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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>As tigers spill beyond reserves, India rethinks conservation</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2026 12:04:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[big cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wild Cats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/18110753/Copy-of-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40999</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Forests, Grazing, Human Wildlife Conflict, Mammals, National Parks, People, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Forty-five-year-old Mahadeva Gowda was tending to his cotton farm in the village of Badagalapura in the southern Indian state of Karnataka when a tiger lunged at him from behind. He was caught unaware: He says he wasn’t aware that the forest department was trying to capture a tiger roaming through the areas. Before he realised [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Forty-five-year-old Mahadeva Gowda was tending to his cotton farm in the village of Badagalapura in the southern Indian state of Karnataka when a tiger lunged at him from behind. He was caught unaware: He says he wasn’t aware that the forest department was trying to capture a tiger roaming through the areas. Before he realised what was happening, the tiger swiped at his face, severely injuring his eyes and part of his face. After multiple reconstructive surgeries, Gowda has been left to live the rest of his life blinded, without eyes, his mouth only able to open partially, and his speech slurred. His wife, Indrani, says survival is extremely difficult for the family; Gowda was the household’s breadwinner, and now, he can’t work. He’s now become fully dependent on his wife for even his most basic needs. The incident occurred in mid-October 2025. Two weeks later, another farmer, 55-year-old Rajashekarappa, was grazing his cattle in a field when he encountered a tiger. It was fatal. Badagalapura and other villages that regularly report tiger encounters sit on the edge of the forest, placing them within what the forest department considers a “tiger landscape.” “Tigers have been present in this landscape for centuries and they constantly move here,” says S. Prabhakaran, who served as conservator of forests and oversaw operations at Karnataka’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve until earlier this year. The 1,456-square-kilometre park is home to between 154 and 175 tigers, according to a 2024 estimate by India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/as-tigers-spill-beyond-reserves-india-rethinks-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>High-altitude bird hotspots remain outside protected areas</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Sep 2026 14:15:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kasturi Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protected areas]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/17130909/RCNX0076-e1789630907282-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40967</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Birds, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Environment, Himalayas, Mountains, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the high-altitude landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, conservation efforts have long revolved around the charismatic snow leopard (Panthera uncia). But a new study suggests this focus may be leaving a host of other ecologically vital species outside the conservation umbrella. The study, led by scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation and partner institutions, mapped the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the high-altitude landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, conservation efforts have long revolved around the charismatic snow leopard (Panthera uncia). But a new study suggests this focus may be leaving a host of other ecologically vital species outside the conservation umbrella. The study, led by scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation and partner institutions, mapped the distribution of Galliformes — a group of heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling birds that includes pheasants and partridges — across 26,000 square kilometres. It found that only 12.5% of areas with high Galliformes species richness and 8.8% of areas with high concentrations of endemic species fall within existing protected areas (PA), designated zones for conservation of wildlife and habitats. The findings indicate that important bird habitats lie outside the designated protected areas. They point to the need for conservation planning that considers multiple species and the landscapes they share, rather than focusing mainly on flagship species such as the snow leopard. Snow leopard cameras reveal bird conservation gap The study, however, did not begin with birds at all. It grew out of a snow leopard survey conducted between 2016 and 2019. “We deployed close to 300 camera traps to estimate snow leopard populations,” said Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation, and senior author of the paper. “We completed that work and published those results. That is when we realised that while studying these charismatic species, our camera traps had detected many other animals.” Suryawanshi and his team revisited the data to identify species that warranted&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/high-altitude-bird-hotspots-remain-outside-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>The tiger reserve with abundant prey but no resident tigers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 11:23:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nivedhika Krishnan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/07063530/Tara_in_Tadoba_Tiger_Reserve_AJTJ_P1090339-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40721</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Telangana]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Villages, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in northern Telangana, Kawal Tiger Reserve covers a thick forest of teak and bamboo near the Godavari river. Geographically, it sits in an ideal location, connecting major tiger landscapes. It links Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra to the west and Indravati in Chhattisgarh to the east. Kawal supports large populations of spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, and wild pigs, alongside leopards and wild dogs. On paper, the tiger reserve checks the boxes of sufficient prey and habitat. But the reserve has no resident tigers. A 12-year study conducted between 2010 and 2022 confirmed that no tigers live permanently in Kawal. Using systematically placed line transects to monitor prey numbers, researchers found that spotted deer populations grew over the decade, while sambar, nilgai, and chousingha populations remained stable. Despite this rich prey base, researchers recorded only 15 transient tigers entering Kawal from Maharashtra since 2015. Crucially, only two of these visiting tigers were female. While neighbouring corridors outside the reserve have breeding tigers with cubs, Kawal itself remains empty. According to lead researcher Imran Siddiqui, this absence comes down to a fundamental difference in how male and female tigers disperse, &#8220;Tigers disperse very differently based on sex. Male tigers are bolder risk-takers — they grow faster, leave their mothers earlier, and travel long distances through unfamiliar, human-dominated landscapes to claim territory. Female tigers are conservative — they stay close to their birthplace and require quiet, undisturbed habitat to raise cubs. Crossing busy highways, railways, and mines poses a massive perceived threat to females.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<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>
														</item>
						<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>
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					<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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>As herders quit, the skills that helped human-tiger coexistence, disappear [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Aug 2026 13:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Varun Sharma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grazing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[herders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihoods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/09231610/6_Thakre-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39995</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Ecology, Forests, Human Rights, Human Wildlife Conflict, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mammals, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Open forests, interspersed with farmlands and village commons, connect the tiger reserves of Kanha and Pench in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is the Kanha-Pench Corridor, spread across about 5,900 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Kanha National Park. The corridor offers both refuge and mobility to wildlife. It is also densely populated, with over 400 villages located across the region. Though tiger numbers have favourably increased to 97 in this corridor, coexistence has become a renewed challenge. According to a news report published last August, more than 14,000 cattle were killed by tigers and leopards across the state in 2024–2025. In such situations, it is easy to overlook the role played by herders. They possess specialised knowledge that helps people coexist with tigers. They serve to locate livestock killed by predators and navigate government compensation systems. Cattle deaths can easily escalate tensions between forest-dwelling cattle holders and the forest department, the main agency dispensing the compensation. Herders don’t just address human-wildlife conflict, they mediate such difficult relations in the best interests of coexistence. One would most likely presume that in such times of peak conflict, the herder should be more indispensable than ever. Instead, herders are quitting their occupation due to economic, ecological, and social pressures. As herding and its associated knowledge disappears, it may undermine forms of coexistence that conservation programmes rarely account for. Cattle signs and compensation To understand what happens to tiger conservation when the practice of herding is disappearing, it is important&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-herders-quit-the-skills-that-helped-human-tiger-coexistence-disappear-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Supreme court upholds centre&#8217;s power to notify post-facto clearance</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 16:28:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kundan Pandey]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environmental Clearance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest clearance]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/07135307/AP22207426732440-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39949</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environomy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Crime, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Industry, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, National Parks, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Sustainability, and Wildlife Protection Act]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Supreme Court has struck down the centre&#8217;s 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) that created a mechanism for granting post facto environmental clearances to projects that violated prior environmental clearance norms. At the same time, it stated that the central government has the power to frame statutory amnesty schemes for specified categories of such violations under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. On July 29, the Supreme Court decided three connected writ petitions questioning the centre&#8217;s two amnesty schemes introduced in 2017 and 2021 to regularise projects that had started construction or operations without obtaining prior environmental clearance. The first scheme came through a notification issued in 2017, which gave projects that had violated prior environmental clearance requirements a one-time six-month window to seek clearance. In 2021, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued an OM prescribing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for granting post facto environmental clearances to such projects. Delivering the judgment, the three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi said, “…the OM does not satisfy the test of proportionality and reasonableness and is violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution”. The Court quashed the OM, although the ruling will operate only prospectively, the judgement said. However, the bench also stated that the central government could exercise its powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to issue statutory notifications framing amnesty schemes for specified categories of non-compliant projects. Environmental experts said this leaves open&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/supreme-court-upholds-centres-power-to-notify-post-facto-clearance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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						<item>
					<title>Roads a risk to the world&#8217;s smallest wild cat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/roads-a-risk-to-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/roads-a-risk-to-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 15:16:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roadkill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rusty spotted cat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small wild cats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/27131148/Rusty_spotted_cat_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39631</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Human Wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, Roads, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have reported two roadkill incidents of the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) at the National Chambal Sanctuary in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. The two records are the first documented occurrence of the small carnivore in southern Uttar Pradesh, according to the research paper published in the Journal of Threatened [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have reported two roadkill incidents of the rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) at the National Chambal Sanctuary in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. The two records are the first documented occurrence of the small carnivore in southern Uttar Pradesh, according to the research paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa in May. Roadkill data for small carnivores is heavily underreported, and these records were “a matter of chance”, according to Vishnupriya Kolipakam, a WII scientist and one of the paper’s authors. While they add a new locality to the small cat’s known range, the wildlife sanctuary falls within its distribution range, Kolipakam said. “The wild cat has been reported from areas all around Chambal, including Kuno, Rangarh-Vishdhar, Ranthambhore, and Dholpur,” she said. However, this follows a pattern, as seen in recent papers that have curated sighting reports of the strictly nocturnal cat. There were nine records of roadkill from the Saurashtra Peninsula in Gujarat between 2016 and 2024, and four records from Rajasthan between 2000 and 2020. In Nepal, too, where the cat was discovered as recently as 2016, there has been a record of a roadkill. For an elusive small cat that has been rarely observed in the wild, these roadkill records add up to a significant number. There are also not enough studies looking at the effects of roads on small carnivores, noted Shomita Mukherjee, a senior principal scientist at the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). “Whatever is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/roads-a-risk-to-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/roads-a-risk-to-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<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>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biodiversity and pastoral traditions lose shine with time in these grass preserves</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/biodiversity-and-pastoral-traditions-lose-shine-with-time-in-these-grass-preserves/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/biodiversity-and-pastoral-traditions-lose-shine-with-time-in-these-grass-preserves/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 14:03:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Vandana K.]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[desert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livelihood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pastoralism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traditional Knowledge]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/12122455/AP23167518472753-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38617</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Ecology, Environment, Grasslands, Indigenous Peoples, Protected Areas, and Tribes]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nasibi Shermamad Jat, 55, remembers how, as a child, she would walk to the rakhal near her village with her mother to take their buffaloes for grazing. “I plucked imli (tamarind) from the trees and collected grass during drought,” she recalls. After she got married, her visits to the rakhal continued with her husband and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nasibi Shermamad Jat, 55, remembers how, as a child, she would walk to the rakhal near her village with her mother to take their buffaloes for grazing. “I plucked imli (tamarind) from the trees and collected grass during drought,” she recalls. After she got married, her visits to the rakhal continued with her husband and their camels. A protected area, a rakhal is typically characterised by sparse tree cover, shrubs, and grass in a savannah-like landscape, found in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kachchh, Gujarat. Nasibi’s village is one among the many villages across the parched region of Kachchh, where shades of white, beige and sandy brown dominate the landscape. Belonging to the pastoralist Maldhari community in Dhragavandh, a village near the India-Pakistan border, Nasibi’s family of eight owns 30 camels and six buffaloes. There are four rakhals surrounding her village located inside the Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary. “The kings gave us rakhals to graze our animals,” says Nasibi. Rakhals began as grass preserves in the 1880s, with the purpose of supplying fodder for animals and for hunting by the rulers of the princely state of Kachchh. Cutting trees was banned even then. The royal court earned revenue from some rakhals by allowing Maldharis to graze their herds in these areas. After Independence, the rakhals were taken over by the state forest department. In present times, rakhals are facing several pressures in the form of urbanisation, industrialisation, the fading away of traditional ecological knowledge, invasive species, renewable energy expansion, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/biodiversity-and-pastoral-traditions-lose-shine-with-time-in-these-grass-preserves/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<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>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Predator-prey relationships and habitat quality shape a tiger reserve</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 13:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/26174318/Predators-appear-closely-tied-to-prey-distribution-rather-than-acting-alone-as-regulators.-Photo-Credit-Supratim-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38374</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. “Focusing exclusively on the apex predator (for ecosystem recovery) tells only a fraction of the story. The answer lies in the broader mammalian community that supports them,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and one of the authors of the study. “The real question is not whether tigers came back, but what made that recovery possible.” A landscape built on extremes Panna Tiger Reserve spans 1,574 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, with 542 sq km of core and a larger buffer zone. The terrain is rugged, cut through by the Ken River, the only perennial water source. Summers can touch 45°C, and winters drop to around 5°C. Vegetation is largely a tropical dry deciduous forest. The reserve supports a dense mammal community. Tigers and leopards are apex predators. Below them in the chain are wolves, jackals and hyenas. Prey includes chital, sambar, nilgai and wild pig. Around 30,000 people live in settlements in the buffer zone. The Ken River functions as the ecological backbone of the entire mammalian community of Panna, along with around 30,000 people living in the buffer zone. Image by Supratim Dutta. To understand how the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Shrinking forest corridors in central India could disrupt tiger dispersal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 May 2026 12:29:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manjeera Gowravaram]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Achanakmar Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserves]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/18001517/Umarpani_Male-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38206</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Forests, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across the forests of central India, young tigers set out on long journeys once they reach two to three years of age; they leave their mother’s territory and search for their own. But the surrounding landscapes are no longer as conducive. Once continuous forest blocks are now fragmented by farms, roads, rail lines, and settlements. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across the forests of central India, young tigers set out on long journeys once they reach two to three years of age; they leave their mother’s territory and search for their own. But the surrounding landscapes are no longer as conducive. Once continuous forest blocks are now fragmented by farms, roads, rail lines, and settlements. A recent study published in the Journal for Nature Conservation examines how tigers navigate such altered terrain. The study was conducted by researchers from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and the Institute of Integrated Learning in Management (IILM) University. “Many studies talk about habitat loss. Our focus is on building computational models that use data to understand [habitat] connectivity,” says Saurabh Shanu, Assistant Dean and an associate professor at IILM University, and one of the study’s co-authors. The goal was to identify which parts of the landscape still allow safe passage for tigers, and which are at risk of being lost. To achieve this, the researchers combined satellite data with two analytical approaches — graph theory and game theory. “Graph theory helps us connect different places on the map. Game theory helps us understand how a tiger responds to things like prey, roads, or other animals,” Shanu explains. Together, these tools map not just where forests remain, but how usable they are for wildlife. The landscape at Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Central India hold about 40% of the country’s wild tigers. Image by Kevin Buehler via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). A changing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/shrinking-forest-corridors-in-central-india-could-disrupt-tiger-dispersal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Kaziranga hosts a healthy population of fishing cats, finds survey</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/kaziranga-hosts-a-healthy-population-of-fishing-cats-finds-survey/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/kaziranga-hosts-a-healthy-population-of-fishing-cats-finds-survey/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 May 2026 14:08:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fishing cat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kaziranga National Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small wild cats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/05134354/fishing-cat-with-kitten-scaled-e1777969181679-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38038</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Forests, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first scientific survey of fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve has recorded 57 individuals, confirming that the species is widely distributed and actively reproducing across the reserve’s floodplains. Conducted by Kaziranga’s Tiger Cell in coordination with the Fishing Cat Project, the survey report was released on February 22 – [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first scientific survey of fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve has recorded 57 individuals, confirming that the species is widely distributed and actively reproducing across the reserve’s floodplains. Conducted by Kaziranga’s Tiger Cell in coordination with the Fishing Cat Project, the survey report was released on February 22 – International Fishing Cat Day. “This is one of the highest numbers in the freshwater floodplain, which reinstates KNP as one of its finest habitats. It is important for us to know that these are good habitats for fishing cats,” Sonali Ghosh, Director, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, tells Mongabay-India. Analysing camera trap images The survey drew from bycatch data through camera traps originally set up to monitor tigers. “It is not possible to conduct a separate survey for every species found in KNP, as there are logistical and time constraints. We had to study more than 14 lakh images from the camera traps,” says Ghosh. Analysing these images presented some challenges, says Tiasa Adhya, a wildlife biologist and one of the co-founders of the Fishing Cat Project. “If the weather is foggy, you won&#8217;t get good images. If it is raining, that’s a problem too. Sometimes the animal comes too near the trap, while sometimes only a portion of the body is visible,” she says. As the camera-trap grid was originally designed for larger felids, wildlife officials believe that the number 57 could be an undercount. While this limitation creates uncertainty, it also establishes&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/kaziranga-hosts-a-healthy-population-of-fishing-cats-finds-survey/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>India’s rare swamp deer establishes a second home</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Apr 2026 11:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger reserves]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[translocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife translocation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/27185347/Hard-ground-swamp-deer-are-growing-and-breeding-well-in-their-new-habitat-in-Satpura-Tiger-Reserve.-Photo-Credit-L-Krishnamoorthy-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37899</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Grasslands, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A population of hard-ground swamp deer translocated from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve, both in Madhya Pradesh, is growing steadily and breeding successfully, according to a new study. The subspecies, once widespread across central India, now survives in just one region, making efforts to establish a second population critical in reducing extinction risk. The hard-ground swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) was once found widely across India, but today survives naturally only in Kanha. According to the IUCN Red List, the hard-ground swamp deer is categorised as vulnerable and is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The subspecies declined historically due to habitat alteration, fragmentation of grasslands and hunting. With a single population of roughly 1,100 animals, the species remains vulnerable to disease outbreaks or other threats. “Confining the entire subspecies to Kanha effectively created a single point of failure,” says Neha Awasthi, the study’s corresponding author, and member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s Deer Specialist Group. “Small isolated populations face intrinsic risks such as demographic stochasticity [fluctuations in mean growth rate], genetic drift and inbreeding, as well as external threats including disease outbreaks or large-scale environmental disturbances.” The study was conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India along with the Madhya Pradesh forest department. Kanha also has ecological limits with finite grassland habitat and carrying capacity. “Without opportunities for dispersal into new landscapes, density-dependent pressures could eventually limit population growth,” adds Awasthi. In recent&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/indias-rare-swamp-deer-establishes-a-second-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>No poll duty for forest staff, orders green tribunal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2026 17:31:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest department]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/06153115/AP17323472728867-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37624</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment and Elections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Environmental Law, Environmental Politics, Forests, Politics, Protected Areas, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed a recent Assam government order directing the deployment of about 1,600 personnel from the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duty ahead of April 9 state assembly polls. On March 19, an order from the state&#8217;s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department directed forest personnel to assist the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stayed a recent Assam government order directing the deployment of about 1,600 personnel from the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for election duty ahead of April 9 state assembly polls. On March 19, an order from the state&#8217;s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department directed forest personnel to assist the state police during the elections between April 3 and return by April 10. The issue garnered attention when a group of retired bureaucrats and conservationists across the country wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the chief secretary of Assam seeking immediate withdrawal of the order. Amid the criticisms, Delhi-based advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal filed a petition before the NGT on April 1 and argued that the order is against the provisions of a 2024 Supreme Court order against the use of forest staff for election duty. It also states that diverting forest personnel from their primary duties of protection and conservation of biological resources goes against the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, in letter and spirit. During the hearing of the matter on April 2, NGT’s Eastern Zone bench stayed the March 19 order till further orders. A polling official conducts a training for government employees ahead of the Assam legislative assembly election in Guwahati, Assam on March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) Opposing the order Opposing the Assam government&#8217;s order, a group of retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers and conservationists sent a letter to the Chief&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/no-poll-duty-for-forest-staff-orders-green-tribunal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Photographic evidence provides clues about tiger presence</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/photographic-evidence-provides-clues-about-tiger-presence/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/photographic-evidence-provides-clues-about-tiger-presence/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Apr 2026 10:21:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[big cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protected areas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tiger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/02150558/camera-trap-image-of-tiger-e1775122576347-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37582</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Himalayas, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first photographic evidence of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) was recently recorded in Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Assam. The region had tigers in the 1990s, but there has been no documented evidence to establish the status of the tiger population. Small camera trapping exercises in earlier years did not bear [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first photographic evidence of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) was recently recorded in Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Assam. The region had tigers in the 1990s, but there has been no documented evidence to establish the status of the tiger population. Small camera trapping exercises in earlier years did not bear fruit until recently, when around 60 cameras were installed and a tiger’s presence was successfully documented. The Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve comes under the Tinsukia Wildlife Division. In 1997, the biosphere reserve, with an area of 765 square kilometres, was declared. Then, in 1999, its core area of 340 sq km was declared a national park. “Since the inception of the national park, this is the first time a tiger has been caught on camera in Dibru Saikhowa,” Bibison Tokbi, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Tinsukia Wildlife Division, tells Mongabay-India. “We captured the tiger twice on camera trap, first on December 14, 2025, and then on January 1, 2026. Both the images were of the same tiger.” He adds that the staff have recently discovered some pug marks of another tiger as well, indicating the presence of multiple big cats. Small camera trapping exercises bore no fruit in earlier years until recently, when more extensive trapping aided shots of a tiger’s presence in Dibru Saikhowa. Image courtesy of Dibru Saikhowa National Park. There have been prior unconfirmed reports of tiger presence in the region, says Tokbi, whose team set up many cameras&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/photographic-evidence-provides-clues-about-tiger-presence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Rewilding rhinos as part of a long-term conservation plan</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/rewilding-rhinos-as-part-of-a-long-term-conservation-plan/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/rewilding-rhinos-as-part-of-a-long-term-conservation-plan/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Apr 2026 16:23:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brahmaputra]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudhwa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudhwa Tiger Reserve]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ganga]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greater one-horned rhino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rhino conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/03152740/DSC4427.JPG-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37605</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Uttar Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Grasslands, Mammals, Protected Areas, Rhinos, Rivers, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the grasslands of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh, a rhino stood inside a transport crate mounted on a tractor trolley as forest staff, veterinarians, mahouts and elephants gathered around it. Once the team lifted the door and stepped back, the animal paused briefly, looked around, and then moved toward the forest. The was [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the grasslands of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh, a rhino stood inside a transport crate mounted on a tractor trolley as forest staff, veterinarians, mahouts and elephants gathered around it. Once the team lifted the door and stepped back, the animal paused briefly, looked around, and then moved toward the forest. The was part of a two-day release operation in March 2026, during which forest staff, veterinarians and field teams shifted four great one-horned rhinos from a fenced rehabilitation area into the reserve’s core habitat. The rhinos (one male and three females aged 15 to 25 years) were tranquilised, fitted with radio collars, examined and then released into an unfenced grassland area inside the reserve. With the introduction of the four rhinos in March, Dudhwa now has eight free-ranging rhinos. This exercise was carried out by a joint team of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and WWF-India. It was the third such effort after similar releases in November 2024 and March 2025. The team has set up a monitoring mechanism and control room to track the animals using VHF and satellite locations. H. Rajamohan, Field Director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, said in a press release, the release of the four rhinos into the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve was a significant step in rhino conservation. “After decades of hard work, the efforts to bring back rhinos to India’s Terai landscape have finally begun to bear fruit. The exercise exemplifies the commitment of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to conserve and protect&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/rewilding-rhinos-as-part-of-a-long-term-conservation-plan/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Sloth bears den between a rock and a safe place</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sloth-bears-den-between-a-rock-and-a-safe-place/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sloth-bears-den-between-a-rock-and-a-safe-place/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Mar 2026 13:29:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dryland conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forest guards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sloth bear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/25010338/MelursusUrsinusFemaleCub-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37445</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Gujarat]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Forestry, Grasslands, Mammals, Protected Areas, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the dry forests of eastern Gujarat, sloth bears disappear into the landscape every day. Naturally occurring caves on rocky hillocks provide hidden shelters that offer shade, safety and, for some, a place to raise cubs. A recent study takes a closer look at these refuges to understand how sloth bears choose these sites, and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the dry forests of eastern Gujarat, sloth bears disappear into the landscape every day. Naturally occurring caves on rocky hillocks provide hidden shelters that offer shade, safety and, for some, a place to raise cubs. A recent study takes a closer look at these refuges to understand how sloth bears choose these sites, and why certain aspects of the landscape matter more than others. “Denning behaviour is a really important part of sloth bear ecology, but surprisingly it has not been studied as much as other aspects like diet or habitat use. Like other bears, sloth bears depend on dens as safe places for resting and for raising their cubs. These sites also provide protection from environmental stress, disturbance and potential threats, especially when cubs are very young,” says Ashish Kumar Jangid, principal project associate at Wildlife Institute of India, and a sloth bear expert. Finding sloth bears dens The study was conducted between May 2022 and November 2023 in forests connecting Ratanmahal Wildlife Sanctuary and Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. The landscape stretches across Dahod, Chhota Udepur and Panchmahal districts and covers roughly 324 square kilometres. The terrain is rugged and hilly. Rocky outcrops rise through dry deciduous forest dominated by teak, crocodile bark, mahua, tendu and dhak trees. Although the sanctuaries themselves are protected areas, the corridor linking them is a mosaic of forest and human use. Sloth bears move through this landscape alongside species such as leopards, rusty-spotted cats, Indian giant flying squirrels, striped hyenas, golden&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/sloth-bears-den-between-a-rock-and-a-safe-place/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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