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(July 14, 2022) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter June 2022 In Focus CITES is an international agreement between sovereign states aimed at ensuring that the international trade in specimens of wild plants and animals does not threaten their survival.  The parties to the convention will decide through voting on the amendments to Appendices I and II at the Conference of Parties held once every two to three years. For the next COP meeting, COP19 which will be held in Panama City in N...

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(July 08, 2022) 1,197 sq km of land in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari declared as Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve The Union Environment Ministry has cleared a proposal, declaring 1,197 square kilometres of land in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari as Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve. Once notified, the forest department will gain access to additional funding under the centrally sponsored Project Elephant. This will be Tamil Nadu's fifth elephant reserve. Read more here. Dimming the glow of firefly fes...

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(July 06, 2022) Written by Advaith Jaikumar | Edited by Dipti Humraskar An Asian elephant takes a stroll through a forest in India | Image: Sachin Rai Key Highlights: A new study finds that Asian elephants are ingesting a large amount of human-generated waste, including plastic of varied sizes. Scientists examined elephant dung samples to quantify ingestion of plastic. Plastic waste is found in landfills near forest fringes, where elephants often forage. Elephants carry this plastic int...

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(July 01, 2022) Did you call? Misuse of bird call audio is disturbing bird behaviour © N A Nazeer/Wikimedia Commons The use of recorded audios of birdcalls by birders has become problematic in India. Its overuse may have an effect on the breeding habits and social behaviour of birds. Researchers explain that banning this completely is not an answer. Park officials are considering new ways to limit misuse. Read more here.  Forest dept finds over 50 hatchlings of critically endang...

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(June 27, 2022) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter May 2022   In Focus India continues to be a significant transit and destination country for illegal trade in exotic wildlife species. Here is a list of media-reported exotic wildlife seizures from May 2022: Customs officials recovered four endangered exotic primate species from a bus in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. Species recovered were a east javan langur, a red-shanked douc, and two monkeys belonging to Cercopithecus genus. In ...

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(June 24, 2022) Smuggling of Exotic and Endangered Species From Myanmar Increasing © Assam Police Exotic and endangered species are the latest in the list of items being smuggled from Myanmar into India, evidenced by seizures at regular intervals across different states in the country. The species that have been confiscated so far range from pangolins to chimpanzees. Wildlife is mostly smuggled through the border states of Mizoram and Manipur in the Northeast, India’s frontier region. This zo...

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(June 17, 2022) Asian elephants are ingesting large amounts of plastic from landfills in India  © Unsplash/Paweldotio According to a new study, endangered Asian elephants in Uttarakhand, India, have been ingesting human garbage, including plastics. How does human waste get there? Plastic waste is found in garbage dumps near forest fringes that neighbour human communities; elephants venture here to eat. Once the plastics are brought into the forest via the elephants’ dung, other species m...

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(June 10, 2022) At This Farm, Kids Promote Wildlife Conservation And Protect Dying Art Forms © Outlook In Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, Insight Walk is using sustainable and local community-led initiatives to change the face of rural education in four villages. Read more   Dolphins sighted 27 times along Mumbai coast in pilot study © Shutterstock / Ricardo Canino A recent pilot study conducted in south Mumbai’s Backbay region has confirmed 27 sightings of Indian Ocean...

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(June 10, 2022) WCS-India collaborated with the Mangrove Foundation to conduct an inter-agency workshop from 1st - 2nd June 2022 at the Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre, Mumbai. The two-day workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of frontline officers to combat the illegal trade of marine wildlife in India. The workshop content was designed and executed as a partnership between the Counter Wildlife Trafficking and Marine Programme of WCS-India.  The first day comprised an inter-agency worksh...

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(June 03, 2022) Protecting the critical Chambal landscape, one of last viable habitats for red-crowned roofed turtle © Mongabay The Chambal landscape is an important habitat for freshwater turtles. There are eight species of turtles found here of which the red-crowned roofed turtle is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Chambal turtles use the sandy riverbank for nesting. Illegal sand mining is one of the major threats for them.  Read ...

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