How people respond to predators in the Indian Himalaya
Imagine sighting a wild carnivore as you go about your daily chores near your house. Your reactions may range from joy to awe, apprehension, or fear. Or even anger: maybe…
The slender loris struggles to find canopy in Bengaluru
Flanked by the Outer Ring Road, where unceasing traffic spews noxious fumes, and a concreted canal where heaps of plastics float amid sewage, the Hennur Lake biodiversity park in Bengaluru…
[Commentary] Of ants and antelopes – the ecological history of Chennai was not what one would imagine
According to legend, King Solomon had a brief encounter with a “valley of ants” and his admiration for them led him to value all life forms. The resilience of ants…
Mapping conflict hotspots as leopards adapt to unlikely habitats outside protected areas
Unpacking patterns of leopard attacks on livestock and landscape features in the Indian Himalayas offers clues to potential human-leopard conflict hotspots, a study has said amid increasing encounters of wildlife…
The Indus dolphin is struggling in India, thriving in Pakistan
“Have you seen dolphins in your area?” “You mean Bhulan Machi (long-lipped fish),” replied 22-year-old Bagha, a boatman who ferries people on the banks of the Beas river in Karmuwala village of Punjab’s…
Human presence disturbs prey activity, shows study comparing Kaziranga and Manas
Researchers in Assam studying the impact of human disturbance on prey species in two of the state’s wildlife habitats have found that some species, mostly active during the day hours…
Hope for healthy yak rides on Druk, the yak bull from Bhutan raised in Sikkim
Certified disease-free and blessed by a Lama in Bhutan, Druk, a four-year-old yak bull, crossed the border and traveled to the state of Sikkim in India in February 2020, in…
Conserving the Toda buffalo before it is too late
Polker Kuttan, a 72-year-old Toda tribal from the Nilgiris, is like a local weather expert - he can predict the onset or delay of the seasonal rains and even the…
From shed hair, scientists obtain whole genomes of wild tigers
Wild tigers are hard to study. That's why India's tiger census uses camera traps to take photographs of tigers as they walk unsuspectingly by; geneticists pick up tiger poop or…
Bats not the enemy in the fight against COVID-19
Wildlife volunteers associated with the municipal corporation of Indian metropolis Bengaluru in Karnataka, are receiving a flurry of calls from citizens to clear bats from trees, even as leading conservationists…
