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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
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					<title>Rare lynx photo puts spotlight on high-altitude rangelands</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 15:20:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eastern himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eurasian lynx]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sikkim Himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tibetan plateau]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wolf]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/04131014/Eurasian-lynx-1-Sikkim-Forest-Dept-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39845</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Sikkim]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Himalayas, In-situ conservation, Mountains, Photos, Positive Environmental, Technology and Conservation, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Eurasian lynx has been recorded in a camera-trap image from the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim. This encounter marks the first confirmed photographic evidence of the species in the state. It is also the second such record from the Eastern Himalayas. The image, captured in January 2026 at an altitude of 5,250 metres in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A Eurasian lynx has been recorded in a camera-trap image from the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim. This encounter marks the first confirmed photographic evidence of the species in the state. It is also the second such record from the Eastern Himalayas. The image, captured in January 2026 at an altitude of 5,250 metres in Mangan district, shows the animal moving across a rocky, sparsely vegetated high-altitude slope. The sighting comes from a long-term snow leopard and rangeland monitoring programme led by the Sikkim forest department and WWF-India. The initiative tracks snow leopards and associated wildlife while studying the ecological condition of the trans-Himalayan rangelands. The Sikkim record follows a 2025 photographic documentation of a Eurasian lynx in Arunachal Pradesh during a joint survey by WWF-India and the Arunachal Pradesh forest department. “It highlights the ecological significance of our high-altitude rangelands and reinforces our commitment to protecting these fragile ecosystems. The cooperation of the Lachen Dzumsa (traditional local self-governance body) in facilitating access to these remote areas has been important to this work,” Sikkim’s Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Udai Gurung, said in a press note. At the Tso Lhamo plateau in Sikkim, researchers captured camera-trap images of a Eurasian lynx, along with several other elusive species. High-altitude rangelands like this region have wrongly been dismissed as barren deserts of little ecological value. Image courtesy of Forest &amp; Environment Department, Sikkim, and WWF-India. The images are part of a long-term snow leopard and trans-Himalayan rangeland monitoring programme. Image courtesy of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/rare-lynx-photo-puts-spotlight-on-high-altitude-rangelands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photo tourism threatens rare galaxy frog population</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/photo-tourism-threatens-rare-galaxy-frog-population/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/photo-tourism-threatens-rare-galaxy-frog-population/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jan 2026 12:27:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human encroachment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/01/02111149/Galaxy-frog-in-the-Western-Ghats-India-with-photo-taken-by-conservationist-Rajkumar-K-P-as-part-of-conservation-project-2-c-Rajkumar-K-P-ZSL-.jpg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36319</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Amphibians, Endangered species, Extinction, Frogs, Photos, Protected Areas, Tourism, Western Ghats, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Seven threatened galaxy frogs (Melanobatrachus indicus) are gone from a research site in the Western Ghats in Kerala after photographers seeking images of the rare, star-patterned amphibians destroyed their delicate forest floor habitat, according to a short article published in Herpetology Notes. Researchers found the seven tiny frogs beneath rotting logs at the site in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Seven threatened galaxy frogs (Melanobatrachus indicus) are gone from a research site in the Western Ghats in Kerala after photographers seeking images of the rare, star-patterned amphibians destroyed their delicate forest floor habitat, according to a short article published in Herpetology Notes. Researchers found the seven tiny frogs beneath rotting logs at the site in March 2020. Upon returning in August 2021, the team discovered that the 25 logs had been overturned, the surrounding vegetation was trampled, and all seven frogs were gone. An anonymous informant reported that multiple photographer groups had visited the site between June 2020 and April 2021. According to the informant’s account, photographers turned over logs to find the frogs, used high-intensity flash photography and handled multiple individuals without gloves — practices that can cause dehydration and stress to the frogs as well as risk disease transmission. Groups of four to six photographers would each photograph the same individuals, with sessions lasting approximately four hours. The informant reported that two small frogs died during photography sessions, though researchers could not verify this claim. The galaxy frog measures just 2-3.5 centimetres and lives only in the southern Western Ghats, where it nestles under logs and stones on the forest floor at elevations above 900 metres. Galaxy frog in the Western Ghats, India. Image by conservationist Rajkumar K.P./ZSL. “Named after their stunning resemblance to images of space, these beautiful yet rare frogs are unlike anything else on our tiny corner of the universe,” said K.P. Rajkumar, lead author&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/01/photo-tourism-threatens-rare-galaxy-frog-population/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>When a campus turns beacon for moths [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/when-a-campus-turns-beacon-for-moths-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/when-a-campus-turns-beacon-for-moths-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2025 12:37:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Santosh Roy]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Divya Kilikar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invertebrates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollinators]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/07/24111552/image13-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33749</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecology, Insects, and Photos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The lush green Agasthyamalai hill range in the Western Ghats is home to an extraordinary variety of flora and fauna. This region, with its dense vegetation, year-round intermittent rainfall, intense sunlight, and high humidity, provides an ideal habitat that supports rich and diverse biodiversity. As a macro-photographer and naturalist living on the Indian Institutes of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The lush green Agasthyamalai hill range in the Western Ghats is home to an extraordinary variety of flora and fauna. This region, with its dense vegetation, year-round intermittent rainfall, intense sunlight, and high humidity, provides an ideal habitat that supports rich and diverse biodiversity. As a macro-photographer and naturalist living on the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram campus, I find Vithura, where the campus is located, to be a fascinating environment. Each day brings new surprises and colourful encounters with the arthropods that thrive in this ecosystem. Over the past two years, through daily observations, I have come to appreciate how integral moths are to this region. They serve as important indicators of ecological balance, playing vital roles in food webs and pollination cycles. Their diversity reflects the overall health of this pristine corner of Kerala. So far, I have documented around 40 families of moths in the area. The most prominent among them include Erebidae, Geometridae, Crambidae, Limacodidae, and Lecithoceridae. Moths are often found resting on dew-covered leaves during early mornings. At night, they gather beneath small leaves or around artificial lights, particularly near housing colonies. I frequently observe them circling street-lamps or quietly resting in wall corners. Eretmocera impactella. Image by Santosh Roy. One of the most intriguing moths I’ve encountered is Eretmocera impactella, a member of the flower moth family Scythrididae. Despite its diminutive wingspan of just 1 cm, it is quite noticeable due to its vivid warning colours. The bright yellow spots&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/when-a-campus-turns-beacon-for-moths-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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