Manipur conducts first census of Amur falcon- world’s longest travelling raptors | Hindustan Times
Manipur Forest Department, in collaboration with Wildlife Explorer Manipur, conducted the first-ever census of Amur falcons, the world's longest-travelling raptors, in Tamenglong district, revealing 1.41 lakh birds, surpassing the expected 50,000. The initiative aimed to enhance conservation efforts through awareness programmes and study migration patterns using satellite-tagging. Future counts are planned at six roosting sites.
Mistaken identity becomes a major threat for India's small wild cats | Mongabay
India's small wild cats are facing retaliatory killings from pastoral communities and displacement due to mistaken identity. Farmers often misidentify cats like the rusty-spotted cat, jungle cat, fishing cat, and leopard cat cubs as offspring of larger, more dangerous cats, leading efforts to eliminate them. In West Bengal, direct persecution is a significant threat to the fishing cat population, highlighting the need for awareness campaigns to reduce misidentification and promote coexistence, as successful initiatives have shown.
A citizen-led initiative contributes to wildlife conservation in Ladakh | Mongabay
The Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh (WCBCL), a grassroots organisation, actively contributes to wildlife conservation in Ladakh. Through periodic bird censuses, the club has discovered new species in the region and recorded elusive wildcats like the Eurasian lynx, Pallas’s cat, and snow leopard. Additionally, the citizen-led initiative aids the Ladakh Forest Department in wildlife rescues and reporting rule violations.
BNHS establishing vulture safe and release zones | Deccan Herald
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is establishing Vulture Safe Zones in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam, along with Vulture Release Zones in Haryana and West Bengal, to provide Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID)-free food for wild vultures. BNHS also plans to collaborate with the forest departments of Maharashtra and Rajasthan to release vultures in inviolate areas, assessing food availability and NSAID levels before release.
Arunachal’s Airgun Surrender Abhiyan receives international accolade | Arunachal Times
Arunachal Pradesh's Airgun Surrender Abhiyan (ASA), led by Minister Mama Natung, received international recognition at UNESCO's International Conference on Biosphere Reserves in Malaysia. This initiative aimed to conserve wildlife through the voluntary surrender of airguns, licenced guns, and power chainsaw machines. The program was launched in March 2021, and has resulted in over 2,400 airguns and nine licenced guns being surrendered, impacting the protection of wildlife significantly in the region.
North Bengal: Foresters take initiatives to mitigate human-elephant conflicts | Telegraph India
Foresters in North Bengal are implementing initiatives, including forming quick response teams and deploying patrolling vans, to address the escalating human-elephant conflicts that have resulted in 15 casualties in just one month. A pilot project is in progress to revive elephant corridors in Jaldapara National Park and Buxa Tiger Reserve, establishing a 5km corridor with energised fences to prevent elephants from entering villages and mitigate conflicts.