In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Although the unifying hallmark of prion diseases is CNS neurodegeneration caused by conformational corruption of host prion protein (PrP) to its infective counterpart, contagious transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) results from shedding of prions produced at high titers in the periphery of diseased cervids. While deer and elk PrP …
Hyderabad: There has been an increase in the number of turtles at the Neknampur lake. Conservationists have spotted about 30 turtles so far this year and hope the numbers go up with this being the breeding season. Among the species that have been spotted are the flapshell turtle, Indian pond …
United Nations Environment today announced a shortlist of regional finalists for the Young Champions of the Earth prize. The global competition aims to identify, support and celebrate outstanding individuals aged between 18 and 30 with big ideas to protect or restore the environment. From more than 900 applicants, the top …
Artificial sources of light at night time may harm amphibian populations, a study has found. Researchers exposed wood frogs to a control and two anthropogenic light conditions: intensified daytime illuminance and artificial light at night (ALAN). The study, published in the Environmental Pollution, found that both the intensified daytime illuminance …
Namibia translocated six elephants to a tourism game park in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia's Port Authorities (Namport) said Tuesday. Namport in a statement said this is the first time a consignment of such magnitude involving adult elephants leaving the country and will definitely not be …
African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Annual poaching mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa fell from 10 per cent in 2011 …
Conservationists have accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of rubber-stamping the extinction of endangered species by adopting hundreds of traditional Chinese remedies in its international guidelines. Many such remedies make use of animal parts and this has long put pressure on endangered species such as jaguars, pangolins and rhinos. On …
Jaipur: Chief secretary D B Gupta on Tuesday took a meeting of the wildlife officials to discuss relocation of villages from three tiger reserves in Rajasthan. The process was halted for last few years due to issues with the compensation package that is currently being given to villagers for relocation. …
Although wind is a green source of renewable energy, a new study has revealed that wind turbines are posing a threat to lives of birds in their vicinity. Birds colliding with turbine blades are dying. Researchers were invited by two windfarm owners — one in Samakhiali in Kutch, Gujarat and …
Haridwar: The Uttarakhand forest department has recorded a loss of Rs 23.59 lakh due to ravaging wildfires that have gutted 1369 hectares of forest cover in 1099 fire incidents till date in the state this season. Most of the fires have occurred in Kumaon region (681) followed by Garhwal region(367) …
Botswana has lifted its ban on elephant hunting, saying the population has increased and farmers’ livelihoods are being affected, in a move set to trigger outrage from conservationists. President Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist, introduced a prohibition on elephant hunting in the southern African country in 2014. But lawmakers from …
Humanity’s ongoing destruction of wildlife will lead to a shrinking of nature, with the average body size of animals falling by a quarter, a study predicts. The researchers estimate that more than 1,000 larger species of mammals and birds will go extinct in the next century, from rhinos to eagles. …
A campaign to protect "highly endangered" animals -Tiger, Pangolin and Star Tortoise- hunted for illegal trading internationally, has been launched by the Ministry of Environment at major airports in the country. The campaign 'Not all animals migrate by choice' has been launched ahead of the International Day of Biological Diversity, …
Hiding under trees for hours, counting fruits and visitor birds and by studying their feeding behaviours, researchers from Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, have mapped the different frugivore (fruit eater) birds and their interactions that are important for the forest ecosystem. The study carried out in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal …
Conducted over the course of a year in 2017-18, the All Kerala Tiger Monitoring Programme identified a total of 176 individuals, 75 of them within the confines of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) alone, based on camera-trap images. Kerala’s forest cover may be extremely fragmented and prone to recurrent human-animal …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Pradip Kumar Bhuyan & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 16/05/2019 regarding lack of adequate steps for free passage of elephants in Assam. According to the applicant, railway tracks, national and state highways and transmission lines should be …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Sayyed Mohammed Sabir Usman Vs Union of India & Others dated 15/05/2019 regarding grant of Environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Clearance for extension of Breakwater at Chhara Port, village Chhara Sarkhadi, Taluka Kodinar, district Gir Somnath, Gujarat by M/s …
The National Green Tribunal Monday constituted a committee, drawing representatives from various departments including wildlife and PWD, to provide it a factual report on alleged illegal construction of a road for use by commercial vehicles in the ecologically sensitive Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. A petition filed by advocate Gaurav …
Collapsing hippo numbers – and the loss of dung they produce – poses a threat to the species that thrive in eastern Africa’s rivers and great lakes, and the humans who rely on them. Hippos‘ graze the grassy savannah at night, then spend their days lazing and defecating in rivers …
Zambezi Delta, MozambiqueThere was once a peaceful hunting community called the Thozo, living in the lush, wildlife-rich wetlands of central Mozambique. Beyond their village, great herds of buffalo thrived in the swamps, elephants rumbled in the forests, and prides of lions hunted on the fringes of the floodplains. The village …
