists have obtained the first evidence of the elusive snow leopard in Arunachal Pradesh. Camera traps have captured images of the big cat at Thembang village’s Community Conserved Area, a community-owned reserve, in West Kameng district. The presence of the species outside a protected areas highlights the importance of community support for conservation as well as landscape-scale […]
Asiatic Lion Pride Spotted on Coastal Highway
Travelers on the coastal highway between Bhavnagar and Una in Amreli district in Gujarat were in for a surprise when they sighted a pride of seven wild Asiatic lions casually walking by. The pride was earlier seen by some locals resting on a hillock near Balani Vav village close to the coastal town of Rajula. […]
The Largest and the Smallest Animals Have the Highest Risk of Extinction
Our planet may be undergoing the sixth mass extinction, believe many scientists placing three fourth of animals on the planet at risk. In an attempt to learn more on which species could be the most threatened a new study has found out that the largest and the smallest species on Earth are facing the highest […]
Great Indian Bustard Numbers Rising in Rajasthan
Quick Notes The number of Great Indian Bustards in Rajasthan has gone up from 11 to 31. The bird is one of the rarest in the world and is marked Critically Endangered by IUCN. It is currently found in only 6 Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The number […]