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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/madhya-pradesh/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 10:20:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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				<item>
					<title>As herders quit, the skills that helped human-tiger coexistence, disappear [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Aug 2026 13:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Varun Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/09231610/6_Thakre-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39995</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Ecology, Forests, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely populated, with over 400 villages located across the region. Though tiger numbers have favourably increased to 97 in this corridor, coexistence has become a renewed challenge. According to a news report published last August, more than 14,000 cattle were killed by tigers and leopards across the state in 2024–2025. In such situations, it is easy to overlook the role played by herders. They possess specialised knowledge that helps people coexist with tigers. They serve to locate livestock killed by predators and navigate government compensation systems. Cattle deaths can easily escalate tensions between forest-dwelling cattle holders and the forest department, the main agency dispensing the compensation. Herders don’t just address human-wildlife conflict, they mediate such difficult relations in the best interests of coexistence. One would most likely presume that in such times of peak conflict, the herder should be more indispensable than ever. Instead, herders are quitting their occupation due to economic, ecological, and social pressures. As herding and its associated knowledge disappears, it may undermine forms of coexistence that conservation programmes rarely account for. Cattle signs and compensation To understand what happens to tiger conservation when the practice of herding is disappearing, it is important&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s afforestation needs a species lens [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-afforestation-needs-a-species-lens-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-afforestation-needs-a-species-lens-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 15:47:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pradeep Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[afforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[native plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restoration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rewilding]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/21130241/IMG_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39497</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forestry, Forests, Plantations, Plants, Reforestation, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[During my tenure as Divisional Forest Officer in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, I walked through a seven-year-old mixed plantation. According to the plantation journal maintained by the range office, 14 species had been planted at the start. On the ground, teak dominated — a few others persisted in scattered numbers, and some had disappeared entirely. Their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[During my tenure as Divisional Forest Officer in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, I walked through a seven-year-old mixed plantation. According to the plantation journal maintained by the range office, 14 species had been planted at the start. On the ground, teak dominated — a few others persisted in scattered numbers, and some had disappeared entirely. Their decline was not recorded anywhere. It had been quietly absorbed into an aggregate survival statistic that still read as success. Plantation drives in India are often measured by the number of saplings planted and their survival rates, which portray an image of progress. But do these numbers reflect genuine ecological restoration or just denser tree cover? Indore district provides insight into this issue. Working Plan data from Indore Forest Division showed stable plantation targets, yet several native species fell to less than 1% of the tree population, a trend not captured in plantation reports or remote-sensing maps. This decline did not stem from felling operations or from a single visible event. Instead, it developed quietly, due to selective extraction, poor regeneration, grazing pressure, and climate stress. The greater issue is a management focus on numbers rather than on which species survive. Recognising this, the intervention emphasising Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) species raises a crucial question: Should forestry success be measured by total tree cover, or by the sustained presence of native biodiversity? The monsoon landscape at Shankargarh Hills in Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh, where community-led restoration is reviving native biodiversity. Image by Samarjeet Jadav.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-afforestation-needs-a-species-lens-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/indias-afforestation-needs-a-species-lens-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New camera-trap record confirms caracal presence in Kuno</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 14:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caracal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kuno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/30114032/IMG_0186-e1782883923178-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38850</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Endangered species, Forests, Grasslands, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. Kuno National Park’s field director Uttam Kumar Sharma noted that in the four years that he has been in the Park, this was the first record of the cat. The forest department is now going through older records to check if caracals had been recorded earlier in Kuno or adjoining areas. Sharma noted that this record may indicate the possibility of local presence. However, more monitoring is needed before drawing a conclusion, he added. Presence, not proof of population Shekhar Kolipaka, who has studied caracal distribution and suitable habitats in India, and is Senior Landscape Developer at Commonland Foundation said the Kuno record should be interpreted carefully. “A single camera-trap photograph confirms the presence of a caracal, but does not indicate the existence of a resident population,” Kolipaka said in a written response to Mongabay-India. However, he added that the record, most likely a dispersing male, is still significant. Continued monitoring, he said, will help determine whether more individuals occur in the landscape and whether the photographed animal establishes residency or continues dispersing. “Like most wild cats, young adults naturally disperse from their birth areas to establish their own territories. Males, in particular, often travel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Predator-prey relationships and habitat quality shape a tiger reserve</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 13:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/26174318/Predators-appear-closely-tied-to-prey-distribution-rather-than-acting-alone-as-regulators.-Photo-Credit-Supratim-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38374</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. “Focusing exclusively on the apex predator (for ecosystem recovery) tells only a fraction of the story. The answer lies in the broader mammalian community that supports them,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and one of the authors of the study. “The real question is not whether tigers came back, but what made that recovery possible.” A landscape built on extremes Panna Tiger Reserve spans 1,574 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, with 542 sq km of core and a larger buffer zone. The terrain is rugged, cut through by the Ken River, the only perennial water source. Summers can touch 45°C, and winters drop to around 5°C. Vegetation is largely a tropical dry deciduous forest. The reserve supports a dense mammal community. Tigers and leopards are apex predators. Below them in the chain are wolves, jackals and hyenas. Prey includes chital, sambar, nilgai and wild pig. Around 30,000 people live in settlements in the buffer zone. The Ken River functions as the ecological backbone of the entire mammalian community of Panna, along with around 30,000 people living in the buffer zone. Image by Supratim Dutta. To understand how the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Project Cheetah takes new turns as young males explore the wild</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 14:36:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheetah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cheetahs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kuno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuno National Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[project cheetah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rewilding]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/21101434/AP12051219541-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38288</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Mammals, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Project Cheetah is entering unchartered territories. And quite literally so. Early this April, a young male cheetah, KP-2, travelled over 150 km from Kuno National Park into Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Rajasthan, leaving a trail of suspense in its wake. Though it was not the first time that KP-2 had undertaken long-range travel, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Project Cheetah is entering unchartered territories. And quite literally so. Early this April, a young male cheetah, KP-2, travelled over 150 km from Kuno National Park into Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Rajasthan, leaving a trail of suspense in its wake. Though it was not the first time that KP-2 had undertaken long-range travel, the latest dispersal brought the young cheetah deep into the tourist zones of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. It also led to a rare “triple sighting” for tourists in the landscape where three big cats — a tiger, a leopard and a cheetah — were seen within the same area. KP-2 wandered around Ranthambore for over a month, trying to establish its territory. According to the latest reports, it was eventually caught and brought back to Kuno a few days before Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s visit to the national park earlier this month. KP-2 and its three siblings, all males, are sub-adults in their exploratory stage. Its sibling, KP-3, had also left Kuno recently and moved to the Dholpur area of Rajasthan, according to press reports. India’s ambitious wildlife programme, Project Cheetah, introduced African cheetahs into the country decades after the extinction of the Asiatic cheetah in India. Officially launched in September 2022, the goal of the project is to establish a free-ranging cheetah population in India while also using the species as a flagship for restoring and conserving open natural ecosystems such as grasslands, scrublands and savanna-like habitats. In April, a young male cheetah travelled over 150 km from Kuno&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/project-cheetah-takes-new-turns-as-young-males-explore-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Shrinking forest corridors in central India could disrupt tiger dispersal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 12:29:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manjeera Gowravaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Achanakmar Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/18001517/Umarpani_Male-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38206</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Forests, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across the forests of central India, young tigers set out on long journeys once they reach two to three years of age; they leave their mother’s territory and search for their own. But the surrounding landscapes are no longer as conducive. Once continuous forest blocks are now fragmented by farms, roads, rail lines, and settlements. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across the forests of central India, young tigers set out on long journeys once they reach two to three years of age; they leave their mother’s territory and search for their own. But the surrounding landscapes are no longer as conducive. Once continuous forest blocks are now fragmented by farms, roads, rail lines, and settlements. A recent study published in the Journal for Nature Conservation examines how tigers navigate such altered terrain. The study was conducted by researchers from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and the Institute of Integrated Learning in Management (IILM) University. “Many studies talk about habitat loss. Our focus is on building computational models that use data to understand [habitat] connectivity,” says Saurabh Shanu, Assistant Dean and an associate professor at IILM University, and one of the study’s co-authors. The goal was to identify which parts of the landscape still allow safe passage for tigers, and which are at risk of being lost. To achieve this, the researchers combined satellite data with two analytical approaches — graph theory and game theory. “Graph theory helps us connect different places on the map. Game theory helps us understand how a tiger responds to things like prey, roads, or other animals,” Shanu explains. Together, these tools map not just where forests remain, but how usable they are for wildlife. The landscape at Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Central India hold about 40% of the country’s wild tigers. Image by Kevin Buehler via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). A changing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Telemetry helps track vulture routes, threats</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/telemetry-helps-track-vulture-routes-threats/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/telemetry-helps-track-vulture-routes-threats/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 11:38:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cinereous vulture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vulture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vulture conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/15100522/IMG_9480-scaled-e1778821678309-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38186</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Conservation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A cinereous vulture rescued in Madhya Pradesh earlier this year, rehabilitated at Bhopal’s Van Vihar National Park and later released with a tracking device, was found injured in Pakistan after crossing the border. The case has added to a growing record of tracking vulture movement across India, Pakistan, Nepal and Central Asia, using telemetry to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A cinereous vulture rescued in Madhya Pradesh earlier this year, rehabilitated at Bhopal’s Van Vihar National Park and later released with a tracking device, was found injured in Pakistan after crossing the border. The case has added to a growing record of tracking vulture movement across India, Pakistan, Nepal and Central Asia, using telemetry to follow routes, wintering grounds and threats. The two-year-old female cinereous vulture was rescued on January 22, 2026, from Parsulia village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shajapur district after being found injured. It was first stabilised at Van Vihar National Park and later rehabilitated at the park’s Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre. The bird, which had suffered a leg injury, was ringed, microchipped and monitored under veterinary care before being fitted with a GPS-GSM telemetry device on March 25 with support from WWF-India and Bombay Natural History Society. Released near Halali Dam in Raisen district, it crossed into Pakistan by April 6. An injured female cinereous vulture was rescued on January 22 from Shajapur district, Madhya Pradesh. It was rehabilitated at the Van Vihar National Park, tagged for monitoring and released near Halali Dam in Raisen district. It crossed into Pakistan by April 6. Image courtesy of Department of Public Relations, Madhya Pradesh. Soon after, its signal stopped. Later, the bird was recovered in Khanewal district in Pakistan by local residents who then alerted wildlife officials. The bird is currently recovering at a rehabilitation facility there. The cinereous vulture is listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/telemetry-helps-track-vulture-routes-threats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/telemetry-helps-track-vulture-routes-threats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s rare swamp deer establishes a second home</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2026 11:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[translocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife translocation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27185347/Hard-ground-swamp-deer-are-growing-and-breeding-well-in-their-new-habitat-in-Satpura-Tiger-Reserve.-Photo-Credit-L-Krishnamoorthy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37899</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Grasslands, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. The hard-ground swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) was once found widely across India, but today survives naturally only in Kanha. According to the IUCN Red List, the hard-ground swamp deer is categorised as vulnerable and is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The subspecies declined historically due to habitat alteration, fragmentation of grasslands and hunting. With a single population of roughly 1,100 animals, the species remains vulnerable to disease outbreaks or other threats. “Confining the entire subspecies to Kanha effectively created a single point of failure,” says Neha Awasthi, the study’s corresponding author, and member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s Deer Specialist Group. “Small isolated populations face intrinsic risks such as demographic stochasticity [fluctuations in mean growth rate], genetic drift and inbreeding, as well as external threats including disease outbreaks or large-scale environmental disturbances.” The study was conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India along with the Madhya Pradesh forest department. Kanha also has ecological limits with finite grassland habitat and carrying capacity. “Without opportunities for dispersal into new landscapes, density-dependent pressures could eventually limit population growth,” adds Awasthi. In recent&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sahariya Adivasis face the risk of double displacement [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sahariya-adivasis-face-the-risk-of-double-displacement-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sahariya-adivasis-face-the-risk-of-double-displacement-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Mar 2026 13:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Stuti Singh and Shaurabh Anand]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Displacement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[river]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tribal communities]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/23114203/Image-2-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37398</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Hewing The Regulatory Tree]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Forests, Non-Timber Forest Produce, Rivers, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Hume yahan kyu patka, agar ye dam banana tha toh?” [in Hindi] (Why were we thrown here if a dam was supposed to be built?) This question from a 68-year-old resident of Paira B, a village in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, as part of an interview conducted last December, strikes at the core [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“Hume yahan kyu patka, agar ye dam banana tha toh?” [in Hindi] (Why were we thrown here if a dam was supposed to be built?) This question from a 68-year-old resident of Paira B, a village in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, as part of an interview conducted last December, strikes at the core of India’s displacement crisis. His question about why his village was resettled at the submergence zone of a planned dam, has no clear answer. His village was among 24 villages displaced from the Kuno forest, during 1998-2003, for a lion translocation project that never happened . While the much-celebrated African cheetahs arrived at the site 20 years later, the promises made during the resettlements for lion translocation largely remain unfulfilled. Now, more than two decades later, Chentikheda, an irrigation project across the Kunwari river, threatens to submerge part of the original resettlement site, forcing communities to be displaced twice in 25 years. This issue of double displacement is not an isolated case of poor planning and administrative oversight. It is representative of how the country’s conservation and development apparatuses continue to produce precarity for some of the most vulnerable social groups in our country &#8211; the Sahariya Adivasi (a particularly vulnerable tribal group in this case). The bridge connecting villages on one side of Kunwari river (Chentikheda, Paira B) to the village of Agara. Image by Stuti Singh. Loss after the first displacement The 1998-2003 displacement resulted in a series of hardships for the Sahariya&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sahariya-adivasis-face-the-risk-of-double-displacement-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sahariya-adivasis-face-the-risk-of-double-displacement-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Decades of warming and shifting rains are reshaping India&#8217;s central forests</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 17:58:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Simrinsirur]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biosphere reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[erratic weather]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heavy rainfall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rainfall]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/13160820/AP22341272160717-crop-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37270</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Deforestation, Forest Fires, Forests, Global Warming, Temperate Forests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over decades, the tropical deciduous forests of central India have weathered the impacts of a quietly changing climate. New research sheds light on the extent to which long-term changes in temperature and precipitation transformed a protected area in Madhya Pradesh, in addition to the anthropogenic pressures caused by tree felling, extraction, and grazing. The forests [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over decades, the tropical deciduous forests of central India have weathered the impacts of a quietly changing climate. New research sheds light on the extent to which long-term changes in temperature and precipitation transformed a protected area in Madhya Pradesh, in addition to the anthropogenic pressures caused by tree felling, extraction, and grazing. The forests of central India occupy a vast landscape, stretching over an area of more than 40,837 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. Though famed for having a robust tiger population, this region is also home to some of the country’s largest contiguous forested tracts. The Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve (PBR) sits at the heart of this landscape. Researchers from the Central University of Jharkhand and Banaras Hindu University analysed 50 years of climate data and examined its relationship with the PBR, which is also facing pressures from encroachments and extraction. Between 1972 and 2020, the PBR lost approximately 13% of its forest cover, amounting to 391 sq km. “We couldn’t find some of the areas that had been recorded as forest patches in 1972, because by 2020, they had either turned into scrub forests or been converted into other types of land use,” said Amit Kumar, professor at Banaras Hindu University and a co-author of the study. “We also realised that it wasn’t just the impacts of anthropogenic pressures that caused this shift.” Researchers analysed 50 years of climate data and examined its relationship with Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve, which is also facing pressures from encroachments&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/decades-of-warming-and-shifting-rains-are-reshaping-indias-central-forests/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Data-driven visitor management is vital for protected areas [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/data-driven-visitor-management-is-vital-for-protected-areas-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/data-driven-visitor-management-is-vital-for-protected-areas-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Mar 2026 13:17:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pradeep Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ecotourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat degradation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/02102811/Indore-City-View-from-Shikargah-of-Ralamandal_photo-shared-by-Ritesh-Kabia-scaled-e1772427529703-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37081</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Forests, Human Wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across India, protected areas are witnessing a steady rise in visitors. From sprawling national parks to small wildlife sanctuaries on the fringes of major cities, nature tourism is booming. This growth is often celebrated as a sign of increasing public interest in conservation. But beyond the headline of visitor numbers, a quieter and a more [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across India, protected areas are witnessing a steady rise in visitors. From sprawling national parks to small wildlife sanctuaries on the fringes of major cities, nature tourism is booming. This growth is often celebrated as a sign of increasing public interest in conservation. But beyond the headline of visitor numbers, a quieter and a more complex question remains largely unexamined: what happens to ecosystems when popularity turns into pressure? Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the outskirts of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, offers a revealing case study. Spread across an area just over 2 square kilometres, Ralamandal is one of the smallest wildlife sanctuaries in the state. Yet its proximity to the rapidly expanding Indore city makes it one of the most heavily visited forest landscapes in the region. The sanctuary’s history dates to the Holkar period, when the hill forest served as a royal hunting ground, or shikargah. Today, a hilltop structure built in 1905 serves as a museum, offering panoramic views of Indore, Bilawali Tank, and the surrounding mountain hills such as Devguradiya, Umrikheda, Datuni, Renuka and Rann Bhawar. This blend of nature and history attracts a diverse crowd — from fitness enthusiasts and students to weekend tourists. However, forest department data has revealed that the average revenue generated per visitor has stagnated or declined. Visitor data from the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department shows that a large share of this footfall is concentrated between May and September. During these months, daily visitor numbers rise sharply, placing heavy pressure on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/data-driven-visitor-management-is-vital-for-protected-areas-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/data-driven-visitor-management-is-vital-for-protected-areas-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Evidence of microplastics in a wetland sparks concern about water security</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/evidence-of-microplastics-in-a-wetland-sparks-concern-about-water-security/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/evidence-of-microplastics-in-a-wetland-sparks-concern-about-water-security/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Oct 2025 14:41:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[microplastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic pollution]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/08111739/Photograpghs-of-Bhoj-wetland-and-plastic-pollution.-Image-by-Manish-Chandra-Mishra-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34964</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Lakes, Plastic, Pollution, Waste management, Water Pollution, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study provides evidence of microplastics in the Bhoj wetland, a Ramsar site and Bhopal’s primary source of drinking water. The Bhoj wetland spans nearly 32 square kilometres in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, comprising the upper lake (Bada Talab) and the lower lake (Chhota Talab). It is recognised as a Ramsar site of international importance [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study provides evidence of microplastics in the Bhoj wetland, a Ramsar site and Bhopal’s primary source of drinking water. The Bhoj wetland spans nearly 32 square kilometres in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, comprising the upper lake (Bada Talab) and the lower lake (Chhota Talab). It is recognised as a Ramsar site of international importance and provides drinking water to about 40% of Bhopal’s 2.5 million residents, apart from supporting fisheries, agriculture, tourism and biodiversity. As part of the research, Surya Singh and her colleagues at the Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (ICMR–NIREH), Bhopal, collected samples of the surface water. They analysed them to identify plastic particles larger than about 300 micrometres, using the Attenuated Total Reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR) method. They detected concentrations of 2.4 items per litre in the upper lake and 6.6 items per litre in the lower lake. To put this in perspective, the findings suggest that Bhoj wetland’s microplastic levels are comparable to or higher than the most polluted stretches of the Ganga river, where concentrations have ranged from about 100 to over 1,000 particles per cubic metre or per 1,000 litres in some areas. By contrast, European freshwater lakes such as Balaton lake typically show much lower concentrations, often below 10 particles per cubic metre or 1,000 litres, highlighting that the Bhoj wetland’s contamination is far greater than most European systems and comparable to India’s worst-affected waters. Singh cautioned that these numbers likely underestimate the accurate scale&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/evidence-of-microplastics-in-a-wetland-sparks-concern-about-water-security/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/evidence-of-microplastics-in-a-wetland-sparks-concern-about-water-security/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Caracal sighting offers a clue, not a sign of recovery, say conservation biologists</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/caracal-sighting-offers-a-clue-not-a-sign-of-recovery-say-conservation-biologists/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/caracal-sighting-offers-a-clue-not-a-sign-of-recovery-say-conservation-biologists/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2025 13:01:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caracal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dryland conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh wildlife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MP Forest Department]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/02113230/signal-2025-08-01-125350-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33928</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered species, Environment, Forests, Habitat Loss, Human Wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An adult male caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzi) was recorded in a trap camera in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district on July 1. According to an official release from the Madhya Pradesh government, the animal was photographed on three occasions at 2:35 am, 10:05 pm, and again between 11:38 and 11:39 pm, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An adult male caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzi) was recorded in a trap camera in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district on July 1. According to an official release from the Madhya Pradesh government, the animal was photographed on three occasions at 2:35 am, 10:05 pm, and again between 11:38 and 11:39 pm, all at the exact location. The caracal, locally known as siyah gosh (black ear), is considered a critically endangered species in India, though categorised as a species of least concern in the IUCN Red List for its global population. The discovery has renewed interest in the status of the caracal in central India. Subharanjan Sen, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Madhya Pradesh, called the sighting an important development, saying, “This is a matter of great pride for the state and an important milestone in India’s conservation landscape,” he said. Sen noted that the caracal is a solitary carnivore typically found in dry grasslands, scrublands, rocky areas, and open woodland. “The presence of this rare predator reflects the ecological richness and habitat integrity of Gandhi Sagar, a landscape that still supports lesser-known, threatened species,” he said. Not a resident population Wildlife scientist Shekhar Kolipaka, who has studied small wild cats and dryland ecosystems in India for over two decades, said the caracal recorded in Gandhi Sagar is likely a lone individual passing through. “The caracal spotted in Gandhi Sagar is most likely a young, dispersing male. This is evident from its physical development, particularly the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/caracal-sighting-offers-a-clue-not-a-sign-of-recovery-say-conservation-biologists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/caracal-sighting-offers-a-clue-not-a-sign-of-recovery-say-conservation-biologists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Tracing a tiger from its kill</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tracing-a-tiger-from-its-kill/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tracing-a-tiger-from-its-kill/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2025 13:07:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bharti Dharapuram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetic study]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/16000110/Tigress-with-cub-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33630</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Forests, Mammals, and Tigers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Slain livestock can now point to the tiger that killed them. A recent study used traces of DNA from livestock kills to individually identify tigers in the forests of Central India. It finds that many tigers prey on cattle, contrary to the prevalent notion that a few problem predators are involved. The research, which used [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Slain livestock can now point to the tiger that killed them. A recent study used traces of DNA from livestock kills to individually identify tigers in the forests of Central India. It finds that many tigers prey on cattle, contrary to the prevalent notion that a few problem predators are involved. The research, which used genetic tools to identify tigers responsible for livestock kills, was a collaborative effort between scientists and the forest department. The researchers, with help from the forest department, collected samples carrying trace amounts of predator DNA from close to 200 livestock kills in Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves. Genetic markers were used to successfully detect the presence of a tiger at all kill sites and were also instrumental in individually identifying tigers in 85% of them. The results show that a large proportion of the tiger population may be involved in preying on livestock, which has important implications for managing human-tiger conflict. People and predators at crossroads A rise in tiger numbers and the expansion of human settlements close to protected areas are increasingly bringing tigers closer to people and livestock. This has resulted in tigers attacking people and preying on domestic cattle, leading to loss of life and income. This conflict has come to a head in the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats landscape, which harbours about 40% (1439 of 3682) of the country’s tiger population. The extensive forest cover of Madhya Pradesh is home to nine tiger reserves, of which the most recent was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tracing-a-tiger-from-its-kill/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/tracing-a-tiger-from-its-kill/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rising temperatures could change the future for India’s gharials</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/rising-temperatures-could-change-the-future-for-indias-gharials/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/rising-temperatures-could-change-the-future-for-indias-gharials/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2025 10:02:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crocodiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gharials]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/10195809/At-around-32%C2%B0C-up-to-89_-of-hatchlings-could-be-male.-But-at-or-below-31.5%C2%B0C-and-at-or-above-33.5%C2%B0C-female-production-dominates.-Photo-Credit-Surya-P-Sharma-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33568</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Ecology, Global Warming, Reptiles, Rivers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Along the sun-baked banks of the Chambal river, a quiet crisis is unfolding. The gharial, India’s distinctive, critically endangered crocodilian, known for its slender snout and ancient lineage, is facing a new and growing threat: heat. A new study by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), published in Evolutionary Ecology, reveals that rising [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Along the sun-baked banks of the Chambal river, a quiet crisis is unfolding. The gharial, India’s distinctive, critically endangered crocodilian, known for its slender snout and ancient lineage, is facing a new and growing threat: heat. A new study by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), published in Evolutionary Ecology, reveals that rising nest temperatures are skewing the sex ratio of gharial hatchlings, tipping the balance more toward females. This subtle but significant shift could disrupt breeding patterns and eventually push the species closer to extinction. “Our study was prompted by growing concerns from field observations suggesting a female-biased sex ratio in gharials,” says Surya P Sharma, lead author and Project Scientist-I with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Project at WII, Dehradun. “Since crocodilians, including gharials, have temperature-dependent sex determination, we suspected that rising ambient and nest temperatures, likely driven by climate change and habitat alterations, might be altering hatchling sex ratios and shifting population dynamics.” During 2017-2019, researchers monitored 17 gharial nests along the Chambal river in Madhya Pradesh and confirmed a growing new threat to the population: heat. Image by Suhas Chandra. What the study found Between 2017 and 2019, the researchers monitored 17 gharial nests over three breeding seasons at Baroli and Nadigaon, which are key nesting sites in the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. These sites are part of a long-running conservation initiative, where eggs are collected annually to support the “grow and release” programme, under which hatchlings are reared in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/rising-temperatures-could-change-the-future-for-indias-gharials/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>How tiger relationships evolve in a reintroduced population</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/how-tiger-relationships-evolve-in-a-reintroduced-population/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/how-tiger-relationships-evolve-in-a-reintroduced-population/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jun 2025 13:14:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panna Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/09121006/Female-tigers-avoid-the-risks-of-long-distance-dispersal-and-benefit-from-knowing-the-location-of-water-prey-and-shelter.-Photo-Credit-Supratim-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33007</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats and Tigers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Tigers are often considered to be solitary creatures, prowling through the forest and defending their territories fiercely. But what happens when they are reintroduced into a new wild region where they have gone locally extinct? How do they interact when forced to share a new space? “Since childhood, we have been taught that tigers do [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Tigers are often considered to be solitary creatures, prowling through the forest and defending their territories fiercely. But what happens when they are reintroduced into a new wild region where they have gone locally extinct? How do they interact when forced to share a new space? “Since childhood, we have been taught that tigers do not exhibit group-living behaviour. However, the frequency and nature of their interactions, whether positive or antagonistic, have rarely been assessed quantitatively. Questions have remained about whether tigers possess a rudimentary social network or form weak, temporary social bonds,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). To address this gap, Dutta and Ramesh Krishnamurthy, a scientist at the WII, conducted a decade-long study in Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh. Their findings are beginning to answer those long-standing questions, suggesting that tiger society may be far more complex than we thought. The Panna experiment In the early 2000s, Panna’s tigers disappeared. Rampant poaching, poor protection, and mounting human pressures had wiped them out entirely. By 2009, it was clear that PTR needed drastic action. A reintroduction project began, and tigers from reserves such as Kanha and Pench were brought in to repopulate the area. Panna’s dense, rugged landscape posed numerous technical and logistical challenges. Image by Supratim Dutta. “The tiger in Panna was extinct only for a couple of years and the prey base was intact. It was a targeted poaching event that removed tigers from the system, not ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/how-tiger-relationships-evolve-in-a-reintroduced-population/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/how-tiger-relationships-evolve-in-a-reintroduced-population/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Interstate farmer migration is reshaping agriculture, deepening environmental concerns [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/interstate-farmer-migration-is-reshaping-agriculture-deepening-environmental-concerns-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/interstate-farmer-migration-is-reshaping-agriculture-deepening-environmental-concerns-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Apr 2025 16:41:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gaurav BanaulaMohanasundari Thangavel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intensive farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paddy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stubble burning]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/04/30102603/People_working_in_farms-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=32392</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Conserving Agro-biodiversity]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[During a field visit for a research project, we met two brothers in Narmadapuram district, Madhya Pradesh. They are from Amritsar, Punjab. Their story, shared on condition of anonymity, offers a glimpse into a lesser-discussed form of inter-state migration in India, from agriculturally advanced states such as Punjab to the fertile but relatively underdeveloped lands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[During a field visit for a research project, we met two brothers in Narmadapuram district, Madhya Pradesh. They are from Amritsar, Punjab. Their story, shared on condition of anonymity, offers a glimpse into a lesser-discussed form of inter-state migration in India, from agriculturally advanced states such as Punjab to the fertile but relatively underdeveloped lands of Central India. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they used to travel to Central India, leasing their mechanical harvesters to cultivate crops on local farmlands. During one such visit, a local resident from Dharav Parav village in Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh approached them with the sale of a sizable plot of land at an exceptionally low cost. While the soil quality paled in comparison to the fertile fields of Punjab, the sheer size of the land, coupled with a price point ten times lower than that of their home region, presented an undeniable opportunity. Eventually, the brothers acquired 10 acres of land in Dharav Parav village in Bankhedi tehsil and set about agricultural expansion never seen before in the area. Their success story is far from unique. Over time, an increasing number of farmers from northern Indian states such as Punjab and Haryana have followed suit, relocating to central states such as Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. A few hundred such households are settled in the Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh. There, they have capitalised on affordable land prices to establish and grow large-scale agricultural lands, reshaping the region’s farming landscape. Unlike the usual&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/interstate-farmer-migration-is-reshaping-agriculture-deepening-environmental-concerns-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Leopards are adapting to central India’s urban jungle</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/leopards-are-adapting-to-central-indias-urban-jungle/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/leopards-are-adapting-to-central-indias-urban-jungle/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 12:35:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human-wildlife conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leopards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[machine learning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/02/17130536/Leopards-not-only-survive%E2%80%94but-thrive%E2%80%94within-the-fast-changing-cityscapes-of-Indore-and-Jabalpur.-Photo-Credit-Aniruddha-Majumder-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31517</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Camera traps, Cities and Towns, Conservation, Human Wildlife Conflict, Technology and Conservation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As cities sprawl and concrete landscapes replace natural habitats, wildlife faces the challenge of adapting to an increasingly human-dominated world. Among the most elusive yet remarkably adaptable species is the leopard (Panthera pardus). A new study based in central India sheds light on how leopards are adapting to survive within the region’s fast-changing cityscapes. “Accurate [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As cities sprawl and concrete landscapes replace natural habitats, wildlife faces the challenge of adapting to an increasingly human-dominated world. Among the most elusive yet remarkably adaptable species is the leopard (Panthera pardus). A new study based in central India sheds light on how leopards are adapting to survive within the region’s fast-changing cityscapes. “Accurate population estimates are crucial for conservation, but imprecise data often forces researchers to rely on expert opinions or flawed methods. This limits our understanding of leopard behaviour, habitat use, and interactions. With few studies on urban leopards, assessing their presence in cities is now essential,” says Aniruddha Majumder, scientist and divisional in-charge, animal ecology division, State Forest Research Institute &#8211; Jabalpur, and one of the study&#8217;s authors. Leopard in Madhya Pradesh captured on camera trap. Image by Aniruddha Majumder. Role model India is home to an estimated 13,874 leopards, with Madhya Pradesh home to the highest population at 3,907. To understand how these big cats navigate city life, researchers conducted a comprehensive study between September 2021 and May 2022, focusing on two key urban landscapes: Indore and Jabalpur. To estimate population size, they used the camera trap mark-recapture method, which has proven effective for elusive species. Data from camera traps and sign surveys were used for distribution modelling. They also applied MaxEnt, a machine learning tool, to assess suitable leopard habitats in urban areas. “The model considered environmental factors such as elevation, slope, land use, drainage and water bodies. Species presence data covered the entire&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/02/leopards-are-adapting-to-central-indias-urban-jungle/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Carbon farming projects not always inclusive and equitable, says new study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/carbon-farming-projects-not-always-inclusive-and-equitable-says-new-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/carbon-farming-projects-not-always-inclusive-and-equitable-says-new-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jan 2025 12:03:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Simrin Sirur]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon Market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carbon offsets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate resilience agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Carbon Market]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/23092957/Anegundi_-_Rice_Farmers_-_3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31219</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections, Climate Finance, and Just Transitions]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Haryana, India, and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Carbon Offset, and Carbon Sequestration]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Almost a year ago, the Union Agriculture Ministry released framework guidelines on how the agriculture sector could leverage the carbon market by practicing carbon mitigation techniques. Arjun Munda, the then agriculture minister, said at the time that introducing farmers to the carbon market would not only benefit them, but also accelerate the adoption of environmentally [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Almost a year ago, the Union Agriculture Ministry released framework guidelines on how the agriculture sector could leverage the carbon market by practicing carbon mitigation techniques. Arjun Munda, the then agriculture minister, said at the time that introducing farmers to the carbon market would not only benefit them, but also accelerate the adoption of environmentally friendly agricultural practices. A new study on the status of carbon farming in India, however, says otherwise. Researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) conducted a survey among hundreds of farmers and found that carbon farming, in which cultivation is aimed at lowering emissions or improving carbon sequestration, inadvertently excluded small landholding farmers, and monetary benefits had reached almost none of the participating farmers at the time of the survey. “While these projects are still in the early stages, we wanted to highlight that they’re not socially inclusive of marginalised caste groups or small and marginal farmers, or even women for that matter,” said A. G. Adeeth Cariappa, an Environmental and Resource Economist with CIMMYT and lead author of the study. Carbon farming has the potential to mitigate climate change while offering farmers additional income avenues through carbon credits, notes the study. Purchasing carbon offsets remains a popular option for companies looking to reduce their own carbon footprints. The agriculture sector, responsible for 13% of India’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, is emerging as a viable destination for carbon credit generation in India. According to the study, India has more than 50 agricultural carbon&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/carbon-farming-projects-not-always-inclusive-and-equitable-says-new-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>[Explainer] What are habitat rights?</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jan 2025 18:22:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shuchita Jha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Right Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Forest Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Habitat Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry of Tribal Affairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PVTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife protection act]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/13104315/Claim-filing-process-for-the-Habitat-Rights-of-Hill-Kharia-in-Mayurbhanj-district-Photo-credit-Shyam-Sundar-Sahoo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment Explained]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh, India, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Forest Rights Act and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Odisha recently became one of three states in the country to grant Habitat Rights (HR) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The state recognised Habitat Rights for seven of its 13 PVTGs and other traditional communities. India&#8217;s Forest Rights Act, enacted to undo historical injustices to tribal and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Odisha recently became one of three states in the country to grant Habitat Rights (HR) under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The state recognised Habitat Rights for seven of its 13 PVTGs and other traditional communities. India&#8217;s Forest Rights Act, enacted to undo historical injustices to tribal and other forest-dwelling communities in India, recognises a range of rights for these communities. The different rights ensure that indigenous and forest-dwelling communities can access their ancestral land and resources, carry on their traditional livelihood practices and utilise, protect and conserve the forests. What are Habitat Rights? Habitat Rights are classified under the FRA&#8217;s Community Forest Rights. They recognise traditional and customary rights over &#8220;demographic and geographic spread out, socio-cultural, economic, and livelihood systems, as well as traditional knowledge to ecological systems and biodiversity,&#8221; defines a report by the UN Development Programme and the Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development Department of the Chhattisgarh government. In the context of forest dwelling people or indigenous communities, the term, &#8216;habitat&#8217; is defined under Section 2 (h) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, as “the area comprising the customary habitat and such other habitats in reserved forests and protected forests of primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities and other forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes.” A habitat for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups may refer to an area where they have both spiritual and material connections, notes a study undertaken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in 2014 in collaboration with Vasundhara,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/explainer-what-are-habitat-rights-under-the-forest-rights-act-and-why-are-they-being-discussed-now/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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