Almost Famous Species News

Our Almost Famous Species series features lesser known species from India. It is created in the hope that familiarity will help generate concern and action for under-appreciated species. Through the series, we 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. Stretching from the Nicobar Islands very close to the equator to the Western Himalaya in the north, India covers about 30 degrees of latitude, with a long coastline on its peninsula. The wide geographic extent, topographic features with multiple long mountain ranges and fertile river basins, and the monsoon winds give rise to a plethora of habitats that have been home to a variety of creatures. Yet, any mention of Indian wildlife always conjures up images of charismatic large mammals. We acknowledge that these are interesting; but we want to draw back the curtain on other species that are equally fascinating.

Sloth bears are unlikely seed dispersers shaping forests

Whiskered swimmers with webbed feet

Rare lynx photo puts spotlight on high-altitude rangelands

Scientists identify new deep-sea shark species from India’s southwest coast

Flies are overlooked pollinators and farmers’ friends

The wild cat with a unique stripe pattern

New-to-science spider highlights importance of open natural ecosystems

Roads a risk to the world’s smallest wild cat

New DNA analysis reveals what dholes eat

Farmers of the forest

Finless porpoises are disappearing before they are counted

The insect that makes forests sing

Scrublands and ravines offer key habitat for the elusive caracal

The rusty-coated bamboo muncher

Major mugger habitats lie outside protected areas

New camera-trap record confirms caracal presence in Kuno

A cat that is clouded by design

The goat-antelope of the high Himalayas

New sand boa species calls for attention

The chinkara’s future may be less secure than its conservation status suggests

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