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(April 14, 2020) Picture this. A cacophony of bird calls near a tree, indicating something is amiss. A shikra tries to go into the tree. Just then, a kite flying overhead dive bombs into the tree. A serpent eagle is revealed to be the object of attention, flying out and into a much denser tree in its attempts to escape the kite’s attacks. When it flies in, a few grey hornbills fly out in confusion.This is not an Our Planet episode or a Nat Geo documentary. This spectacle took place in Mohit, a wildlife pho...

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(April 13, 2020) It was a winter evening from Aarey milk colony. Well, we Mumbaikars like to call “winter” any day when we receive some relief from the heat. Honestly, I don’t remember stepping out in a sweater for school. But, that has never been the case with the people in Aarey. One can evidently feel the temperatures drop once you enter Aarey’s vicinity and the residents, unlike other Mumbaikars, do have to pull out their winter wear, at least till the first week of March.One fine win...

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(March 23, 2020) In February 2020, the Lakshadweep Administration notified three new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), with a total area of 645 sq.km. These three protected sites are: Dr. K.K. Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve, Cheriyapani (239 sq.km.), P.M. Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve (62 sq.km.) and Attakoya Thangal Marine Conservation Reserve between Amini and Pitti Archipelago (344 sq.km.). A view of Bitra island in Lakshadweep. Photo courtesy: Vardhan PatankarThe declaration of ...

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(March 20, 2020) In the year 2015, while I was working on an Environment Impact Assessment project in the Western Ghats of India, my advisor Dr Gururaja pointed out the Kottigehar Dancing Frog (Micrixalus kottigeharensis) to me.I still remember that day quite vividly. We parked our car on the roadside. It wasn’t an easy place to park. There were huge potholes on the road and we had to scan the area before we found a safe place. The rains seemed to have subsided, however, there was still a light, steady dri...

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(March 19, 2020) Divya Shetty is a Bangalorean actively involved with the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust. One day, the gardeners who worked around the Puttenahalli lake found the Indian star tortoise on the embankment. Soon after, it was rescued and rehabilitated with the help of Bannerghatta National Park. In this article, Divya Shetty describes the rescue operation and rehabilitation of the endangered species. This is an example that shows what citizens can do to protect and preserve wildlif...

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(March 12, 2020) Sharks are one of the most threatened groups of marine fishes today. In India, 152 species of sharks and rays have been recorded, furthermore, there is an addition of new species every year. Today India is the third-largest exporter of sharks in the world and the shark populations continue to dwindle in our waters due to overfishing.Fins from sharks, guitarfish and wedge fish kept for drying for further trade. Photo courtesy: Zoya TyabjiStudies over the years have indicated that sharks act as &l...

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(February 26, 2020) Susan Lieberman, Vice President, International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society, spoke about the highlights of the CMS CoP 13 that was held in Gandhinagar from February 15-22, 2020. Edited excerpts:Ishan Kukreti: What, for you, have been the highlights of this CoP so far?Susan Lieberman: It has been a great CoP thus far. The outcomes have been very positive. WCS is very pleased with the consensus to list the jaguar in Appendices I and II, Asian elephant in Appendix I, and Great Indian ...

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(February 25, 2020) Dedicatedly, with powerful strokes, a man tries to hack a tree trunk for inside it hides a scaly treasure, a pangolin. Traumatized and scared, the pangolin refuses to come out of its safe abode. Seeing that his attempts are slowly turning futile, the man changes his strategy and fogs the tree trunk with smoke from a freshly lit wooden log. Suffocated and drowsy, the helpless pangolin falls out of the trunk and curves itself into a defensive ball. This defense is useless however, as it makes it e...

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(February 15, 2020) On the occasion of World Pangolin Day (February 15), Mridula Vijairaghavan, Legal Advisor with WCS-India, writes about a heart-wrenching incident with a pangolin in distress. She says that despite having the highest level of legal protection for pangolins in India, they continue to be rampantly traded. In fact, they are said to be the highest trafficked species globally. Time to make a change and save the pangolin, she says, in this blog.Picture for representation purpose only. Photo Courtesy: W...

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(February 14, 2020) A study of the biodiversity of the Godavari delta offers a glimpse into the conservation status of the wetland dependant fishing cat that lives in the mangroves and swamps of this coastal region of Andhra Pradesh.The mangroves of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, in Andhra Pradesh, provide a safe and resource-rich haven for the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus). The elusive feline is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Photo courtesy: Anjani KumarIn a primary school cl...

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