(April 05, 2019) India harbours approximately half of the total population of the endangered wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). They need large areas for survival and are considered as “umbrella species” as their conservation also protects other species that occupy that same habitat. However, like many other animals, elephants are also facing the heat of a changing climate, and are a victim of habitat loss. In a recent study, an international team of researchers from India, Spain,...

READ THE STORY

(April 05, 2019) Mongabay reports: According to research carried out as part of the ‘Metflux India’ project by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the forest ecosystem shows a see-saw effect: it fluctuates from being a carbon source to sink during the course of the year with the change in seasons.A forest is considered to be a carbon sink if it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Plants sponge-off carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for photosynth...

READ THE STORY

(March 19, 2019) Tool use, unique social groups are disappearing due to human disturbance.Read Publicationhttps://youtu.be/1nXYIAIb4C8A sweeping new study published in the journal Science says that chimpanzee’s complex cultures – including the use of tools and other behaviors – are being lost as human disturbance expands into previously wild areas.The ten-year study, led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, s...

READ THE STORY

(February 04, 2019) New Delhi: Kaadumane Homestay, near Joida in Karnataka has romped home as the Best Wildlife Stay, winning the gold under Outlook’s Responsible Tourism Initiative for the Year 2019.Narasimha Bhat (right) receiving the Outlook Responsible tourism award from Belinda Wright.The three-acre wilderness “hideaway” attracts deer, gliding frogs, flying squirrels and 65 species of birds. Started in 2007, it is home to 109 species of fruit trees, 19 species of citrus, 46 species ...

READ THE STORY

(January 10, 2019) In an unfortunate incident at Melghat Tiger Reserve where many Government department staff were grievously wounded and prime tiger habitat set fire to by an angry mob, it was the timely support from the police department and district administration that helped prevent further damage.On the 15th of January 2019, around 300-500 villagers who had voluntarily resettled outside Melghat during 2011-12 and 2014-15 entered the core area of the tiger reserve at Kelpani illegally, demanding additional com...

READ THE STORY

(December 05, 2018) The pangolin is the world’s most trafficked mammal is generally known in wildlife circles. But a video that has emerged as part of a two-year study by Oxford researchers and others shows how brutally the animal is treated in parts of India. The footage from Assam shows the pangolin clinging to a tree for life as its tail is tugged. The hunters cut the tree and then light a fire to smoke it out. Once captured, the torture continues as it is bludgeoned and bleeding and finally thrown into bo...

READ THE STORY

(November 30, 2018) Ramesh Pandey, Chief Conservator of Forests & Field Director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, was conferred the 'excellent contribution' governance award at the 6th Gfiles Governance Award for his various contributions in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.An Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1996 batch, Uttar Pradesh Cadre, Ramesh Kumar Pandey has been recognised for his honest, disciplined and targeted approach towards conservation and environ...

READ THE STORY

(September 20, 2018) Wilderness areas, long known for intrinsic conservation value, are far more valuable for biodiversity than previously believed, and if conserved, will cut the world's extinction risk in half, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.Wilderness areas - where human impact has been absent or minimal - are dwindling. The latest maps show over 3 million square kilometres (1.15 million square miles) of wilderness destroyed since the 1990s (an area the size of India), and that less...

READ THE STORY