Reviving the critically endangered gharials in Odisha
On May 22, a forest protection team of Satkosia wildlife division was on its usual patrol duty when they spotted a nest of a female gharial with 28 hatchlings on…
Wild buffalo, Chhattisgarh’s state animal, is on the verge of extinction
The state animal of Chhattisgarh, the wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) is in danger. Despite all the efforts by the government, the population of wild buffalo is not increasing in…
Common, yet threatened: The case of northeast India’s Malayan giant squirrels
It was a hot summer morning and Samrat Sengupta, a masters’ student of science at the Guwahati University, was watching birds through his binoculars in a reserve forest in north-eastern…
[Interview] Bittu Sahgal: “Young people want to protect the environment, but don’t have their hands on the wheel”
Institutionalised conservation efforts in India started with the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972 and the launch of the Project Tiger - to conserve the apex predator and…
Not two, only one species of hoolock gibbon in India: study
Fourteen years after reports noting that India has two separate species of the gibbon - the hoolock gibbon and the eastern hoolock gibbon - a latest genetic analysis has now…
Saving the Asiatic black bear from illegal wildlife trade needs nuanced conservation
When Terde Yomcha brought Luba home, she was so tiny that she could fit in his hands. Luba is an Asiatic black bear cub—a species threatened by illegal wildlife trade…
Mammals use cashew plantations in the northern Western Ghats
Some mammals make use of cashew nut plantations in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, reveal camera trap images from a new study that for the first time examines the presence…
Exotic animal trade carries risks of disease outbreak and introduction of invasive species
On March 16 this year, around ten days before Assam went to polls, routine checks were on at the checkpoint in Ghiladhari in Golaghat district of the eastern state. When…
Odisha plans to satellite-tag pangolins to study them better
With significant numbers of arrests to curb the illegal wildlife trade in pangolins in Odisha, the state government is now planning to deploy satellite transmitters to scale up its research…
[Video] A mugger crocodile on shared space, fear and future
As the light fades over the village in the winter evening, the residents of Charotar return home after a day’s work. They’re careful with their routes. It’s almost the end…
Threatened sangai deer’s habitat likely to shrink due to climate change
The suitable habitat of the threatened sangai or brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii eldii) found only in Manipur’s Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) in northeast India is likely to narrow down…
Newly described chameleon from Madagascar may be world’s smallest reptile
German herpetologist Frank Glaw has helped describe over 200 new species from Madagascar. But the most recent one is special: Brookesia nana is a chameleon that may be the smallest reptile…
Delhi and Haryana’s Aravallis support rich biodiversity and need protection
Amid the densely-packed bustling urban settlements of Delhi and Gurugram, one would expect a jaunt far from the city to catch a glimpse of wildlife. But a new survey of…
Great Nicobar’s protected areas to get near-zero eco-sensitive zones for “holistic development”
Giving weightage to the “holistic development” argument, an expert committee of the environment ministry has recommended a near-negligible eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Galathea National Park (GNP) in the Great Nicobar…
No honey, no hives, but solitary bees have important lives
One morning in April 2020, early in the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, I leaned over the terrace parapet of my home in Bengaluru, scanning the spreading branches of a…
The woman who breaks stereotypes while rescuing wildlife in Kashmir
In the last week of December 2020, a video of a leopard scaling fences and roaming the streets in the Bagh-e-Mehtab locality near Srinagar, startled people in Kashmir valley. It…
[Explainer] The beetles that roll dung and follow the stars
What are dung beetles? Dung beetles use the dung of warm-blooded herbivores for… everything. They are attracted to fresh dung via volatiles (meaning, the smell). Adults feed on the soup…
Odisha forest officer gets UN Award for environment enforcement, gender leadership
Sasmita Lenka’s journey in environment enforcement – cracking down on pangolin trafficking, clearing illegal aquaculture and mitigating human-elephant conflicts – started out with a burning desire to prove herself on…
Scientific survey maps 73 snow leopards in Himachal Pradesh
Till recently, the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh (HP) was only making wild guesses about the population status of the snow leopard, the state animal of HP. After three years,…
Perils of the Phayre’s leaf monkey
Phayre’s leaf monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei), an endangered goggle-eyed primate species once widely distributed across many forests in northeast India, is now confined to small fragmented patches in the states of…
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- In a Himachal village, people accuse a waste management plant for contaminating water
- [Commentary] Worsening water quality in Ganga’s lower stretches and what it means for us
- Human disturbance alters parasite communities, increases infectious disease: study
- Lower species richness in deforested landscapes tied to high Kyasanur forest disease risk: study
Almost Famous Species
- Sea snakes along Konkan coast imperilled by bycatch, lack of enforcement of fishery regulations
- Newly declared dugong conservation reserve will help protect marine biodiversity
- [Commentary] Tracing the history, portrait and uses of the panneer rose
- Butterfly records at the forefront of Arunachal’s biodiversity sightings
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Climate mitigation should not come at cost of biodiversity conservation, warns tropical savannah ecologist
- Tracking rivers, the highways of plastic waste
- Snug in Kashmir’s meadows, ox-eye daisy worries scientists
- Assam to destroy nearly 2500 seized rhino horns in anti-poaching message
Beyond Protected Areas
- Sea snakes along Konkan coast imperilled by bycatch, lack of enforcement of fishery regulations
- Return of the tiger at West Bengal’s Buxa tiger reserve
- Artificial nests for barn owls help farmers befriend these natural rodent killers
- Forests of faith face encroachments and invasive species in Punjab
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- [Video Explainer] What is the significance of the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill and why did it face opposition?
- Tackling agrobiodiversity loss in Odisha’s Similipal protected area
- An indigenous community in Meghalaya offers lessons in climate resilience
- Sweet pineapples and a variety of trees nurture each other in this patchwork plantation
Just Transitions
- Fearing repeat of police action during POSCO agitation, Odisha village isolates itself
- Bihar farmers await PM-KUSUM rollout
- Solar power station at Bihar’s ‘first solar village’ is now a makeshift cattle shed
- To boost its slow progress on clean energy, Bihar looks at floating and rooftop solar alternatives
