Most people who go on safaris will know that sighting a wild animal in the jungle is not easy. You might roam for hours without even a trace of a tiger or a leopard or a rhino. It is especially harder for field researcher who spends hours and days inside the forests and can still […]
New Climber Discovered from the Western Ghats
A new and rare species of climber has been discovered in the Western Ghats in Idukki district of Kerala. The discovery was made by a team of scientists from the Jawahar Lal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute. The climber belongs to the same family as Colocasia, the popular indoor plants with broad heart-shaped […]
Anti-poaching Camp for the Sea Cucumbers of Lakshadweep
An archipelago of 36 palm-laden coral islands nestled amidst the endless Arabian sea, Lakshadweep embodies a precious heritage of ecology and culture and forms India’s smallest Union Territory. In July 2020 it also became home to the world’s first Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve. Sea cucumbers convert decomposing organic matter into inorganic nutrients which are sparse […]
Studying Human-Animal Interaction During the Lockdown ‘Anthropause’
From the moment the lockdown began in India in March 2020, social media was abuzz with animal sightings across the country in urban areas. From the civet seen in Kerala to the leopards visiting colonies in Chandigarh and flamingoes in Mumbai, it seemed the lack of people on roads made animals bolder to venture beyond […]
A Gharial travels 1100 km from Nepal to India
The river Gandak in India is called Narayani in Nepal, but ask one Ghariyal, and the trans-boundary differences just merge into one long river path which it took to travel for more than 1000 kilometres from Nepal to India. According to the Wildlife Trust of India, biologist Subrat Behera working on the Gharial Recovery Project […]
Gujarat Now Has 674 Asiatic Lions…Or Is It?
The Asiatic Lion census of 2020 in Gujarat’s Gir National Park, the last bastion of this lion species in the world, was replaced by ‘Poonam Avalokan’ or full moon night observation due to Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown. Carried out on June 5 and June 6 the observation found 674 lions now in Gujarat which […]
A Rare Dragonfly is Photographed by chance After 90 Years
Ravindran Kamatchi and S Gopala Krishnan were out birding in Kallar Garden in Coimbatore when they saw an unusual dragonfly near a stream. The two began clicking photos of the dragonfly enamoured by its bigger than usual size. Later, they posted the pictures on a WhatsApp group ‘Odonates of the Western Ghats’ only to find […]
Six Elephants die within Ten Days in Chhattisgarh
Thursday 18 June 2020 – A wild elephant is found dead in Rajgarh district of Chhattisgarh. The carcass was found in Behrampur village under Chhal forest range of Dharamjaigarh division. Arun Kumar Pandey, the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest says the elephant did not die due to natural causes and there were no external […]
18 to 35 Caracals found in Ranthambore National Park
In local parlance, the Caracal is called ‘Siyagosh’ meaning ‘black ear’. It is an ode to the black tuft of hair peaking on the two ears of this wild cat. They act like antennae, picking up distant and minute vibrations. For the Caracal they are one of the many characteristics adapted to survive in the […]
Conservation Milestone: 14 Pygmy Hogs Released into Manas National Park
It is difficult to imagine that the conservation of an entire ecosystem could be resting on the shoulders of a tiny little animal called the Pygmy Hog. But the more you understand the importance of the species the more you understand how vital its presence is to save grasslands, elephants, and tigers. Fourteen captive-bred pygmy […]
China Offers Money to Breeders to Quit Wildlife Trading
In a world devasted by the Covid-19 pandemic, all fingers point to China’s wildlife markets from where the infection first spread. These illegal markets have for long been criticised by conservationists for trading in rare and endangered wildlife. But now that the real human threat because of these markets are visible, China is facing more […]