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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/animal-behaviour/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:28:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>Study from India&#8217;s first wolf sanctuary reveals when livestock are most at risk</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/study-from-indias-first-wolf-sanctuary-reveals-when-livestock-are-most-at-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/study-from-indias-first-wolf-sanctuary-reveals-when-livestock-are-most-at-risk/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Aug 2026 14:33:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[attacks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grey wolf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wolf]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/25005651/7-Forest-Department-Camera-Trap-scaled-e1787599639679-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40425</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Jharkhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Conservation, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Protected Areas, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s first wolf sanctuary is an important breeding and denning landscape for the Indian grey wolf. But for the tribal communities living around Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary (MWS) in Jharkhand, sharing space with wolves often comes at a cost. A new study has now identified when, where and why wolves are most likely to attack livestock, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India&#8217;s first wolf sanctuary is an important breeding and denning landscape for the Indian grey wolf. But for the tribal communities living around Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary (MWS) in Jharkhand, sharing space with wolves often comes at a cost. A new study has now identified when, where and why wolves are most likely to attack livestock, providing insights that could help reduce conflict while also supporting conservation. Although Mahuadanr is India’s first designated wolf sanctuary, little scientific research has been conducted there because of limited access to the sanctuary and made sustained fieldwork difficult, says Shahzada Iqbal, member of the Jharkhand State Board for Wildlife, PhD scholar at the Department of Wildlife Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, and co-author of the study. “It is unique because it is both a protected area for wolves and a lived-in landscape where tribal communities have shared space with the animals for generations. Livestock depredation is a reality here, yet wolves continue to persist,” Iqbal shares. That makes it an ideal landscape for understanding not only the ecological drivers of conflict but also the human dimensions that determine whether coexistence is possible, he says. Tribal communities and wolves around India’s first wolf sanctuary in Jharkhand share space, often at the cost of livestock. A new study has now identified when, where and why wolves are most likely to attack. Image by Shahzada Iqbal. Studying conflict in a shared landscape Established in 1976, MWS spans more than 63 square kilometres within the southern division of Palamau Tiger&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/study-from-indias-first-wolf-sanctuary-reveals-when-livestock-are-most-at-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/study-from-indias-first-wolf-sanctuary-reveals-when-livestock-are-most-at-risk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A hidden population of greater hog badgers spotted on camera traps</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/camera-traps-reveal-a-hidden-population-of-greater-hog-badgers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/camera-traps-reveal-a-hidden-population-of-greater-hog-badgers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2026 15:05:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Deekshita Baruah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga National Park]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/19135627/Greater-Hog-Badger-1.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40272</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Grasslands, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For years, forest officials in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have reported occasional sightings of the greater hog badger (Arctonyx collaris) during routine night patrols. But beyond these observations, little was known about its population in the reserve, its habitat and behaviour. Now, the park’s first scientific assessment of the species published in June, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For years, forest officials in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have reported occasional sightings of the greater hog badger (Arctonyx collaris) during routine night patrols. But beyond these observations, little was known about its population in the reserve, its habitat and behaviour. Now, the park’s first scientific assessment of the species published in June, has provided a glimpse into the hidden world of one of Asia’s least-studied mesocarnivores. Conducted by the Kaziranga Tiger Cell in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) and The Fishing Cat Project, the assessment estimated a minimum of 55 greater hog badgers across the 1,100 square kilometres of surveyed area and found that the species occupies nearly half the landscape. Researchers analysed thousands of camera trap images collected during the All India Tiger Estimation’s (AITE) 2026 exercise between February and May, providing the first scientific baseline for the species and suggesting it may be more widespread than previously believed. “The greater hog badger is an elusive nocturnal mammal. Spotting one in the wild could be a ‘call it a day’ moment for someone,” says C. Ramesh, the director of Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Before the assessment results were published, hog badgers were thought to be extremely rare as they were barely spotted outside a few locations. “But it is quite surprising that the camera traps revealed their occurrence in almost 50% of the grids where the traps were installed.” The species was independently detected more than 140 times from 857 camera-trap locations over&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/camera-traps-reveal-a-hidden-population-of-greater-hog-badgers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/camera-traps-reveal-a-hidden-population-of-greater-hog-badgers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tourism, human disturbance linked to higher stress in tigers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 15:36:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/11130814/AP914619961289-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Human Wildlife Conflict, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s tiger reserves have become both conservation success stories and tourism magnets. Every year, thousands of safari vehicles enter India&#8217;s protected forests, generating revenue for conservation and local communities. But a recent study suggests that this growing human footprint may also come at a physiological cost for the country’s national animal, and may even influence [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s tiger reserves have become both conservation success stories and tourism magnets. Every year, thousands of safari vehicles enter India&#8217;s protected forests, generating revenue for conservation and local communities. But a recent study suggests that this growing human footprint may also come at a physiological cost for the country’s national animal, and may even influence where female tigers establish breeding areas. “Wildlife tourism is growing rapidly around our protected areas. It funds conservation, but more people also means more stress for the animals,” says Govindhaswamy Umapathy, chief scientist at the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and the study’s corresponding author. “Earlier Indian studies looked at just one or two reserves and focused on stress. We wanted the full picture across the country, not only where tigers are stressed, but where tigresses choose to breed,” he adds. However, industry experts also caution against treating tourism as a bigger threat than habitat loss or large-scale development pressures. Tracking stress without disturbing tigers The study was conducted between November 2020 and February 2023, in five tiger reserves: Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Kanha Tiger Reserve and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala. The choice of reserves was deliberate. “We picked the five reserves that between them cover very different tiger densities, habitats and tourism styles, including Periyar&#8217;s year-round boat tourism. That range is what makes the findings national rather than local,” Umapathy says. Rather&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New clues into how animals evolved an internal compass to navigate Earth</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-clues-into-how-animals-evolved-an-internal-compass-to-navigate-earth/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-clues-into-how-animals-evolved-an-internal-compass-to-navigate-earth/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 14:44:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nupur Fangaria]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacteria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migratory birds]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/07121707/A_Pair_of_Bar-Headed_Geese_in_Flight_50900564713-scaled-e1786085253791-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39947</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Ecology, Environment, Evolution, Migration, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Magnetoreception is like an internal compass that animals use in their journeys, using the Earth’s magnetic field. It helps migratory birds navigate across the central Asian flyway, for example, or turtles, fish and other animals travel across vast distances. Recent research raises new questions about the evolutionary origins of magnetoreception and suggests that it may [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Magnetoreception is like an internal compass that animals use in their journeys, using the Earth’s magnetic field. It helps migratory birds navigate across the central Asian flyway, for example, or turtles, fish and other animals travel across vast distances. Recent research raises new questions about the evolutionary origins of magnetoreception and suggests that it may have evolved independently in complex animals. About three billion years ago, the Earth was still anoxic (oxygen made up less than 0.001% of the atmosphere), and the oceans had an abundance of metal ions, including iron. Eukaryotic cells, which make up  complex life forms, including animals, didn’t exist yet; life was dominated by archaea, the microorganisms that inhabit all kinds of extremes. In this scenario, iron ions found widely in the surrounding waters, could easily pass through a cell membrane and cause toxicity by stimulating free radicals in the cell. But the archaea were highly adaptable. These tiny microorganisms evolved the ability to protect themselves from the toxicity of iron by simply forming crystals out of iron oxide inside cell structures, a process called magnetite biomineralisation. The chiton, a marine mollusc, uses a unique protein to process iron and form magnetite teeth that it uses to graze on algae growing on rocks. Image by Michiko Nemoto. The magnetic abilities of bacteria Like most other abilities, bacteria is assumed to have adapted magnetite biomineralisation, a process where living organisms create iron oxide crystals inside cell structures, from their archaean ancestors. Over time, some bacteria repurposed magnetosomes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-clues-into-how-animals-evolved-an-internal-compass-to-navigate-earth/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/new-clues-into-how-animals-evolved-an-internal-compass-to-navigate-earth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Insects may be guiding seasonal bird movements in the eastern Himalayas, study finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jul 2026 10:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manjeera Gowravaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eastern himalayas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/28092911/image-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39660</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Community based conservation, Conservation, Ecology, Forests, Global Warming, Insects, Migration, Mountains, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every winter, in the Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, certain birds like babblers, laughing thrushes, yuhinas and other small mountain birds, that spent the warm months at the top of the mountains, begin making their way down. Many of them don&#8217;t really fly at all, they just hop, branch by branch, tree by tree, descending hundreds [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every winter, in the Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, certain birds like babblers, laughing thrushes, yuhinas and other small mountain birds, that spent the warm months at the top of the mountains, begin making their way down. Many of them don&#8217;t really fly at all, they just hop, branch by branch, tree by tree, descending hundreds of metres over days and weeks. And come summer, they go back up again. These seasonal journeys are common in the Himalayas, where roughly 65% of high-elevation birds make some form of elevational movement. Yet, the reasons behind these shifts have remained only partially understood. &#8220;The theory behind why birds migrate has two major explanations, both connected to temperature,&#8221; said Tarun Menon, a Ph.D. researcher at the Indian Institute of Science and the study&#8217;s lead author. &#8220;One is that cold directly affects the bird and it moves to stay warm. The other is that the cold affects the food, and the bird is following the food.&#8221; What Menon had noticed during his earlier work in the Himalayas was that the birds that were most likely to migrate down the mountain in winter were almost always insectivores. That observation eventually grew into a larger question: were the birds following the insects rather than escaping the cold? A view of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, where insect availability, more than temperature alone, may be guiding the seasonal movements of birds up and down the mountain ranges. Image by Tarun Menon. The study, published in Biology Letters, offers evidence from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/insects-may-be-guiding-seasonal-bird-movements-in-the-eastern-himalayas-study-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New DNA analysis reveals what dholes eat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-dna-analysis-reveals-what-dholes-eat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-dna-analysis-reveals-what-dholes-eat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 13:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rajeev Tyagi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dhole]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild dog]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/24130643/8867390742_7849bf68c4_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39584</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Conservation, Food, Forests, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, National Parks, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dholes (Cuon alpinus), also known as Asiatic wild dogs, are among the most threatened carnivores globally and are currently listed as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Understanding what they eat, can offer clues that will aid in their conservation. Researchers have now developed a new technique to analyse their diet [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dholes (Cuon alpinus), also known as Asiatic wild dogs, are among the most threatened carnivores globally and are currently listed as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Understanding what they eat, can offer clues that will aid in their conservation. Researchers have now developed a new technique to analyse their diet by using only “small pinches” of scat material. Non-invasive fecal samples have become increasingly important for studying the diet of elusive and endangered species, as they provide finer taxonomic resolution. But while most recent metabarcoding studies have used methods involving the collection of whole scats in ziplock bags or centrifuge tubes with silica beads, molecular ecologist Abhinav Tyagi and his colleagues took a different approach. While researching dhole diet inside the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, forest staff trained by Tyagi, instead of scooping up entire piles of dhole scat from the ground, collected only “small pinches” of material. Samples were collected during the monsoon (August-September 2022) and winter (January-February 2023). The study, published in Environmental DNA, is a collaboration between the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Maharashtra Forest Department, and uses &#8220;DNA metabarcoding to assess spatial and seasonal variation in dhole diet from a high-density dhole landscape.” Researcher Abhinav Tyagi collects a dhole scat sample during field research in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. A new technique has been developed to analyse diet by using only “small pinches” of scat. Image courtesy of Abhinav Tyagi. “The study found, their diet, irrespective of season,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-dna-analysis-reveals-what-dholes-eat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-dna-analysis-reveals-what-dholes-eat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dolphins tread the waters between tourist boats and fishing nets</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 16:03:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dolphins]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/21145702/Researchers-found-that-dolphins-were-more-likely-to-avoid-tourist-boats-as-they-approached-more-closely-or-surrounded-them-in-larger-numbers.-Photo-Credit-Imran-Samad-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39516</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Goa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Coast, Conservation, Fish, Fishing, Mammals, Oceans, and Tourism]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For Indian Ocean humpback dolphins off Goa&#8217;s coast, fishing nets may offer feeding opportunities, while tourist boats often bring disturbance. A recent study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, examined how the endangered species balances these competing responses when tourism and fisheries overlap in the same waters. “Tourism and fisheries are among the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For Indian Ocean humpback dolphins off Goa&#8217;s coast, fishing nets may offer feeding opportunities, while tourist boats often bring disturbance. A recent study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, examined how the endangered species balances these competing responses when tourism and fisheries overlap in the same waters. “Tourism and fisheries are among the most common human activities in the habitats used by these dolphins. We were interested in how dolphins respond when they have to balance disturbance from boats with the opportunity to access food resources,” says Imran Samad, corresponding author of the study and a scholar at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science. Watching dolphins from above The study was carried out in north Goa between October 2023 and April 2024. The region supports relatively high densities of Indian Ocean humpback dolphins and also experiences intensive fishing and dolphin-watching tourism activity. Researchers monitored dolphin groups from elevated coastal vantage points. Once dolphins were sighted, they followed the animals using a drone, flown at a height of 60-100 metres above sea level. “Traditionally, dolphin behaviour is studied either from the shore using theodolites (monoculars used to estimate dolphin positions) or from boats. We used drones, which allowed us to observe animals from above and follow individuals and groups without directly disturbing them,&#8221; says Samad. Over six months, the team conducted 90 focal follows of dolphin groups and recorded 19 hours of dolphin footage. The footage was then analysed using machine-learning tools that tracked dolphin movements&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/dolphins-tread-the-waters-between-tourist-boats-and-fishing-nets/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Scrublands and ravines offer key habitat for the elusive caracal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/caracal-prefer-ravines-open-natural-ecosystems-over-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/caracal-prefer-ravines-open-natural-ecosystems-over-protected-areas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2026 14:16:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caracal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/09121119/Caracal-in-the-Ranthambhore-Kailadevi-Dholpur-landscape_Ranthambhore-Tiger-Reserve-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39121</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Endangered species, Grasslands, Protected Areas, Thar Desert, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The caracal is one of India&#8217;s most elusive wild cats. With its sandy coat, lean frame and distinctive black ear tufts, it is instantly recognisable. Yet sightings are rare, and much of what researchers know about the species comes from scattered records rather than dedicated research. A recent study from southeastern Rajasthan on caracals and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The caracal is one of India&#8217;s most elusive wild cats. With its sandy coat, lean frame and distinctive black ear tufts, it is instantly recognisable. Yet sightings are rare, and much of what researchers know about the species comes from scattered records rather than dedicated research. A recent study from southeastern Rajasthan on caracals and their habitats, is looking to change that. Using camera-trap records and habitat modelling, researchers have identified areas likely to support caracals across the Greater Ranthambhore landscape and the environmental features most strongly associated with the species&#8217; occurrence. “Very little was known about its current distribution, habitat requirements, or population status. Most available information came from scattered historical records, opportunistic sightings, and anecdotal observations, making it difficult to develop effective conservation strategies. Our study was motivated by the need to move beyond isolated records and develop a landscape-level understanding of where suitable habitats still exist for the species,” shares Ayan Sadhu, a research scientist at the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India, and a corresponding author of the study. A landscape beyond the tiger reserve The study focused on the Kailadevi landscape, which forms the northern extension of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Situated between Banas and Chambal rivers, the semi-arid region is a mosaic of scrub forests, rocky plateaus, ravines and villages. It supports a diverse carnivore community that includes tigers, leopards, wolves, striped hyenas and jungle cats. To understand how caracals use this landscape, researchers deployed camera traps at 177 locations between January&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/caracal-prefer-ravines-open-natural-ecosystems-over-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>As elephants venture to higher altitudes researchers track possibilities of conflict</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 15:55:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elephant corridors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/03141812/Picture2_Camera-trap-capture-of-an-elephant-herd-above-3200-m-the-highest-known-altitude-of-elephant-presence.-C-WWF-IndiaArunachal-Pradesh-Forest-Department-e1783069319919-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38962</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arunachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Conservation, Elephants, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Human Wildlife Conflict, Land Rights, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the highest recorded presence of Asian elephants in the world. The highest known record of an elephant (African elephant) is at around 4,000 metres, on Mount Kenya. Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh were previously known to be present primarily in the lower reaches and Himalayan foothills occasionally moving up to an altitude of 2,000 meters. However, this assessment found their presence at altitudes going up to 3,266 metres. The new action plan, released in May 2026, was jointly developed by the Arunachal Pradesh Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and WWF-India, to address human-elephant conflict in the state, threats to habitats and analyse whether elephant corridors are well-protected. Data was collected between December 2024 and March 2026. Officials examined elephant habitats where conflict was reported, and where crop or property damage had occurred. Why the altitude record matters According to Aritra Kshettry, who works with WWF-India’s Elephant Conservation Programme (ECP), elephants are not typically found at such high altitudes. The records of elephants at these altitudes gives clues about their movement outside of protected areas which helps predict potential interactions between elephants and humans. According to the action plan, elephant presence and crop damage have been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Snake sightings rise even when snakebite deaths fall</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2026 13:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi M.R.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heatwave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snakebites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urbanisation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/22103156/3-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38767</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Climate Change, Human Wildlife Conflict, Impacts of Climate Change, Reptiles, Villages, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Panic struck Kerala this year when eight snakebite deaths were reported from six districts across the state within a span of two months this summer. Six of the eight deaths were reported between April 20 and 26. A constant stream of fear-inducing reports in both the mainstream and social media intensified public anxiety around snakebites. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Panic struck Kerala this year when eight snakebite deaths were reported from six districts across the state within a span of two months this summer. Six of the eight deaths were reported between April 20 and 26. A constant stream of fear-inducing reports in both the mainstream and social media intensified public anxiety around snakebites. The heightened concern was reflected in the number of calls received by Team SARPA (Snake Awareness, Rescue, Protection App), a network of trained snake rescuers and forest officials. In August 2020, Kerala introduced guidelines for the rescue and release of snakes from human-dominated areas by certified snake rescuers, leading to the formation of the SARPA team and a mobile application. The platform allows residents to report snake sightings and alert nearby rescuers, enabling rapid responses to snake-related incidents, improving documentation, and promoting public awareness of snake safety and conservation. “There are around 3,500 active licensed snake rescuers in the state. But with the intense media attention this year, we started receiving more than 100 calls a day for volunteers, and most of them were panic calls,” says Sandeep Das, research associate at the University of Calicut and SARPA master trainer. “When media focus shifted to election coverage and political developments in the state, the number of calls gradually came down.” “A combination of factors such as the unusually high atmospheric temperatures triggered by the heatwave, the egg-hatching season of venomous snakes such as the Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper led to more human-snake&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/snake-sightings-rise-even-when-snakebite-deaths-fall/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Artificial light at night alters foraging behaviour in kites</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 13:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[light pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marine Fisheries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban birds]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/02115608/52735549020_6404c85225_4k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38468</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Kerala]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Birds, Cities and Towns, Ecology, Environment, Fishing, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Polycarp Joseph has been making annual visits to the Shaktikulangara and Vaddy fishing harbours in Kerala’s Kollam district, since 2019, to track birds. On his visits, Joseph, who is a district head for the Kerala State Annual Heronry Survey, an annual citizen-science monitoring project by the Kerala Bird Monitoring Network (KBM), counts active nests of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Polycarp Joseph has been making annual visits to the Shaktikulangara and Vaddy fishing harbours in Kerala’s Kollam district, since 2019, to track birds. On his visits, Joseph, who is a district head for the Kerala State Annual Heronry Survey, an annual citizen-science monitoring project by the Kerala Bird Monitoring Network (KBM), counts active nests of the little egret (Egretta garzetta). As part of this monitoring effort, he has visited both harbours after dark to study the effects of nighttime light pollution on these birds. It was on one such visit that he came across a few brahminy kites (Haliastur indus), a “strictly” diurnal (active during the day) raptor with a distinctive bright white head and rump, scavenging late at night at the Vaddy fishing harbour in Kollam. If it were late evening hours, he might have assumed that the kites were returning home or making one last foraging attempt, said Joseph. “The harbour [at night] is like a floodlit stadium, with LED lights in the auction yard and on boats, which allows these kites to perceive prey availability,” he added. On February 5, 2024, from 11 PM until 12:30 AM, Joseph recorded three brahminy kites flying in short circles above the harbour, diving to scoop fish from boats, and snatching discards from fishers. On subsequent nights, too, he observed one or two kites scavenging between 9 and 11 PM. This observation was recorded in a recent paper by a research team, including Joseph. According to the authors, this is the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/artificial-light-at-night-is-altering-foraging-behaviour-in-kites/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Tuskers form all-male groups in the wild, finds study</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2026 13:56:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wild elephants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/29120104/Males-are-regularly-seen-forming-groups-and-where-and-when-they-do-this-is-not-random.-Photo-Credit-Abhimanyu-Madhusudanan-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38430</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Uttarakhand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Elephants, Mammals, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Male Asian elephants are often described as solitary. But the results of a 2026 study conducted in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand suggests that the picture may be more complex. Researchers found that males regularly form groups, and these associations are far from random. Patterns of grouping shift with age, reproductive state and habitat. Many [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Male Asian elephants are often described as solitary. But the results of a 2026 study conducted in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand suggests that the picture may be more complex. Researchers found that males regularly form groups, and these associations are far from random. Patterns of grouping shift with age, reproductive state and habitat. Many of these interactions unfold in open, human-used landscapes — the same spaces where negative interactions between people and elephants are often reported. “Elephant responses to threats are context-based and vary across regions and populations. By understanding how individuals associate with one another, we can develop more targeted conflict-mitigation strategies,” says Abhimanyu Madhusudanan, a wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Institute of India and the corresponding author of the study. Elephant group dynamics The study recorded 706 elephants (excluding calves), of which 219 were males. Each sighting was logged to build individual histories. Researchers also recorded whether males were alone, in all-male groups or part of mixed herds, along with their age and reproductive state. The team then analysed the data using spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR), a method that estimates population size by tracking how often individual animals are detected and where those sightings occur. From these sightings, SECR modelling estimated around 40 adult males in the study area. Males were most often seen in mixed herds, accounting for about half the sightings (50.8%), followed by solitary bulls at 29.8% and all-male groups at 19.4%. Overall, researchers found roughly two adult females for every adult male. Male&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/tuskers-form-all-male-groups-in-the-wild-finds-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Invasive trees, roaming dogs, and the fragile balance of Thar’s desert predators</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/invasive-trees-roaming-dogs-and-the-fragile-balance-of-thars-desert-predators/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/invasive-trees-roaming-dogs-and-the-fragile-balance-of-thars-desert-predators/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Mar 2026 12:01:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[feral dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free ranging dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stray dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildcats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/09100250/Desert-foxes-often-used-the-same-areas-as-free-ranging-dogs-but-shifted-their-activity-to-different-times-of-day-reducing-the-risk-of-encounters.-Photo-Credit-Chet-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37194</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Thar Desert]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Cats, Ecology, Grasslands, Mammals, Plants, Thar Desert, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Grasslands around the world are quietly changing under pressure from overgrazing, cropland expansion, climate change and biological invasions. In India’s Thar Desert, these pressures are reshaping which species survive and how they share space. A new ecological study finds that two invasive forces, fast-spreading mesquite trees and free-ranging dogs linked to human settlements, are changing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Grasslands around the world are quietly changing under pressure from overgrazing, cropland expansion, climate change and biological invasions. In India’s Thar Desert, these pressures are reshaping which species survive and how they share space. A new ecological study finds that two invasive forces, fast-spreading mesquite trees and free-ranging dogs linked to human settlements, are changing how native mesocarnivores (medium-sized carnivores) move, hunt and coexist in this landscape. “Wildlife communities of the Thar Desert remain relatively understudied even as the landscape undergoes rapid ecological change,&#8221; says Chetan Misher, a wildlife ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Trust and the study’s corresponding author. &#8220;Mesquite has become the dominant woody plant, altering habitat structure, while free-ranging dogs function as apex or dominant predators in many areas. Together, these invasives are reshaping native communities through habitat modification, changes in predation, competition and interference, with cascading effects across the ecosystem,” A changing desert landscape The Thar spans about 446,000 square kilometres across western India and southern Pakistan, covering over 200,000 sq km across parts of western Rajasthan and the Kachchh region of Gujarat. To capture ecological variation across this landscape, researchers focused on two contrasting sites for the study: the mesquite-dominated Banni grasslands of Gujarat and the more fragmented, agriculture-influenced grasslands around Bikaner in Rajasthan. Mesquite growing in Gujarat. A new study finds that fast-spreading mesquite trees and free-ranging dogs are changing how native medium-sized carnivores move, hunt and coexist in this landscape. Image by Dinesh Valke via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Both regions support similar&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/invasive-trees-roaming-dogs-and-the-fragile-balance-of-thars-desert-predators/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>What wild poop can teach children about ecology [Book review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/what-wild-poop-can-teach-children-about-ecology-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/what-wild-poop-can-teach-children-about-ecology-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Feb 2026 16:20:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kasturi Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/25101620/Thar_Desert_India_Dung_beetle_on_sand-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37033</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Birds, Mammals, Oceans, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For human beings, the topic of excreta is considered a subject of disgust and embarrassment. The Big Book of Wild Poop, written by Shweta Taneja, sets out to change the narrative of how humans, children in particular, view poop. In the animal world, excreta is not waste but information, food, camouflage and defence, the book [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For human beings, the topic of excreta is considered a subject of disgust and embarrassment. The Big Book of Wild Poop, written by Shweta Taneja, sets out to change the narrative of how humans, children in particular, view poop. In the animal world, excreta is not waste but information, food, camouflage and defence, the book says. For a dung beetle or a worm, it is a source of multivitamins. Some spiders disguise themselves with it to escape predators, while hoopoe mothers use it to protect their chicks. “Poop is a shushed subject for kids. We want to bring it out into living rooms, into play areas and schools and talk about this subject openly, without shame,” says Taneja. “It’s not disgusting, it’s scientific.” Taneja, known for writing science and fiction for both children and adults, makes an unglamorous subject like excreta palatable, by blending humour with science. The book takes an easy, humorous approach to explaining how ecosystems function. It shows how animal droppings help disperse seeds, recycle nutrients and even support climate processes by aiding forest regeneration. Publisher: WWF -India, Juggernaut and Indian Pitta Print length: 80 pages Publication date: January 23, 2026 Genre: Nonfiction The Big Book of Wild Poop introduces children ages nine to 13 to the taboo topic of poop, using humour to share the science of how animal droppings reveal behaviour, diet, ecology and more. It is one of the first books on wild animal scat exclusively focusing on India. &nbsp; The book, published by&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/what-wild-poop-can-teach-children-about-ecology-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Carnivores alter behaviour to coexist in a high-altitude Himalayan valley</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/carnivores-alter-behaviour-to-coexist-in-a-high-altitude-himalayan-valley/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/carnivores-alter-behaviour-to-coexist-in-a-high-altitude-himalayan-valley/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2026 11:22:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopards]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/02/11230057/Red-foxes-were-more-common-even-in-areas-used-by-snow-leopards-wolves-and-dogs-likely-because-they-can-exploit-scavenging-opportunities.-Photo-Credit-WII-Camera-Trap-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36842</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Ecology, Himalayas, and Human Wildlife Conflict]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[High in the Trans-Himalayan landscape of Spiti, life is shaped by extremes. The air is thin, winters plunge to -40°C, and food is scarce for much of the year. For the region’s carnivores — snow leopards, Himalayan wolves, red foxes, and an increasingly visible newcomer, free-ranging dogs — survival depends on navigating a landscape under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[High in the Trans-Himalayan landscape of Spiti, life is shaped by extremes. The air is thin, winters plunge to -40°C, and food is scarce for much of the year. For the region’s carnivores — snow leopards, Himalayan wolves, red foxes, and an increasingly visible newcomer, free-ranging dogs — survival depends on navigating a landscape under growing human pressure. New research shows how these predators are quietly rearranging their lives to coexist. “Studying them together is essential because none of them function in isolation; each species’ behaviour and survival are shaped by the others and by human influence,” says Priyanka Justa, Ph.D. student at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the study’s co-author. A landscape under pressure Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti Valley lies within the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, spanning elevations from about 3,600 to over 6,700 metres. Snow leopards and Himalayan wolves occupy the top of the food web, while red foxes operate as smaller, yet highly adaptable mid-ranking predators. In the recent decades, free-ranging dogs have joined this carnivore group, subsidised by food waste from villages and tourism. “Spiti is almost a natural stress test for understanding carnivore coexistence. Everything is scarce, seasonal, and highly concentrated. This naturally intensifies competition and makes trade-offs between risk, food, and space much sharper and easier to detect,” says Justa. For this study, the researchers focused on five areas across Spiti Valley (Chandratal, Kibber, Pin Valley, Mane, and Gue), each differing in tourism intensity, settlements, livestock presence, predator-prey dynamics and the presence of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/02/carnivores-alter-behaviour-to-coexist-in-a-high-altitude-himalayan-valley/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Climate change to redefine survival strategies for India’s iconic sea turtles</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/climate-change-to-redefine-survival-strategies-for-indias-iconic-sea-turtles/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/climate-change-to-redefine-survival-strategies-for-indias-iconic-sea-turtles/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2025 15:29:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Soumya Sarkar]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[olive ridleys]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turtles]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/03153143/Lepidochelys_olivaceaDSCN5307-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35318</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Odisha]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour and Climate Change]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Each winter, the beaches of Odisha witness one of nature’s most spectacular events. Hundreds of thousands of olive ridley turtles emerge from the Bay of Bengal for mass nesting, a phenomenon known as arribada. India’s conservation success in protecting these ancient mariners is remarkable. Yet beneath this achievement, climate change is quietly rewriting the rules [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Each winter, the beaches of Odisha witness one of nature’s most spectacular events. Hundreds of thousands of olive ridley turtles emerge from the Bay of Bengal for mass nesting, a phenomenon known as arribada. India’s conservation success in protecting these ancient mariners is remarkable. Yet beneath this achievement, climate change is quietly rewriting the rules of survival for these endangered species. Two interconnected crises are now unfolding. On nesting beaches, warming sands are feminising entire generations of hatchlings. In the ocean, rising temperatures are forcing turtles to abandon traditional foraging grounds, pushing them into shipping lanes where vessel strikes loom as an escalating threat. Together, these pressures are fundamentally redefining what we mean by a sea turtle hotspot in the waters around India. Temperature determines everything for sea turtle eggs buried in sand. Warmer nests produce female hatchlings and cooler ones yield males. This temperature-dependent sex determination has served sea turtles well for millions of years, but the balance is shifting. At Rushikulya beach in Odisha, data reveals olive Ridley hatchlings are emerging predominantly female, with an average of 71% over the past nine years, and ratios reaching over 97% in some years, according to Monitoring Sea Turtles in India 2008-2024 report by Dakshin Foundation. Representative image of olive Ridley turtle hatchlings. Image by Bethany McCarter via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). Danger of warming sands In the short term, a female-biased ratio can actually help promote population growth, as more females mean more eggs. But this benefit comes with&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/climate-change-to-redefine-survival-strategies-for-indias-iconic-sea-turtles/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cicadas sing in sync as the sun rises</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/cicadas-sing-in-sync-as-the-sun-rises/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/cicadas-sing-in-sync-as-the-sun-rises/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Oct 2025 15:11:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Debdutta Paul]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bamboo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cicada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grassland]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/27115038/IMG20240330070558-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35219</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Cities and Towns, Ecology, Environment, and Insects]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rakesh Khanna’s pre-dawn search of unique bird sounds in the shrublands, grasslands, and bamboo forests in Hesaraghatta, northern Bengaluru, led him to a serendipitous discovery of the chorus of cicadas just before dawn. It was as if the whole grassland had woken up before the Sun. “It was mesmerising and unexpected — I hadn’t realised [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rakesh Khanna’s pre-dawn search of unique bird sounds in the shrublands, grasslands, and bamboo forests in Hesaraghatta, northern Bengaluru, led him to a serendipitous discovery of the chorus of cicadas just before dawn. It was as if the whole grassland had woken up before the Sun. “It was mesmerising and unexpected — I hadn’t realised insects could create such a powerful soundscape at that hour,” he said. Khanna didn’t know what he was hearing at first, but being an engineering professional, he began analysing the recordings. He calculated the characteristic frequency patterns and intensity of the chorus, which matched those of cicadas — a commonly found insect family generally active during the day. The sound of cicadas is well-known in various cultures. The males are also known to sing together. For two weeks in April and May 2023, Khanna recorded the cicadas’ loud chorus. Back home, he was charting the pattern, and that made him curious. “When I plotted the data and saw the chorus rise at almost the same time every day, I was intrigued,” he said. That’s when he reached out to Raymond E. Goldstein, a professor at the University of Cambridge and went back to record the chorus of the cicadas in a different location across the Hesaraghatta lake. Over the next two years, the group, now comprising Khanna and researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Weizmann Institute of Science, showed that every day, the insects were triggered by the same level of sunlight just&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/cicadas-sing-in-sync-as-the-sun-rises/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>India’s snakes changing range, thanks to climate change</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/indias-snakes-changing-range-thanks-to-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/indias-snakes-changing-range-thanks-to-climate-change/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Oct 2025 11:49:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate impacts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snakebites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snakes]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/17023025/Echis_carinatus_carinatus_49361558-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35089</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Climate Change, Environment, Human Wildlife Conflict, Impacts of Climate Change, Reptiles, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Climate change could lead to shifts in the geographic distribution of certain snakes in India and an increase in the risk of snakebites in certain regions, a new modelling study concludes. The research, conducted by a team of Indian and South Korean scientists and published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, particularly looked at the four [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Climate change could lead to shifts in the geographic distribution of certain snakes in India and an increase in the risk of snakebites in certain regions, a new modelling study concludes. The research, conducted by a team of Indian and South Korean scientists and published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, particularly looked at the four clinically important species of snakes, referred to as the Big Four, found in the Indian sub-continent. India records the highest number of snakebite fatalities worldwide, between 46,000-60,000 annually. Climate change is anticipated to significantly impact the distribution of snakes, leading to notable shifts in their habitats towards human-dominated landscapes, the report says. This may potentially increase the incidence of bites from the Big Four species — common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russels&#8217; viper (Daboia russelii), saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus), and Indian cobra (Naja naja) — and a notable human-health risk that has not yet been assessed in India, the report says. Future snakebite scenarios The study focussed on the potential risk of snakebites from the Big Four species rather than directly assessing their population status. At present, several districts in Karnataka such as Chikkaballapura, Haveri, and Chitradurga and Gujarat (Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar) have emerged as high-priority areas. Under future scenarios, however, many northern and northeastern states are projected to show an increased risk of snakebites, including Assam (Nagaon, Morigaon, and Golaghat districts), Manipur (Tengnoupal district), and Rajasthan (Pratapgarh district). A common krait photographed indoors. A new study anticipates the impact of climate change on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/indias-snakes-changing-range-thanks-to-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>Large carnivores share the same forests but respond differently to fragmentation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/large-carnivores-share-the-same-forests-but-respond-differently-to-fragmentation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/large-carnivores-share-the-same-forests-but-respond-differently-to-fragmentation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2025 11:35:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carnivores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dhole]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leopard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/14103249/Even-in-fragmented-areas-leopards-managed-to-disperse-reflecting-their-ability-to-live-close-to-humans-and-in-varied-habitats.-Photo-Credit-Shrushti-Modi-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35023</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Habitat Fragmentation, Protected Areas, Tigers, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Large carnivores range widely, reproduce slowly, and are highly vulnerable to human disturbance. When forests are broken up by farms, roads, industries, or settlements, populations may survive locally but lose the ability to exchange genes with their neighbours. Over time, this isolation leads to inbreeding, reduced genetic diversity, and a higher risk of extinction. Maintaining [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Large carnivores range widely, reproduce slowly, and are highly vulnerable to human disturbance. When forests are broken up by farms, roads, industries, or settlements, populations may survive locally but lose the ability to exchange genes with their neighbours. Over time, this isolation leads to inbreeding, reduced genetic diversity, and a higher risk of extinction. Maintaining “connectivity”, the natural pathways that allow animals to move between habitats, is therefore critical. At the same time, a new study shows that large carnivores don’t all respond the same way to fragmented landscapes. “Conservation planning in India has been centred on tigers, with corridors and mitigation measures largely designed around their ecology and movement patterns. While this has yielded important gains, it overlooks the fact that other sympatric species (species that live in the same geographic area), such as leopards and dholes, have very different ecological requirements,” says Shrushti Modi, a scientist at the Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology at Wildlife Institute of India, and co-author of the study. At the centre The study was carried out in six protected areas of Maharashtra: Melghat Tiger Reserve, Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve, Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, and Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary. Except for Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats, the other sites are located in the Vidarbha landscape. Large carnivores are vulnerable to human disturbance such as forest fragmentation which can lead to inbreeding. However, a new study shows that they don&#8217;t all respond the same way. Tigers showed moderate&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/large-carnivores-share-the-same-forests-but-respond-differently-to-fragmentation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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