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		<title>Mongabay India</title>
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		<link>https://india.mongabay.com/list/wildlife-sanctuary/</link>
		<description>India&#039;s environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:03:33 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<language>en-US</language>
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				<item>
					<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>Snow leopards and their survival in changing times [Book Review]</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Sep 2026 16:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Usha Rai]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Renuka Kulkarni]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snow leopard]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/09/08142945/DSC_0942-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40779</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Himalayas and India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Endangered species, Environment, Himalayas, In-situ conservation, Mammals, Mountains, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you want to know all about snow leopards, their range, food, love life, fight for survival in the fast changing high mountain landscape, impact of climate change and the struggle of scientists to get accurate figures on their population and spread, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi’s The Ghost of the Mountains is a must read. It is a fascinating, extremely well written book that blends research with graphic description of the landscape and allows us to witness a creature few have been privileged to see. “A flagship species of Himalayan conservation, snow leopards are key to preserving an austere, delicate ecosystem,” the book says. It has taken Suryawanshi 20 years to study the ‘ghost of the mountains,’ distributed in mountainous terrain of 12 countries that straddle the Himalayas and Central Asia. Despite the fast changing pace of development, the story of the snow leopard is one of hope. Snow leopards “are shy and their silvery-brown and white coats, marked with dark rosettes, work like magic cloaks offering good camouflage that enable them to disappear like smoke. They have furry tails, the longest of any cats, which they wrap around their bodies like mufflers on cold nights. The tails also work like the balancing pole of a tight rope walker as they manoeuvre around exposed cliffs. Their thick, wide paws, lined with fur, act like snow shoes and their unusually large nostrils help them warm the cold air they breathe and their small rounded ears minimise heat loss”. The author, who travelled across&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/snow-leopards-and-their-survival-in-changing-times-book-review/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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						<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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/09/the-tiger-reserve-with-abundant-prey-but-no-resident-tigers/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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/camera-traps-reveal-a-hidden-population-of-greater-hog-badgers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tourism, human disturbance linked to higher stress in tigers</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 15:36:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Priyanka Shankar]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tiger conservation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/08/11130814/AP914619961289-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=40039</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Conservation, Ecology, Human Wildlife Conflict, National Parks, Protected Areas, Tigers, Tourism, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[India’s tiger reserves have become both conservation success stories and tourism magnets. Every year, thousands of safari vehicles enter India&#8217;s protected forests, generating revenue for conservation and local communities. But a recent study suggests that this growing human footprint may also come at a physiological cost for the country’s national animal, and may even influence [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[India’s tiger reserves have become both conservation success stories and tourism magnets. Every year, thousands of safari vehicles enter India&#8217;s protected forests, generating revenue for conservation and local communities. But a recent study suggests that this growing human footprint may also come at a physiological cost for the country’s national animal, and may even influence where female tigers establish breeding areas. “Wildlife tourism is growing rapidly around our protected areas. It funds conservation, but more people also means more stress for the animals,” says Govindhaswamy Umapathy, chief scientist at the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and the study’s corresponding author. “Earlier Indian studies looked at just one or two reserves and focused on stress. We wanted the full picture across the country, not only where tigers are stressed, but where tigresses choose to breed,” he adds. However, industry experts also caution against treating tourism as a bigger threat than habitat loss or large-scale development pressures. Tracking stress without disturbing tigers The study was conducted between November 2020 and February 2023, in five tiger reserves: Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Kanha Tiger Reserve and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala. The choice of reserves was deliberate. “We picked the five reserves that between them cover very different tiger densities, habitats and tourism styles, including Periyar&#8217;s year-round boat tourism. That range is what makes the findings national rather than local,” Umapathy says. Rather&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/tourism-human-disturbance-linked-to-higher-stress-in-tigers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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					<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>
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						<item>
					<title>As elephants venture to higher altitudes researchers track possibilities of conflict</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 15:55:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elephant corridors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elephant Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human elephant conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife corridors]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/03141812/Picture2_Camera-trap-capture-of-an-elephant-herd-above-3200-m-the-highest-known-altitude-of-elephant-presence.-C-WWF-IndiaArunachal-Pradesh-Forest-Department-e1783069319919-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38962</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Arunachal Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animal Behaviour, Biodiversity, Camera traps, Conservation, Elephants, Habitat Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Human Wildlife Conflict, Land Rights, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh may be present at higher elevations than previously thought. According to the new action plan on managing human-elephant conflict in the state, elephant tracks as well as a camera trap image of a juvenile elephant were observed at an altitude of 3,266 metres in the state’s Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, possibly the highest recorded presence of Asian elephants in the world. The highest known record of an elephant (African elephant) is at around 4,000 metres, on Mount Kenya. Elephants in Arunachal Pradesh were previously known to be present primarily in the lower reaches and Himalayan foothills occasionally moving up to an altitude of 2,000 meters. However, this assessment found their presence at altitudes going up to 3,266 metres. The new action plan, released in May 2026, was jointly developed by the Arunachal Pradesh Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and WWF-India, to address human-elephant conflict in the state, threats to habitats and analyse whether elephant corridors are well-protected. Data was collected between December 2024 and March 2026. Officials examined elephant habitats where conflict was reported, and where crop or property damage had occurred. Why the altitude record matters According to Aritra Kshettry, who works with WWF-India’s Elephant Conservation Programme (ECP), elephants are not typically found at such high altitudes. The records of elephants at these altitudes gives clues about their movement outside of protected areas which helps predict potential interactions between elephants and humans. According to the action plan, elephant presence and crop damage have been&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-elephants-venture-to-higher-altitudes-researchers-track-possibilities-of-conflict/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>New camera-trap record confirms caracal presence in Kuno</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jul 2026 14:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shailesh Shrivastava]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caracal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kuno]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/06/30114032/IMG_0186-e1782883923178-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38850</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India and Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behaviour, Animals, Camera traps, Cats, Conservation, Endangered species, Forests, Grasslands, Wildlife, Wildlife Protection Act, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep inside Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, two camera traps captured a lean wildcat at night. It had long legs, a tawny coat and black ear tufts. This wildcat was a caracal, one of India’s least-seen wild cats. Notably, this caracal was recorded from the same forest landscape where India’s cheetah reintroduction project is underway. Kuno National Park’s field director Uttam Kumar Sharma noted that in the four years that he has been in the Park, this was the first record of the cat. The forest department is now going through older records to check if caracals had been recorded earlier in Kuno or adjoining areas. Sharma noted that this record may indicate the possibility of local presence. However, more monitoring is needed before drawing a conclusion, he added. Presence, not proof of population Shekhar Kolipaka, who has studied caracal distribution and suitable habitats in India, and is Senior Landscape Developer at Commonland Foundation said the Kuno record should be interpreted carefully. “A single camera-trap photograph confirms the presence of a caracal, but does not indicate the existence of a resident population,” Kolipaka said in a written response to Mongabay-India. However, he added that the record, most likely a dispersing male, is still significant. Continued monitoring, he said, will help determine whether more individuals occur in the landscape and whether the photographed animal establishes residency or continues dispersing. “Like most wild cats, young adults naturally disperse from their birth areas to establish their own territories. Males, in particular, often travel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/07/new-camera-trap-record-confirms-caracal-presence-in-kuno/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Predator-prey relationships and habitat quality shape a tiger reserve</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 May 2026 13:05:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[camera traps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[central India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife monitoring]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/26174318/Predators-appear-closely-tied-to-prey-distribution-rather-than-acting-alone-as-regulators.-Photo-Credit-Supratim-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38374</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[The Indian Forest Story]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Madhya Pradesh]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tigers, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2009, Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh lost all its tigers to poaching. They were reintroduced a few years later and have since re-established populations. While carnivore reintroduction has been considered as an important strategy to restore ecological balance, a recent study highlights that prey abundance and habitat quality also play an essential role. “Focusing exclusively on the apex predator (for ecosystem recovery) tells only a fraction of the story. The answer lies in the broader mammalian community that supports them,” says Supratim Dutta, research scholar at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and one of the authors of the study. “The real question is not whether tigers came back, but what made that recovery possible.” A landscape built on extremes Panna Tiger Reserve spans 1,574 square kilometres across Madhya Pradesh, with 542 sq km of core and a larger buffer zone. The terrain is rugged, cut through by the Ken River, the only perennial water source. Summers can touch 45°C, and winters drop to around 5°C. Vegetation is largely a tropical dry deciduous forest. The reserve supports a dense mammal community. Tigers and leopards are apex predators. Below them in the chain are wolves, jackals and hyenas. Prey includes chital, sambar, nilgai and wild pig. Around 30,000 people live in settlements in the buffer zone. The Ken River functions as the ecological backbone of the entire mammalian community of Panna, along with around 30,000 people living in the buffer zone. Image by Supratim Dutta. To understand how the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/predator-prey-relationships-and-habitat-quality-shape-a-tiger-reserve/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</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>
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														</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reintroduced rhinos breed, but recovery remains fragile</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/reintroduced-rhinos-breed-but-recovery-remains-fragile/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/reintroduced-rhinos-breed-but-recovery-remains-fragile/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 May 2026 12:46:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sneha Mahale]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Arathimenon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greater one-horned rhino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rehabilitation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rhino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rhino conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[translocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife translocation]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/08101202/Between-2012-and-2021-researchers-recorded-35-rhino-births-in-Manas.-Photo-Credit-Deba-Kumar-Dutta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=38071</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Beyond Protected Areas]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Assam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecology, Mammals, Rhinos, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The greater one-horned rhinoceros was once wiped out from Assam’s Manas National Park (MNP), marking a major conservation setback. The rhino population, however, was re-established through the wild-to-wild translocation under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020) and rhino rehabilitation programmes. A recent study on the re-established population, introduced through two routes — translocation from other [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The greater one-horned rhinoceros was once wiped out from Assam’s Manas National Park (MNP), marking a major conservation setback. The rhino population, however, was re-established through the wild-to-wild translocation under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020) and rhino rehabilitation programmes. A recent study on the re-established population, introduced through two routes — translocation from other protected areas, and rehabilitation and release — between 2012 and 2021 offers encouraging signs of adaptation in their restored habitat. The study also followed the first generation (F1) of rhinos born in Manas. Manas National Park lies in Assam’s Chirang and Baksa districts in northeast India and borders the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan to the north. Between 2008 and 2021, 22 greater one-horned rhinos were translocated from Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of efforts to restore the park’s rhino population. In addition, 20 rehabilitated rhinos from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation were released in the park between 2006 and 2021, as Manas was considered a more suitable natural habitat than keeping them in rehabilitation facilities. Breeding and calving pattern Researchers recorded 35 rhino births in Manas during the study period. Nineteen calves were born to translocated females and nine to rehabilitated rhinos. Five calves were born to the F1 generation, while two calves were recorded without identified mothers. In total, eight translocated females, four rehabilitated females, five F1 females and two unidentified adults produced calves. “Breeding and calving are among the most important indicators that reintroduced&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/reintroduced-rhinos-breed-but-recovery-remains-fragile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/05/reintroduced-rhinos-breed-but-recovery-remains-fragile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
														</item>
						<item>
					<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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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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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>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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						<item>
					<title>Striped hyena gets stronger global protection</title>
					<link>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/striped-hyena-gets-stronger-global-protection/</link>
					<comments>https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/striped-hyena-gets-stronger-global-protection/?noamp=mobile#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Apr 2026 17:45:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manish Chandra Mishra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Aditi Tandon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hyenas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Threatened species]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/04/22150831/IMG_9382-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://india.mongabay.com/?p=37815</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Species]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[India]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Mammals, Wildlife, and Wildlife Sanctuary]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The striped hyena has been given stronger international protection under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals treaty (CMS), with its conservation requiring greater cooperation among range states. This decision was made at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CMS Convention (CMS CoP15), held in Campo [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The striped hyena has been given stronger international protection under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals treaty (CMS), with its conservation requiring greater cooperation among range states. This decision was made at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CMS Convention (CMS CoP15), held in Campo Grande, Brazil, at the end of March. For India, the significance of this decision is that it puts fresh international pressure on the country to improve monitoring, protect habitats and movement corridors outside protected areas, and pay greater conservation attention to a species that is still poorly tracked across much of its range. The decision has been welcomed by conservation groups globally, which say it could help push stronger protection and cooperation for a species that has long received limited policy attention. The striped hyena is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, and Wildlife Conservation Society says its global population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is in continuing decline. In India, the species is found across much of the country outside the northeast and wetter southern regions, with records and studies from states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal showing it survives in agricultural, coastal, scrub and industrial landscapes. Susan Lieberman, Vice President for International Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told Mongabay-India that the decision to include the striped hyena in Appendix I (total protection of the species in the wild) and Appendix II (range&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://india.mongabay.com/2026/04/striped-hyena-gets-stronger-global-protection/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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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>
														</item>
						<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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					<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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					<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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