Newsroom

News

(July 30, 2022) Assam’s Barak Valley Will Soon Have Another New Wildlife Sanctuary Between the Barak river and the Sonali river in Assam, Barak Valley is geared up to welcome its second Wildlife Sanctuary - the Barak Bhuban Wildlife Sanctuary. Spreading over 320 sq. km., the area is home to primates like slow loris, Assamese macaque, capped langur, hoolock gibbon and phayre’s leaf monkey. Read more here.   Herpetofauna survey records the presence of 60 species of amphibians, 7...

READ THE STORY

(July 22, 2022) Zoological Survey of India scientists discover new eel species in West Bengal Scientists from the Zoological Society of India have discovered a new eel species in Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal. Two specimens were collected from Petuaghat fishing harbour, and while marking them, one was found to be undescribed. It has been named Ariosoma Bengalense, connecting it to the state in which it was discovered. Read more here.   Why the famous Gir lion is hanging out by the...

READ THE STORY

(July 15, 2022)   In past 3 months, Goa records 6 tiger sightings | Times of India    After a single tiger sighting in 2012-2013, the Goa forest department did not report any for the next few years until 2016. Now, there have been six tiger sightings in the past 3 months. A total of 20 tiger sightings were reported in Goa in 2021-2022. This is the highest number of tiger sightings recorded in Goa since the use of camera traps began. Read more here. Can unmarked individuals ...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY

(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 ...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY

(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...

READ THE STORY