A tale of non-existent jackal horns and their online sales
'Jackal horn', locally referred to as siyar singhi, gidar singhi or nari kombu, is considered a lucky charm by some and is used in black magic and astrology. While there…
Indian scientists building DNA database to protect the elusive red panda
Indian scientists are building a DNA database for red panda populations in the country, even as a report warns of “serious threats” to the bushy-tailed and chestnut-furred animals. The main…
COVID-19 may be the watershed to spur action on wildlife trafficking
The World Health Organization has categorised the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic in light of its spread around the world. Ever since the first cases emerged in the…
Third train track in Palamu reserve could derail seasonal elephant movement
In the eastern state of Jharkhand, elephant raids are common, especially during the paddy harvest season. The state is experimenting with mitigation measures like sending warnings to villagers about elephant…
Leopards fall into deep open wells in Karnataka
The tiny village of Doddamargonahalli in south Karnataka's Tumkur district, less than a three-hour drive from the state capital of Bengaluru, is a predominantly agricultural landscape. On August 31, 2014,…
A dose of eco-optimism: Stories of hope and inspiration in 2019
Don't lose hope. This is probably not the cliché you want to hear after what the past year has been like. Extreme weather events, wildfires, water crises, rampant deforestation, record…
Spillover: Bats, bat hunters in Nagaland may be exposed to Ebola-family of viruses
Up in the mountains of Nagaland, in Mimi village, bordering Myanmar, village elders recollect that in the late 1970s, there was an outbreak of a “mysterious disease” that claimed more…
Gangetic dolphins struggle to communicate as their underwater homes get noisy
India’s Ganga is a noisy river. There’s the churning of sediment, the hums, grunts and growls of fishes and turtles. There are the cacophonous stretches of cities and industries breathing…
Pangolin smuggling to China thrives as rhino poaching declines in Assam
The global focus on the smuggling of rhino horns and tiger parts from India to China has led to a drop in smuggling, but that has been replaced by a…
Out of India: The illegal trade routes for pangolin trafficking
Pangolins from all over India are being killed for scales which are funnelled through the country’s northeastern states to Myanmar, and then on to China’s Yunnan province. But, increasingly, live…
