Affidavit filed by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam in the matter of news item titled "the last feral horses in India" appearing in Mongabay, November 5, 2024. The matter relates to the critically endangered status of feral horses in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park as well as of smuggling of these …
Worried over the declining number of Royal Bengal tigers in Odisha forests, former Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh on Monday urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take steps to save the tiger population in the state. "It would be a calamity if the Odisha tigers were to …
Forest dwellers inside Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) have put forward their own Community Forest Resource Management and Conservation (CFRMC) plan for vast forest stretches. Campaigners advocating implementation of the Forest Rights Act say villagers’ plan submitted to the Mayurbhanj district administration last week will now be the basis of …
Forest Rights Act 2006 recognizes and vests forest rights to the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in forests in generations but whose rights could not be recorded. The law provides for a framework for recording of the forest rights so vested and the nature …
BALASORE: Forest cover of nearly 160 hectares (ha) in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) of Mayurbhanj district has been destroyed in the recent fire that lasted for over a week. Even as around 540 fire personnel were engaged along with 15 extinguishers to control the fire, the STR authorities heaved a …
The forest fire that erupted in vast forest patches of Similipal National Park in Odisha was nearly brought under control. As of now, the forest department personnel aided by villagers in fringe forest villages have managed to put out the fire in nearly 40 ha of land. 10 days The …
BHUBANESWAR: The Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), a dedicated force formed in August 2013 for better protection of big cats in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), is handicapped due to staff shortage. Official sources said the state government is sitting over the decision to deploy 63 forest guards, who were recruited …
New finds rekindle interest in melanism in the wild in Palakkad Some of the wild animals in the forests of Silent Valley, Parambikulam, Nelliampathy and Attappady in the district are, it seems, not showing their true colours. Forest officials say the increased presence of melanism in the animals in these …
Bhubaneswar: In an effort to complete its probe into the alleged mining scam in Odisha, a team of Justice M B Shah Commission arrived here today on a 12-day visit during which it will conduct field inquiries at mines in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts. The six-member team led by U …
Bhubaneswar: As part of the Tiger Monitor Protocol of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), sign survey of carnivores and ungulates, kicked off across the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Monday. The three-day sign survey is being carried across STR, Baripada, Rairangpur and Kanajia divisions of Similipal. Only forest officials and …
BARIPADA: Already shocked over frequent elephant killings in Similipal and Kuldiha reserve forests, the forest authorities here are in for some more trouble. If sources are to be believed, a group of interstate poachers’ gang from North East region has arrived in Similipal for poaching of wild tuskers. Reliable sources …
Large-scale mining in the buffer zone of Similipal Biosphere in Mayurbhanj district is threatening the wildlife and flora and fauna of the second largest tiger reserve in the country. Despite crores being spent in the name of conservation and the Project Tiger, wildlife activists said illegal mining was causing irreparable …
Bhubaneswar: The state Crime Branch Police will start probe into the poaching of elephants allegedly by organised rackets at different parts of the state, official sources said. We have already received an order from the state government to start probe into the matter. The Crime Branch has set up contact …
Bhubaneswar: Taking note of inclusion of Similipal Biosphere Reserve and its reserve forest in World Network of Biosphere Reserves, the state government has decided to scale up livelihood projects to provide alternative livelihood for the people living inside the bio-sphere to lessen their dependency on forest resources. Presiding over a …
Melanism can be seen more in the evergreen habitat of the Western Ghats where the interiors of the forests are dark Melanism found in some animals at the Parambikulam forests in Palakkad district of Kerala has caught the imagination of wildlife enthusiasts. Recently, managers of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve obtained …
If the State’s jumbo population has seen a jump by 44 from 1886 to 1930, that of Sambalpur and Mayurbhanj present a worrying situation. Rampant poaching in the forests of Mayurbhanj district, tussle for space and fodder besides sagging electric wires, particularly, in Sambalpur district, have the wildlife activists and …
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to help conserve and protect the dwindling tiger population, the Odisha government has decided to create a Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) and prepare a long-term action plan for the conservation of the big cats. Briefing newsmen after presiding over the first meeting of the Similipal …
BHUBANESWAR: A day after Similipal was rocked by the news __ poaching of four elephants __ the Forest and Environment Department on Monday pressed the panic button. Chief Wildlife Warden Janardan Dibakar Sharma has proceeded to the tiger reserve to take stock. He would visit Nawana South Range and assess …
BARIPADA: Forest officials are all set for this year’s elephant census. It will be conducted simultaneously in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts besides West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand between June 1 and June 3. The synchronised census has been aimed at averting the overlap since pachyderms migrate across boundaries in search …
With escalating man-elephant conflicts and more than 20 elephant deaths from in and around Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha, nearly 100 villages have been involved in a campaign “Haathi Mere Saathi” aimed at befriending the national heritage animal with common man. Basically, an initiative of the Ministry of Environment …
Simlipal Tiger Reserve, the fourth biggest tiger reserve in the country, may soon go the Sariska way with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) pointing out an “alarmingly low prey base” due to hunting by tribals living on the fringes here. The reserve, spanning over 2,750 sq km area in …
