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(May 02, 2025) By Dipti Humraskar and Rujan Sarkar  What happens when traditional folk theatre meets sensitive and pressing conservation issues? One such outcome is Vanyavani - an initiative using the power of storytelling to ignite conversations around conservation. Founded by Makarand Sawant and Kunika Bansode Sawant, Vanyavani blends humour, emotion, and research with India's rich folk art to reconnect people with nature - one performance at a time.  We spoke with Makarand and Kunika abo...

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(March 27, 2025) -By Sourav Dutta The forests, rivers, and wildlife of Ntangki National Park have always been integral to the lives of the Kuki, Dimasa, and Zeliang communities living along its fringes. Yet, for years these culturally distinct villages in Nagaland, although living in proximity maintained limited interaction despite managing common property resources, landscapes, challenges and aspirations.  This meant that as the communities managed their lands and forests independently, common challe...

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(March 11, 2025) - By Veerendra Naidu   “Hello?” “There’s a leopard at Vasai Fort!” This was what we heard on a call and when we were least expecting it. The Vasai Fort is a tourist site, with dense human settlements, on the outskirts of Vasai city. The leopard had collided with a vehicle, and we were instructed to reach the spot immediately. The urgency in my colleague’s voice was undeniable. We had just wrapped up another morning of camera-trapping for l...

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(December 18, 2024) By Anshita Das The evening was quiet, except for the faint drizzle tapping on leaves and the soft, persistent chirping of crickets and occasional bird calls. The damp air clung to us as we trudged through the tea estate, navigating rows of lush, green bushes still glistening from a heavy rain earlier that day. Shadows stretched across the path, and the light was fading fast. We’d been out since morning, checking and retrieving camera traps around Valparai’s dumpsites to monitor wi...

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(October 25, 2024) - Avantika Deep Sharma Nestled amidst the lush green forest of Anamalai hills, Valparai is a labyrinth of tea, coffee, and rainforest patches where sighting wild animals is fairly common. While the landscape is a haven for birds and butterflies, the tea-dominated plateau may also surprise one with glimpses of megafauna like elephants, sambar deer, gaurs, and, if luck favours, even leopards. Early last year, towards the end of winter, I landed in Valparai to initiate my study on the elusive...

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(September 20, 2024) ಲೇಖಕರು: ಸತೀಶ ಗಣೇಶ ನಾಗಠಾಣ ಇಬ್ಬನಿಯಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ ನಸು ಮುಂಜಾವಿನ ವಾತಾವರಣ, ಎತ್ತ ನೋಡಿದರತ್ತ ಅಗಾಧವಾದ ಮರಗಳ ಶ್ರೇಣಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಸಿಗುವ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ನೀರಿನ ಜರಿಗಳಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಹೊಮ್ಮುವ ನೀರು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬಿಡದೆ ಸತತವಾಗಿ ಹರಿಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಕಡಿದಾದ ಗುಡ್ಡವನ್ನು ಸೀಳಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ದಾರಿ‌ ಕಾಡಿನ ಒಳಹೊಕ್ಕು ದೂರವಾಗಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಮೌನ ತಾಳಿದ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಒಳಹೊಕ್ಕು ಹುಡಕಾಟ ಇನ್ನೇನು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭ ಮಾಡುವ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ, ರೂಮಿನ ಕೀಟಕಿಯಿಂದ ಇಣುಕಿ ಇಣುಕಿ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮೋನಿಷ... ಸಾರ್! ಸಾರ್! ನಾನು ಕೂಡ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಜೊತೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಬರಬಹುದೆ ಎಂದು ಕೂಗಿ ಕೂಗಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಧ್ವನಿ ಕಾನನ ತುಂ...

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(August 29, 2024) By Imnawapang Jamir As a budding wildlife biologist, I found an opportunity of sharing my enthusiasm with others when I joined WCS-India as a Field Assistant in the ITHCP/IUCN -Phase II Project. This project works with human communities surrounding the Intangki National Park towards nature conservation. Intangki situated in Peren district is the only designated wildlife conservation area as a National Park in my State of Nagaland.  Nkio B Village   My main responsibility in...

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(March 08, 2024) By Robin Eastment Nagaland is a region as rural as can be. Such regions, most often than not, have two things in common. They are “underdeveloped” and “highly biodiverse”. In the case of Nagaland, on one hand it is the 10th poorest state in India, with 25% of its population classified as “multi-dimensionally poor” as per the Niti Aayog. On the other hand, it is part of two Biodiversity Hotspot Regions, The Eastern Himalayas and The Indo-Myanmar. 73.90% of i...

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(February 28, 2024) By Shubham Mandavgane Introduction  In August 2022, an indigenous tribe from the Amazon rainforest went extinct. The man, whose nickname came from the holes he regularly dug in the ground, was the last living member of an uncontacted Indigenous tribe, the rest of whom were killed by ranchers. His death marks the tragic extinction of people along with their language, culture, beliefs, survival techniques, and much more. One more thing that went extinct, which is perhaps the most import...

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(January 19, 2024) ಲೇಖನ: ಆರ್. ರಘುರಾಮ್ ನವೆಂಬರ್ ಮಾಹೆಯ ಮಧ್ಯೆಭಾಗದ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ಬಂಡೀಪುರದಿಂದ ಎಲಚೆಟ್ಟಿ ಗ್ರಾಮಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುವ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದ್ವಿಚಕ್ರ ವಾಹನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನಗೆ ಯೋಚನೆಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಒಂದು ಮುದ್ದಾದ ಆನೆಮರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ತಾಯಿ. ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಎಲಚೆಟ್ಟಿ ಗ್ರಾಮ ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಇಕ್ಕೆಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಈ ದೈತ್ಯ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳು ಅಂದೇಕೋ ಕಾಣಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ವಾಹನ ಚಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಆ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳನ್ನೇ ಹುಡುಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಆಗ ಆನೆಗಳ ಬದಲಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಗಮನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಮುತ್ತುಗದ ಹೂವುಗಳು.  ಹಳದಿ ಮಿಶ್ರಿತ ಕೆಂಪು ವರ್ಣದ ಹೂವುಗಳು ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಅಕ್ಕ-ಪಕ್ಕದ ಮರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅರಳಿ ಕ...

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