The State Forest Department of West Bengal undertook a direct count survey of the pachyderm population in the state. The tally stands at 682. The census covers both north and south Bengal. In the previous survey, 590 elephants were spotted in North Bengal only. The new survey by direct counting method showed that there were […]
Shark Awareness Day – Interesting Facts About Sharks
Today, July 14th is Shark Awareness Day and we are celebrating with some interesting facts about sharks. 1 Sharks Need to Swim to Stay Alive Some sharks need to swim continuously to stay alive. Sharks obtain oxygen for breathing from the water that flows over their gills. If they stop swimming, no more water flow […]
Infographic: What We are Doing to Sharks
A few years back, researchers found that a 100 million sharks are killed every year by humans. This is largely because of a practice called shark finning, where sharks are captured, their fin chopped off and then the lame animals are thrown back into the water. The injury is so severe that the sharks either […]
Stories From the Forest Frontline
Keep up with the unspoken tales of India’s forest rangers. From the sand to the sea, the hills and the green. So run the lines from the brilliant new digital series called ‘Ranger Ranger’, a long-term multimedia reporting project led by Sonali Prasad, in creative collaboration with platform mukha.co. Since last August, Ranger Ranger has […]
Arabica or Robusta Coffee? These Researchers Asked the Birds!
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 […]
Poacher Guilty of Killing 125 Tigers and 1025 Leopards Convicted
Five poachers were sentenced for four years by a Madhya Pradesh court for poaching tigers, leopards, pangolins and jackals. One of the convicted men is Mohammed Shamim, a close aide of the late infamous poacher Sansarchand who was responsible for wiping out all tigers from Sariska. This is one of the fastest convictions of poaching […]
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 […]