An SOS call for the ‘Tiger of Kaveri’
The orange-finned mahseer or hump-backed mahseer, believed to be endemic to the Kaveri river that flows through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has been an enigma for anglers…
Mongabay series: Almost Famous Species
Our Almost Famous Species series is a take off from Mongabay.com's Almost Famous Animals series, both created "in the hope that familiarity will help generate concern and action for these under-appreciated species". Through the series, we'd like to introduce to you India's gamut of invertebrates, birds and marine flora and fauna, which perhaps don't get as much attention as our more popular big cats and elephants.
Hidden cameras reveal six colour variants of the Asiatic golden cat
Cameras placed across protected and community forests in the Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh recorded six different coat colours of the Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii). In all, the cameras…
When and from where did black pepper come to India?
A new study has, for the first time, thrown light on when and from where black pepper (Piper nigrum) had come to India. The species arrived into India from Southeast…
Indian research network on horseshoe crab takes wing as the living fossil battles threats
In a mangrove clump in Balasore in coastal Odisha, a youth gingerly snips away at the tangles of a fishing net around an upturned crab-like struggling creature, as it desperately…
Communities join hands to keep alive the hoolock gibbon’s song
The call of the western hoolock gibbon, a series of whoops, hoots and tones that rise in a crescendo, is background music in the villages of Meghalaya. Mornings begin with this…
Female seagrass flowers uncoil to reach pollen in undersea saga
For the underwater-dwelling tape grass Enhalus acoroides, pollination is an adventure where female flowers have their work cut out. The pinkish-green male flowers produce plenty of pollen, encased in long…
Creatures from Mumbai’s shore and their housing stories
For a city that is fixated with its housing, real estate opportunities and acquiring homes with a view, finding a space to call your own in Mumbai carries its own…
The barking deer enigma
Most forests in India are home to the Indian muntjac, also called barking deer. Found across southern India, including the Western Ghats, in the dry forests of central India, the…
Recognise Himalayan wolf as a distinct species: study
Himalayan wolf is a distinct species of wolf, which shows unique genetic adaptation to the difficult conditions in the Asian high altitude ecosystems, found a study, reiterating that it needs…
Poop, photos and genes: Evidence extends Kashmir musk deer’s presence to Nepal
A study has provided evidence of the presence of the endangered Kashmir musk deer (KMD) from Nepal, with the identification extending the fanged deer species’ range from India, Pakistan and…
