MADHYA Pradesh’s forest department seems to share a cosy relationship with resort owners and tour operators. On September 14, H S Pabla, chief wildlife warden of the state, wrote an e-mail: “A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on tourism in core areas of Madhya Pradesh’s national tiger reserves …
I am often witness to and a part of small disasters while in the field, but I learn something each day that keeps me going. I still remember the day we spent five hours pulling our Maruti Gypsy out of the dirt track. We were on our way to Pakke …
EVER found an injured butterfly or caterpillar and wanted to help it but did not know how to? Turn to butterflywebsite.com. US butterfly expert Rick Mikula compiled a list of butterfly experts across the world who love butterflies and understand them. The site has several articles on butterflies and moths, …
Recent research on leopard behaviour shows capturing the problem animals and releasing them elsewhere only shifts the locale of the people-animal conflict. At first glance Akole taluka in Ahmednagar district seems like any other taluka in western Maharashtra’s sugarcane belt. It has densely populated and chaotic settlements, virtually no forest …
THE DEATH of a tiger last month, two and a half years after it was brought to Sariska, proves the National Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan is not safe for the big cat. The death also brought to light little action has been taken on the recommendations of the Tiger Task …
MARINE biologists had almost given up hope of saving the green sea turtle in the 1980s following an uptick in a tumourcausing disease among the endangered species. They thought the deadly condition might drive the largest hard-shelled sea turtle to extinction. “But that did not happen for a variety of …
The struggle to protect the rapidly vanishing tiger is getting murkier by the day. Up to 100,000 families are slated for displacement, ostensibly to secure India’s tiger habitats. Unfortunately, most of the relocation taking place violates the law and may end up creating more conflicts that cause the tiger’s decline. …
ELEPHANT owners and festival committees in Kerala have come out openly against the Elephant Task Force’s recommendations to the Central government. Stating that the task force has not taken into consideration the state’s cultural and religious traditions, the Kerala State Elephant Owners’ Federation and the Kerala State Pooram-Perunnal Festival Coordination …
On September 20, BBC published a report in the Earth News section of its web edition that has had the global wildlife and conservation community abuzz. In the article, ‘Lost tiger population discovered in Bhutan mountains’, editor of Earth News Matt Walker described the expedition where the BBC team “left …
Tiny colourful dots are seen floating in the sky as one approaches Old Delhi around Independence Day. It is the season of kite-flying and kite-fighting. August, this year, was also the month of Ramzan. Distracted by kites, people could forget their hunger pangs in this fasting month. Chawri Bazaar, with …
International environmental NGO, Greenpeace, is in the copyright soup over its campaign to save Olive Ridley Turtles. Greenpeace is against Tata Steel’s building a port at the mouth of the Dhamra river, close to Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Orissa. The site is the largest of the three nesting sites of …
The conservation broth has got eager hands to stir it. Some throw in extra spices to experiment with the taste. But that sometimes spoils the broth. For instance, the forest department’s prescription to tackle the dearth of prey base for tigers in the Sunderbans: release deer in the mangroves. The …
On more robust population studies Population estimates are currently done through sighting and pug marks. While these are fine to establish the presence of a species, we need to know population demographics in sex ratio, age groups, number of birth and deaths (to understand the viability and health of the …
Tango with nature India has been using lakes, ponds and baolis (step wells) since ancient times ('What monsoon means', July 16-31, 2010). Delhi was once replete with water bodies. In the past 50 years, government agencies started disbanding natural ponds, lakes and baolis, declaring their water untested, and therefore, unfit …
THE little brown bat seen roosting in the eaves of buildings, crevices in trees and caves across North America could go extinct by 2026. So could several other bat species. Researchers warn that a cold-loving fungus is quietly attacking the bats in hibernation, waking them up in mid-winter. Once they …
THE Indian tectonic plate smashed into Asia some 55 million years ago. A ripple of geological events followed, creating the Himalayan mountains and Tibetan plateau over 40 million years. Geologists could figure out how the highlands were formed, but disagree on the timeline of their formation. Evolutionary biologists from China …
In early August, a grainy footage of four masked men drugging a fox and later beating it to death with cricket bats in a London park posted on YouTube and Facebook sparked media outrage. A week later Guardian revealed that the footage was an elaborate hoax. The filmmakers said no …
