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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/research/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 07:53:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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					<title>Sloth bears are unlikely seed dispersers shaping forests</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/sloth-bears-shape-forests-as-unlikely-seed-dispersers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/sloth-bears-shape-forests-as-unlikely-seed-dispersers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Aug 2026 13:14:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aravallis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lantana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sloth bear]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/06102357/Sloth-bears-may-contribute-to-the-spread-of-the-invasive-shrub-by-dispersing-its-seeds-over-long-distances.-Photo-Credit-Utkarsh-Prajapati-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=39910</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Rajasthan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Ecosystem services, Endangered species, Food, Forests, Mammals, Mountains, Positive Environmental, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sloth bears may be doing much more than foraging across Rajasthan&#8217;s semi-arid deciduous forests. A new study from the Aravalli hills suggests they may also help shape the forests by dispersing viable seeds. “A relatively small number of careful studies have been conducted on sloth bear diet ecology, and an even smaller number on their [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sloth bears may be doing much more than foraging across Rajasthan&#8217;s semi-arid deciduous forests. A new study from the Aravalli hills suggests they may also help shape the forests by dispersing viable seeds. “A relatively small number of careful studies have been conducted on sloth bear diet ecology, and an even smaller number on their role in enabling seed dispersal,” says K.S. Gopi Sundar, independent scientist and co-author of the study. “Since we studied both of these aspects, we are able to show that bears are influencing a number of plant species in germinating more and faster than if they were left to germinate naturally. Clearly, dry deciduous forests’ plant compositions are a function of sloth bear presence, movement, and dietary habits,” he says. Studying bears in the Aravallis The research was conducted in the Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh-Raoli wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan&#8217;s south-central Aravalli range. Together, the protected areas cover about 1,100 square kilometres of dry deciduous forest, scrubland and grassland. “The two sanctuaries formed a unique ecotone between the drier western Aravalli slopes and the much greener eastern slopes,” says co-author Utkarsh Prajapati, a senior project associate at the Wildlife Institute of India. “This zone of transition, we thought, likely holds a greater diversity of resources for omnivores such as the sloth bear.” Prajapati conducted the research while at the Wildlife Research Laboratory at the Department of Zoology, University College of Science, Mohanlal Sukhadia University (MLSU), Udaipur. The Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh-Raoli wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan’s south-central Aravalli range. These&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/sloth-bears-shape-forests-as-unlikely-seed-dispersers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Study finds microplastics in small cats’ scat</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/study-finds-microplastics-in-small-cats-scat/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/study-finds-microplastics-in-small-cats-scat/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Apr 2026 14:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Phalguni Ranjan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[microplastics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small wildcats]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/14104517/Jungle_Cat_in_Sundarban-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37684</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas and Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Sundarbans]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Cats, Mangroves, Plastic, Pollution, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Plastic pollution has long been visible in the mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans in the form of waste such as bottles, food wrappers, and discarded fishing lines and other gear. What has remained largely underexplored is the journey of microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) and mesoplastics (5-25 mm in size) within and across these [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Plastic pollution has long been visible in the mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans in the form of waste such as bottles, food wrappers, and discarded fishing lines and other gear. What has remained largely underexplored is the journey of microplastics (particles smaller than 5 mm) and mesoplastics (5-25 mm in size) within and across these habitats. A study published last year in the journal Environmental Research reports the presence of microplastics in the scats of the jungle cat (Felis chaus) and fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) raising concerns about plastic movement across ecosystems and trophic levels. Researchers report the presence of microplastics and mesoplastics in the scat of these small felids from the Indian Sundarbans and adjoining coastal landscapes. A fishing cat in Godavari. Representative image. Image by Srichakra Pranav via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The study emerged from years of work on plastics in the region’s mangrove-estuarine systems. “We had already identified microplastics in soil, water and estuarine fish, and that led us to investigate microplastic contamination in the higher carnivores of this ecosystem,” says Shrayan Bhattacharjee, lead author of the study and a doctoral fellow at the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara, West Bengal. The jungle cat and fishing cat are mesocarnivores (medium-sized carnivores) that primarily feed on fish, crabs, rodents, amphibians, birds, and reptiles. Despite their ecological importance, both species remain understudied, particularly in the context of effects of emerging pollutants. Bhattacharjee says, “We found that the Gangetic estuary is an overlapping habitat zone for these&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/study-finds-microplastics-in-small-cats-scat/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Chronic exposure to air pollution can influence dengue severity, study finds</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/chronic-exposure-to-air-pollution-can-influence-dengue-severity-study-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/chronic-exposure-to-air-pollution-can-influence-dengue-severity-study-finds/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2026 13:43:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lekha Bandopadhyay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Air Pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dengue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GDP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospitals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PM 2.5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/03/17215625/AP21300279041032-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37313</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Health impacts, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2024, an unprecedented high of over 14 million dengue cases and more than 11,000 dengue-related deaths were reported globally. While the roles played by climate change and rapid urbanisation in the recent amplification of dengue transmission, are recognised, increased exposure to air pollution is also a corollary of these two burgeoning factors. In a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2024, an unprecedented high of over 14 million dengue cases and more than 11,000 dengue-related deaths were reported globally. While the roles played by climate change and rapid urbanisation in the recent amplification of dengue transmission, are recognised, increased exposure to air pollution is also a corollary of these two burgeoning factors. In a recent study, researchers wanted to understand if long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) contributes to increased fatality rates in dengue. In collaboration with researchers from Japan, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom, the study led by Sakirul Khan from the Research Center for Global and Local Infectious Diseases, Oita University, Japan, reports that higher ambient PM2.5 exposure significantly increases dengue mortality. Conducted across 20 dengue-endemic countries including India, in Asia, Africa, and Latin America conducted during the period 2020–2024, the study found that countries with annual mean particulate matter (PM2.5) over 35 μg/m3 had three to five times higher dengue fatality rates than countries with mean PM2.5 below 15 µg/m³. Weakening the host’s system The 2025 report on the state of global air found that air pollution led to almost 8 million deaths worldwide in 2023 and 4.5 million deaths were attributable to ambient PM2.5 exposure. Air pollution is known to jeopardise the immune system and vascular passageways that ensure smooth communications to secure the fort of human health. Studies have found that chronic exposure to PM2.5therefore causes inflammation and functional problems in the inner cellular lining of the blood vessels , i.e., endothelial&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/03/chronic-exposure-to-air-pollution-can-influence-dengue-severity-study-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>New species from the deep oceans and high mountains</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-species-from-the-deep-oceans-and-high-mountains/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-species-from-the-deep-oceans-and-high-mountains/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Dec 2025 09:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Team Mongabay-India]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/12/30010502/D.-strangulata-1200x800-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=36290</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, New species, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2025 Mongabay-India reported about several new-to-science species. It takes several months or even years for researchers to confirm the new species description through morphological, DNA, taxonomic, environmental, phylogenetic assessments, and more. However, the stories we published this year about new species are small reminders that we have so much more to learn and understand [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2025 Mongabay-India reported about several new-to-science species. It takes several months or even years for researchers to confirm the new species description through morphological, DNA, taxonomic, environmental, phylogenetic assessments, and more. However, the stories we published this year about new species are small reminders that we have so much more to learn and understand about the biodiversity around us. Only by knowing more about them, can we learn how to protect and conserve them better. Here are some of the species that got the staff and our readers very curious about the creatures we live among! A fungus that can hold the weight of a person All fungi silently work to maintain our ecosystems. Without them our forests will be full of debris, logs and leaf litter left undecomposed. But we know so little about the fungal diversity in India. A recent discovery brings them to the spotlight as a ‘colossal’ new species has been described in Arunachal Pradesh. Arvind Parihar, a researcher with Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has been focusing on macro fungi for more than 15 years. When he and his team were exploring the forests in West Kameng district, they stumbled upon no less than 40 of the thick, leathery fruiting bodies of the new species (Bridgeoporus kanadii) growing on old growth Abies or fir trees. What makes the genus stand out is its sheer size – the smallest was nine centimetres in radius, and the largest grew wider than three metres. “It is so&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/12/new-species-from-the-deep-oceans-and-high-mountains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<title>Achyut Kumar Banerjee on curating a database of invasive plants in India [Interview]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/achyut-kumar-banerjee-on-curating-a-database-of-invasive-plants-in-india-interview/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/achyut-kumar-banerjee-on-curating-a-database-of-invasive-plants-in-india-interview/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Nov 2025 15:07:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nikhil Sreekandan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive species]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/07132509/collage-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35396</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecology, Environment, Interviews, People, Plants, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Invasive alien plants are species that do not occur naturally but have been introduced into a region, where they outcompete native species. Today, ‘invasive plants’ is a buzzword in conservation; however, until a few years ago, India lacked a consolidated database of alien flora. Around mid-2019, plant ecologist Achyut Kumar Banerjee began a collaborative venture [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Invasive alien plants are species that do not occur naturally but have been introduced into a region, where they outcompete native species. Today, ‘invasive plants’ is a buzzword in conservation; however, until a few years ago, India lacked a consolidated database of alien flora. Around mid-2019, plant ecologist Achyut Kumar Banerjee began a collaborative venture with fellow invasive biologists in India to set up a comprehensive database for alien flora in the country. After a year of intensive research, the Indian Alien Flora Information Database (ILORA) was born was born in September 2020. In this interview with Mongabay-India, Banerjee sheds light on the science of plant invasion and tells us why it is crucial to have a single forum for invasive plant species in India. Mongabay: Could you tell us about the origins of ILORA? Achyut Banerjee: I had just completed my PhD and had moved out of India. At the time, I was collaborating with a few scientists back home on ornamental plant invasion in the country, when we stumbled upon a familiar hurdle: a lack of data on Indian alien flora. Of course, there was data on what we call “charismatic” invasive species, the popular ones, such as Lantana camara and Parthenium hysterophorus. But for most of the other species, the data were rare. Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive plant species that grows along roadsides in Bengaluru, Karnataka. When Achyut Kumar Banerjee began setting up a comprehensive database for alien flora in India, he found that there was a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/achyut-kumar-banerjee-on-curating-a-database-of-invasive-plants-in-india-interview/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>ISRO-NASA radar to offer a closer look at Earth&#8217;s changing landscapes</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/isro-nasa-radar-to-offer-a-closer-look-at-earths-changing-landscapes/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/isro-nasa-radar-to-offer-a-closer-look-at-earths-changing-landscapes/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2025 13:01:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Max Martin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[earth observation satellite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISRO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NISAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[satellite]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/04050328/Post-4-NISAR_by-the-numbers-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35335</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Connections]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Earth Science, Research, Satellite Imagery, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists and officials involved in disaster risk reduction are keenly awaiting the first images of the Indian forests and mountains captured by NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), the joint mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA. The mission’s science phase, which is the operational phase, is slated to start in November, after the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists and officials involved in disaster risk reduction are keenly awaiting the first images of the Indian forests and mountains captured by NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), the joint mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA. The mission’s science phase, which is the operational phase, is slated to start in November, after the commissioning phase. “Currently our scientists are finishing the calibration work,” NISAR project director and ISRO scientist Chaitra Rao told Mongabay-India in Bengaluru. Calibration ensures that a measuring instrument or system records accurate values that match standards. In satellite missions, this involves checking and fine-tuning the instrument’s hardware and verifying its data against ground targets. For radar images, a usual calibration component on ground is a trihedral corner reflector that bounces off signals sent by the satellite in different directions. Reflectors are placed in select locations, and they are often moved from place to place, Rao said. The Indian Himalayas and forest regions are of particular interest to scientists collating and analysing NISAR data, she added. NASA published the first radar images of two places in the USA recorded by NISAR on September 25. “These initial images are just a preview of the hard-hitting science that NISAR will produce — data and insights that will enable scientists to study Earth’s changing land and ice surfaces in unprecedented detail while equipping decision-makers to respond to natural disasters and other challenges,” said Nicky Fox, an associate administrator at Science Mission Directorate, NASA. On July 30, 2025, a giant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/isro-nasa-radar-to-offer-a-closer-look-at-earths-changing-landscapes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/isro-nasa-radar-to-offer-a-closer-look-at-earths-changing-landscapes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Deccan’s vultures in decline</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/deccans-vultures-in-decline/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/deccans-vultures-in-decline/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2025 13:25:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animal behaviour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vulture]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/11/03211656/Nest-numbers-have-sharply-declined-in-recent-years-from-23-occupied-nests-in-2019-to-just-one-in-both-2022-and-2023.-Photo-Credit-Ravikanth-Manchiryala-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35330</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health and The India Water Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Maharashtra and Telangana]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Conservation, Pollution, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[High on the sandstone cliffs of Telangana’s Kaghaznagar Forest Division, long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus) once nested in dozens. Their rhythmic flights in the skies were a familiar sight for local people. Today, however, only a handful remain. A 14-year study has now found that these critically endangered birds are breeding less successfully. “The long-billed vulture [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[High on the sandstone cliffs of Telangana’s Kaghaznagar Forest Division, long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus) once nested in dozens. Their rhythmic flights in the skies were a familiar sight for local people. Today, however, only a handful remain. A 14-year study has now found that these critically endangered birds are breeding less successfully. “The long-billed vulture has undergone severe population declines across the Indian subcontinent, primarily due to diclofenac [a veterinary drug] poisoning. It’s also a slow reproducer, typically raising only one nestling per year,” says Ravikanth Manchiryala, a researcher from the Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, AVC College, Tamil Nadu, and the first author of the study. “Most earlier studies were short-term or focused on multiple species of Gyps and offered only general insights. This one, however, specifically tracked this species’ breeding ecology, nest success, and how environmental factors affect reproduction over time,” he added. A 14-year study on long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus) has revealed that they are breeding less successfully. Researchers compared breeding outcomes annually against environmental variables including temperature, rainfall, wind speed and direction, surface pressure, dew, and local water toxicity. Image by Ravikanth Manchiryala. Tracking a slow decline Between 2010 and 2023, researchers monitored 23 nests across two cliff-nesting colonies in the Kaghaznagar Forest Division and adjoining parts of the Deccan Plateau, at the junction of Telangana, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh states. These cliffs, known as Palarapu and Lakkameda, lie along the Peddavagu stream and Pranahita river, a landscape that also serves as a corridor linking the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/deccans-vultures-in-decline/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/11/deccans-vultures-in-decline/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>A lifetime of watching birds with a pencil, paper and patience [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-lifetime-of-watching-birds-with-a-pencil-paper-and-patience-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-lifetime-of-watching-birds-with-a-pencil-paper-and-patience-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2025 16:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[R.J. Ranjit Daniels]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ornithology]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/10/28130403/Baya_Salim-Ali-wrote-his-first-scientific-paper-on-the-nesting-behavior-of-this-bird_Photo-B-Vinoth-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=35233</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birds, Ecology, Forests, People, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“A cock sparrow perched on the nail near the entrance to the hole while the female sat inside on the eggs. I ambushed them from behind a stabled carriage and shot the male. In a very short while the female acquired another male who also sat ‘on guard’ on the nail outside. I shot this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“A cock sparrow perched on the nail near the entrance to the hole while the female sat inside on the eggs. I ambushed them from behind a stabled carriage and shot the male. In a very short while the female acquired another male who also sat ‘on guard’ on the nail outside. I shot this male also, and again in no time the female seemed to have another male in waiting who immediately stepped into the gap of the deceased husband”. This is a note written by India’s legendary birdman Salim Ali in 1906-07 when he was a 10-year-old boy. Many years later Salim Ali wrote in his autobiography The Fall of a Sparrow, “I am rather proud of this note because though intended as a record of my prowess as a hunter and made long before I was conscious of any possible relevance, it has proved more meaningful in the light of present-day behavioral studies”. Science has unexpected beginnings More or less one year after this ‘experiment’ Salim Ali got his first opportunity to visit the Bombay Natural History Society with another bird that he shot down. It was a sparrow again, yet a different species; a yellow-throated sparrow (chestnut-shouldered petronia). The fallen sparrow led him into a world so full of life and mysteries that kept him active for the next 80 years. In his words, “the fortuitous incident of the yellow-throated sparrow opened up undreamt vistas for me. Thenceforth my reading tended progressively towards books on general&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-lifetime-of-watching-birds-with-a-pencil-paper-and-patience-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/10/a-lifetime-of-watching-birds-with-a-pencil-paper-and-patience-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Fragmented forests and food scarcity threaten capped langurs</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/fragmented-forests-and-food-scarcity-threaten-capped-langurs/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/fragmented-forests-and-food-scarcity-threaten-capped-langurs/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2025 12:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kasturi Das]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brahmaputra Valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capped langurs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deforestation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Habitat fragmentation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Primates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/25120109/Seen-at-Bordubi-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34774</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Deforestation, Forests, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Primates, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus), a leaf eating primate with a distinctive ‘cap-like’ hairstyle, is the second most commonly seen primate in Assam after the rhesus macaque. Once thriving in the tropical rainforests of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley, the only colobine primate (characterised by their leaf-based diet) in the region, is now in a precarious [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus), a leaf eating primate with a distinctive ‘cap-like’ hairstyle, is the second most commonly seen primate in Assam after the rhesus macaque. Once thriving in the tropical rainforests of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley, the only colobine primate (characterised by their leaf-based diet) in the region, is now in a precarious situation. The Valley was once covered by a vast lowland tropical rainforest. However, over the years, agricultural expansion, deforestation and development of tea gardens have turned this forest into scattered fragments. A new study published in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity surveyed 40 rainforest fragments across six districts of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley between February 2019 and January 2020. Researchers found capped langurs in only 11 sites, with evidence that they had disappeared from at least seven forests where they were once recorded, a decade ago. “By comparing the surveys of the same fragments, it became clear that capped langurs have now disappeared from several of these areas,” said Narayan Sharma, an author of the study, and assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Biology and Wildlife Sciences in Cotton University, Guwahati. “This kind of longitudinal study helps us track not just numbers but also their overall occurrence and distribution over time.”  Capped langur in Bordubi. A new study surveyed 40 rainforest fragments across six districts of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley and found capped langurs in only 11 sites. Image by Neeharika Gogoi. The capped langur has reported a 30% decline in its population globally&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/fragmented-forests-and-food-scarcity-threaten-capped-langurs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/fragmented-forests-and-food-scarcity-threaten-capped-langurs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>The search for the Jerdon’s courser needs to be deepened [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2025 13:19:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ronith Urs]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jerdon's courser]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/08132356/Painting_of_Jerdons_Courser_by_ZSI_artist-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34471</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andhra Pradesh, Global, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birds, Grasslands, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Only a handful of people alive have ever seen one. And they’re all ageing, with waning hope of ever seeing one again. If you’re lucky enough to get them to open up about their once-in-a-lifetime encounter with this celebrity, they’d likely narrate it to you like it happened yesterday. In many respects, the Jerdon’s courser [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Only a handful of people alive have ever seen one. And they’re all ageing, with waning hope of ever seeing one again. If you’re lucky enough to get them to open up about their once-in-a-lifetime encounter with this celebrity, they’d likely narrate it to you like it happened yesterday. In many respects, the Jerdon’s courser is an oddity: nocturnal and secretive, bound to a very specific open scrub forest habitat, and with its closest relative, the three-banded courser that lives on a completely different continent. Scientist P. Jeganathan, who studied this bird for his Ph.D., describes how it takes off “vertically upwards, like a helicopter” when flushed or startled into flight. Only a few birds have captivated the minds of ornithologists, birdwatchers, and hobbyists like the Jerdon’s courser. Written off to the history books and brought back to life after its rediscovery in Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh in 1986, only to quietly slip back into the books after it was last seen in 2004. Two decades on, it refuses to fade from the public imagination, igniting news articles and debates around its existence to this day. You might be wondering how well the media buzz around this near-mythical enigma may have translated into field efforts to look for it. Unfortunately, since its last confirmed report, efforts to relocate the courser have been confined to a very small geographic area in and around Lankamalleswara, primarily through camera-trap surveys and a brief passive acoustic monitoring project focused on listening&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/the-search-for-the-jerdons-courser-needs-to-be-deepened-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists turn to speed breeding to develop resilient, high yield crops</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/scientists-turn-to-speed-breeding-to-develop-resilient-high-yield-crops/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/scientists-turn-to-speed-breeding-to-develop-resilient-high-yield-crops/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2025 12:04:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hirra Azmat]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/09/01173100/WhatsApp-Image-2025-07-17-at-3.59.07-PM-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34425</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Climate Innovations]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Food, Research, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The demand for food continues to rise with the growing population, but several food crops face challenges such as shorter seasons, pests, and erratic weather. Scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Kashmir are turning to ‘speed breeding’, a technology to fast-track the development of climate-resilient and high yield crops [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The demand for food continues to rise with the growing population, but several food crops face challenges such as shorter seasons, pests, and erratic weather. Scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) in Kashmir are turning to ‘speed breeding’, a technology to fast-track the development of climate-resilient and high yield crops for the growing population in the valley. The annual population growth rate in Jammu and Kashmir which ranged from 1 to 2.6% after the year 2000 has put immense pressure on resources and overall food demand. This has come in the backdrop of declining land area, vagaries of climate change, soil erosion, water deficit, short growing seasons, resurgence of new pests and a constant shortage of quality seeds. To meet the growing food demand amid these challenges, the scientists at SKUAST are experimenting with speed breeding. Speed breeding is a novel technique that accelerates the growth cycle of crops using controlled environmental conditions. While traditional breeding allows only one or two crop generations per year due to natural climate limits, speed breeding enables scientists to grow up to four to six seed-to-seed cycles per year. Asif Bashir Shikari, Professor, Genetics and Plant Breeding at SKAUST- Kashmir and Principal Investigator of Speed-Breeding programme in Kashmir, explained that in the speed breeding technique, the goal is to accelerate the breeding process. While it is not a crop cultivation practice, when a variety comes out of the speed breeding programme, it can be released for commercial cultivation, he&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/scientists-turn-to-speed-breeding-to-develop-resilient-high-yield-crops/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Two decades after civil unrest, wildlife makes a steady recovery</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/two-decades-after-civil-unrest-wildlife-makes-a-steady-recovery/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/two-decades-after-civil-unrest-wildlife-makes-a-steady-recovery/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2025 13:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/01103315/Kuribeel-Rhino-sunrise-scaled-e1756703285262-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34397</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Human Wildlife Conflict, Protected Areas, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For two decades, armed conflict in Assam’s Bodoland region turned Manas National Park from a UNESCO World Heritage Site into a battlefield. Forest guards fled, poachers moved in, and over 40% of the park&#8217;s primary forests were cleared for farms and settlements. Tigers, rhinos, elephants and deer vanished or hovered on the brink of extinction. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For two decades, armed conflict in Assam’s Bodoland region turned Manas National Park from a UNESCO World Heritage Site into a battlefield. Forest guards fled, poachers moved in, and over 40% of the park&#8217;s primary forests were cleared for farms and settlements. Tigers, rhinos, elephants and deer vanished or hovered on the brink of extinction. Between the late 1980s and early 2000s, civil unrest between Bodo insurgent groups and the state government spilled deep into Manas. Rebels targeted forest department personnel and infrastructure, crippling the Park’s management systems. With protection gone, poaching surged, habitats degraded, and wildlife populations collapsed. Now, nearly 20 years after peace returned, a new study by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India tells a rare story of ecological resilience but also warns of troubling declines in key prey species. The study assessed the post-conflict recovery of endangered prey-predator guilds and recorded high densities of elephant, wild buffalo, and tiger compared with the 2015 baseline data. While the density of gaur, sambar, and barking deer seemed stable, the populations of hog deer and wild pig showed a sharp decline. Armed conflict in Assam&#8217;s Bodoland region between the late 1980s and early 2000s, impacted Manas National Park, as poaching surged, habitats degraded, and wildlife populations collapsed. A recent study finds that there is a steady post-conflict recovery of species. Image courtesy of the Office of the Field Director, Manas Tiger Reserve. The recovery path Manas National Park, which serves as an important transboundary conservation landscape, encompassing several&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/09/two-decades-after-civil-unrest-wildlife-makes-a-steady-recovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>World&#8217;s smallest wild cat recorded in West Bengal</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/worlds-smallest-wild-cat-recorded-in-west-bengal/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/worlds-smallest-wild-cat-recorded-in-west-bengal/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2025 10:35:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nabarun Guha]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rusty spotted cat]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/18212533/2560px-Rusty_spotted_cat_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34191</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and West Bengal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Cats, Endangered species, Forests, Mammals, Research, and Technology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The sighting of rusty-spotted cats (Prionailurus rubiginosus), considered one of the world&#8217;s smallest wild cat species, in the Purulia district of West Bengal earlier this year has excited both forest officials and environmentalists alike. It is the ninth wild cat species identified in the state. In January 2025, the cats were photographed by camera traps [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The sighting of rusty-spotted cats (Prionailurus rubiginosus), considered one of the world&#8217;s smallest wild cat species, in the Purulia district of West Bengal earlier this year has excited both forest officials and environmentalists alike. It is the ninth wild cat species identified in the state. In January 2025, the cats were photographed by camera traps set up by the Kolkata-based NGO Human and Environment Alliance League (HEAL) as part of another project, supported by the Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust. “The project, initiated in June last year (2024), is an exploratory study to understand the conservation status and threats faced by pangolins in Purulia district. Initially, we installed six camera traps but now we have 17-18 camera traps which we are trying to deploy phase wise in different forest patches of the district,” ecologist Vasudha Mishra of HEAL told Mongabay India. HEAL shared on social media that the presence of the rusty-spotted cat had not been detected in previous surveys or in British archival data from the region. “The forests of Purulia, where this remarkable sighting took place, fall within the Chotanagpur Plateau ecoregion, which shares ecological characteristics with Jharkhand and Odisha — both states where the rusty-spotted cat has been previously recorded,” stated the post. Speaking to Mongabay India, Anjan Guha, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Purulia said, “An entire family, including kittens, was spotted by the camera traps which is a very good indicator. We believe that there may be more such cats present in the forests of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/worlds-smallest-wild-cat-recorded-in-west-bengal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<title>The tectonic journey of the roof of the world [Commentary]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/how-the-roof-of-the-world-came-into-being-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/how-the-roof-of-the-world-came-into-being-commentary/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2025 16:13:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[C.P. Rajendran]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[earthquake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monsoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mountains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tectonic movements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tectonic plates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tibetan plateau]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/08/18154807/Tibet_-_Trek_2_-_30_Nyenchen_Tanglha_150305598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=34170</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Connected Environments]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Himalayas, and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Earth Science, Monsoons, Mountains, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The land of striking contrasts in morphology &#8212; the rugged Tibetan Plateau has always challenged explorers, as do its vast flat expanses. Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer who escaped from an internment camp in Dehradun in 1943 with some of the inmates, journeyed on foot through the challenging mountainous terrain to Lhasa, the capital of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The land of striking contrasts in morphology &#8212; the rugged Tibetan Plateau has always challenged explorers, as do its vast flat expanses. Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer who escaped from an internment camp in Dehradun in 1943 with some of the inmates, journeyed on foot through the challenging mountainous terrain to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. In a passage in his book Seven Years in Tibet, he expressed his awe at this land of topographic extremes: “The next day, we reached the top of the pass and were astonished to find that there was no descent and that we had simply come to a high plateau. The view over the unending plain was discouraging. One seemed to be facing infinity, and the huge spaces would certainly take months to cross. As far as we could see, there was no sign of life, and an ice-cold wind blew over the snow.” With a mean elevation of over 4,500 metres and an extensive area of approximately 25,00,000 square kilometres, the Tibetan Plateau covers an area that surpasses some countries in size. Geographically, the Tibetan Plateau lies north of the Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent, and south of the Tarim Basin and Mongolia. As the highest plateau on Earth, it also features some of the region&#8217;s deep, glacier-fed lakes. Its glaciers feed major Asian rivers, originating on the Tibetan Plateau, including the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy, which play a crucial role in supplying freshwater to a large portion of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/08/how-the-roof-of-the-world-came-into-being-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<title>Absent species that ought to be present</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/absent-species-that-ought-to-be-present/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/absent-species-that-ought-to-be-present/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jun 2025 13:54:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plants]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/06/20110508/Ground_Beetle_Carabus_Chrysocarabus_olympiae_9129639963-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=33171</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Jammu and Kashmir]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Plants, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dark diversity — species absent from a study site ecologically suitable to it and present in surrounding areas — gives a good estimate of global loss of biodiversity due to human activities, reports an international team of biodiversity experts, including from India. In a global collaborative effort, DarkDivNet, over 200 scientists from 37 countries studied [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Dark diversity — species absent from a study site ecologically suitable to it and present in surrounding areas — gives a good estimate of global loss of biodiversity due to human activities, reports an international team of biodiversity experts, including from India. In a global collaborative effort, DarkDivNet, over 200 scientists from 37 countries studied plants at nearly 5500 sites in 119 regions worldwide. Researchers for each local site documented all plant species, including native species that could have been present but were not. DarkDiv.Net started in 2018 and is led by the University of Tartu in Estonia. The scientists attempted to understand negative human impacts of natural ecosystems through dark diversity. Their report published in Nature says that in the sampled regions with a minimal human footprint index, an average of 35% of suitable plant species were present locally, compared with less than 20% in highly affected regions. They reported that as human activity in the surrounding region increases, the local plant diversity decreases. “Impoverishment of natural vegetation was evident only when we considered community completeness: the proportion of all suitable species in the region that are present at a site,” they say. Besides having the potential to uncover overlooked threats to biodiversity, understanding dark diversity can also guide conservation. Species in the dark diversity remain regionally present, and their local populations might be restored through measures that improve connectivity between natural vegetation fragments and reduce threats to population persistence. The red slender loris is endemic to Sri Lanka,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/absent-species-that-ought-to-be-present/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<item>
					<title>A study centre for little things that run the world</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-study-centre-for-little-things-that-run-the-world/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-study-centre-for-little-things-that-run-the-world/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2025 13:38:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Arathi Menon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insects]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lab]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/03/18111356/ANC_02-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=31882</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Karnataka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Insects and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“Our first experience of pain often comes from being bitten by an insect as a child — whether it&#8217;s a mosquito or an ant — one that our mothers were trying to protect us from. This early encounter plants the idea that insects are harmful,” says Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, ecologist and senior fellow at the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[“Our first experience of pain often comes from being bitten by an insect as a child — whether it&#8217;s a mosquito or an ant — one that our mothers were trying to protect us from. This early encounter plants the idea that insects are harmful,” says Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, ecologist and senior fellow at the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). This unfounded fear of insects has led to a predictable outcome: the growth of the pesticide market. Insect studies frequently focus on eradicating them, labeling them as pests. “What we often overlook are the countless ecosystem services that insects provide, from pollination to decomposition, and their role as food for many animals,” he adds. In a 2017 research paper, Priyadarsanan and team elaborates on the ecosystem services provided by insects: “About 90% of flowering plants depend on an insect to get pollinated; insects consume more vegetation mass than all other herbivores; through predation, parasitism, and scavenging, they kill more animals than any other carnivores; and they are a vital prey base for many species, including humans. The morphological, ecological, and behavioural adaptations attained over a relatively long period of time, and the genetic versatility and diversification attained through coevolution with flowering plants, make insects the most abundant and speciose organisms on earth.” To popularise the valuable services of insects and generate greater interest in them, Priyadarsanan established The Insect Biosystematics and Conservation Lab at ATREE 25 years ago. The lab is a research facility&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/03/a-study-centre-for-little-things-that-run-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>New tarantulas described from the Western Ghats</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-tarantulas-described-from-the-western-ghats/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-tarantulas-described-from-the-western-ghats/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jan 2025 12:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tarantula]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Western Ghats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife trafficking]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/08113355/Screenshot-2024-12-31-at-8-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30992</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Western Ghats]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, New species, Pet Trade, Research, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A researcher described four new species of tarantulas, including one new genus, from India’s Western Ghats, a chain of mountains running along the country’s west coast. “Most people in India are not even aware that there are tarantulas in India when there are more than 60 species in the country,” Zeeshan Mirza, from the Max [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A researcher described four new species of tarantulas, including one new genus, from India’s Western Ghats, a chain of mountains running along the country’s west coast. “Most people in India are not even aware that there are tarantulas in India when there are more than 60 species in the country,” Zeeshan Mirza, from the Max Planck Institute for Biology in Germany, who found and described the species, told Mongabay. Zeeshan Mirza with one of the new tarantula species from the Western Ghats. Mirza has discovered several species of reptiles in India as well. Image courtesy of Zeeshan Mirza. The large, fuzzy spiders live in tree hollows, along streams and forest paths, and in forest patches. They exhibit interesting behaviours, such as females carrying their egg sacs under their mouth parts (or chelicerae) or creating hammock-like web structures to protect their eggs. One of the new species, named Haploclastus bratocolonus (meaning “tree dweller”), makes its home in hollow trees along rivers. Another species, Haploclastus montanus, was found living at elevations higher than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) in mountain forests, making it one of the highest-living tarantulas known from the region. Some of the new species were found in the rare small fragments of remaining shola forest surrounded by tea plantations. Among the species was an entirely new genus of tarantulas called Cilantica, named after the Tamil word for spider. They can be identified by the unique scattered pattern of curved bristles on their bodies, unlike the C-shaped arrangement of bristles found in other tarantulas. A female&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/new-tarantulas-described-from-the-western-ghats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Meet DiCaprio&#8217;s Himalayan serpent</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/an-instagram-photo-led-researchers-to-a-snake-discovery/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/an-instagram-photo-led-researchers-to-a-snake-discovery/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jan 2025 16:04:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neha Jain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endemic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[endemic species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Himalayas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snakes]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/03113148/Banner-Image-of-the-new-snake-species-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30925</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himachal Pradesh and Himalayas]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Endemic species, New species, Reptiles, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In June 2020, during the pandemic, Virender Bhardwaj, currently a doctoral student at Mizoram University, was exploring his backyard at his home in Himachal Pradesh in the western Himalayas, when he encountered an intriguing snake. He uploaded its photos on the social media app Instagram, and the images popped up on the feed of his [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In June 2020, during the pandemic, Virender Bhardwaj, currently a doctoral student at Mizoram University, was exploring his backyard at his home in Himachal Pradesh in the western Himalayas, when he encountered an intriguing snake. He uploaded its photos on the social media app Instagram, and the images popped up on the feed of his colleague, Zeeshan Mirza. This led to three years of detailed investigations to identify the snake. The team recently published a paper revealing the discovery of an entirely new snake genus and species. The snake resembled Liopeltis rappii, a species known to be distributed in the eastern Himalayas. However, the researchers noted that the population from Himachal Pradesh differed from the true Liopeltis rappii found in Sikkim with differences observed in the scales on the head and general colouration. The team confirmed this after examining specimens from natural history museums across Europe, the USA and India. After comparing the DNA sequences generated from this snake with those of known species from across Asia, the researchers concluded that the snake from Himachal Pradesh is related to Liopeltis rappii but differs in several aspects to be called a new species. Both species belong to a new genus, Anguiculus, endemic to the Himalayas. Anguiculus refers to a ‘small snake’ in Latin. In honour of American actor and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio’s work in creating awareness about increased biodiversity loss and climate change, the team named the snake Anguiculus dicaprioi with the suggested common name, ‘DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake’. Compared to other members of its family,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/an-instagram-photo-led-researchers-to-a-snake-discovery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>When heat rises, incomes fall for the informal workforce</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/when-heat-rises-incomes-fall-for-the-informal-workforce/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/when-heat-rises-incomes-fall-for-the-informal-workforce/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jan 2025 15:39:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[T. V. Padma]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[city]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heat wave]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Informal sector]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slums]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2025/01/03112847/Proper_slum_-_panoramio-e1735902628531-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=30921</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Environment And Health]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Delhi and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cities and Towns, Environmental Economics, Global Warming, Health impacts, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Heat waves and prolonged heat stress result in income losses and poor health for workers in informal sectors in Indian cities, a new study finds. The study examined 396 workers living in two informal settlements in Delhi, during the peak heat of May-June 2019 and found significant economic losses and health impacts due to high [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Heat waves and prolonged heat stress result in income losses and poor health for workers in informal sectors in Indian cities, a new study finds. The study examined 396 workers living in two informal settlements in Delhi, during the peak heat of May-June 2019 and found significant economic losses and health impacts due to high temperatures. Delhi, in recent years, has been experiencing increasingly severe and prolonged heat waves. The summer of 2024 broke records as temperatures exceeded 49°C in the day and minimum temperatures hovered around 36°C, providing little respite and causing widespread health issues. Urban areas like Delhi are especially vulnerable to extreme temperatures, says Saudamini Das, professor at the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi, and one of the authors of the study published in Environment Research Letters in November 2024. A recent study investigated the impacts of heat stress on health and livelihoods of residents of northwest Delhi&#8217;s informal settlements. Image by Biswarup Ganguly via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Heat wave and Delhi’s informal settlements According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, 37 cities across India recorded temperatures over 45°C during the heat wave of 2024. Health ministry sources reported that between March 1 and June 18, 2024, about 41,000 people were affected by heatstroke, with over 100 fatalities due to extreme heat. The Delhi study conducted by Das and E. Somanathan, Professor and Head of the Centre for research on the Economics of Climate, Food, Energy, and Environment at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI),&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2025/01/when-heat-rises-incomes-fall-for-the-informal-workforce/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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