On the evening of June 24, 2015, members of the Konkan Cetacean Research Team received an ominous call. A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest animal in the world, was…
With tigers, lions and elephants grabbing the limelight in India’s wildlife conservation sector, other mammals such as leopards usually remain in the shadows. But they face a similar, if not…
The Waghoba temple in Mumbai's Aarey Milk Colony houses an idol of a big cat. Resembling a tiger, the idol is worshipped by tribal communities living in the area. A…
Days after it was satellite tagged and released, an Amur falcon ‘Manipur’, eponymously named after the northeast Indian state bordering Myanmar, was allegedly shot down by unknown miscreants at a…
The primary source of agarwood and one of the world’s most expensive trees, the evergreen agar tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.) is a step away from extinction in the wild. In…
This is the second article in a two-part series on poaching in Jaldapara National Park. In Part One, interviews with former poachers revealed the inner workings of wildlife trafficking in…
This is the first article in a two-part series on poaching in Jaldapara National Park. Part Two (published on 28-May) looks at prevention and enforcement efforts. JALDAPARA NATIONAL PARK, India…
For filmmaker Sesino Yhoshu, watching tens and thousands of Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) roost by the Doyang reservoir in a remote corner of Nagaland was an awe-inspiring moment. It stirred…
In 2016, in the desert state of Rajasthan, a man had a narrow escape while he tried a selfie attempt with a python. In the same year, an Indian cricketer…
Ashish Kothari, activist from Kalpavriksh in Pune, has co-edited with K.J. Joy a large and impressive tome called Alternative Futures: India Unshackled (Authors Upfront, 2017). They boldly attempt to predict…
A royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) that had “strayed” into a highly fragmented forest in the Indian state of West Bengal and had reportedly mauled members of a tribal hunting-party…
Environmental activists have expressed dismay at the partial demolition of a wall built by an oil refinery that they hoped would be completely pulled down. The wall, they contend, blocks…
Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is famed for hosting over 350 species of birds, many of which are migratory wintering birds. But it is also home…
Come June, with the arrival of the monsoon, a symphony of frog croaks rents the air in Sikkim situated in the lap of the Himalayas. However, their time is up.…
On March 4, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted the image of Kashmir’s iconic hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu), also known as Kashmir red deer and Kashmir stag, and…
K. Alagirisamy stands guarding the forest check post in Hasanur, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR). “I was the last one to spot the tiger- right here on the road,” he says,…
Nearly 6000 pangolins were poached in India between 2009 and 2017, despite a ban, with Manipur and Tamil Nadu emerging as hotspots for pangolin smuggling, says a report released by…
Rajasthan’s wildlife reserves are a delight for animal enthusiasts. The dry deciduous forests and scrublands are home to grazing nilgai (an antelope known as the blue bull) and deer, as…
In Mumbai, when a new highway had to cut through mudflats where flamingos come in, the quid pro quo by the Maharashtra Government was to notify a flamingo sanctuary. Thus,…
Maharashtra topped the list of states with the highest number of cases pertaining to violations under the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986, and air pollution control rules, according to the…