[Commentary] Colours of an elephant
Elephants are not grey anymore. They are red, blue, sometimes red and blue, spotted and striped and polka-dotted. They gleam in brass, in burnished wood and pop out of walls…
Animals News
Will indigenous cattle 2.0 be climate resilient breeds?
With climate change expected to adversely affect the milk production and reproductive function of cattle and buffaloes in the country, India is now considering using climate resilient traits of its…
How an India-Bhutan transboundary landscape sheltered animals during internal conflict
Recurring ethno-political violence that rocked Assam’s Manas National Park (MNP), in the Bhutan-Himalayan foothills, from the late 1980s till 2003 changed the spread and abundance of wildlife, including royal Bengal…
Sikkim’s Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve braids nature with culture as tourism expands
Popular among trekking and hiking enthusiasts, the Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim is the starting point for several stunning trails, taking explorers up and through a dizzying variety of…
Climate change could threaten the habitat of the endangered Nilgiri tahr
The Western Ghats, a stretch of mountains running parallel to the western Indian coast, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to countless species that are unique to the region — known…
Trust the gut: Rat bellies hold answers to their survival in human habitats
Consider the common black rat Rattus rattus. Although native to southern India, the black rat, also called a ship rat because of its habit of boarding ships, has been scoring…
[Commentary] CBD: Can the cure kill?
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) celebrated 25 years of coming into force this year. "Celebrating 25 years of action for biodiversity" was the theme for the International Day of…
[Commentary] CBD obstructs biological research that needs international collaboration
“There is no national science, just as there is no national multiplication table; what is national is no longer science.” - Anton Chekhov A leading taxonomist from one of India’s…
Increase in snow leopard trafficking – dead or alive
In the snowy high mountains of central and south Asia lives the snow leopard. Its grey rosetted fur-coat perfectly camouflages with the craggy hills, enabling it to prey on nimble…
Elephants can adapt to human habitation, but sirens stress them out
As more and more elephant habitats are falling under the ever-growing influence of humans, elephants are often coming into contact with people, whether they are passing through human-inhabited landscapes, or…
