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(September 03, 2019) BOOK REVIEW: Bird BusinessAuthor: Rohan ChakravarthyPublisher: BNHSBirds being birds, as they flit from branch to branch to tree to sky it is tough to pin them down or catch on lens their daily chores. That’s where birder Rohan Chakravarthy’s book Bird Business comes in handy. Combining information on the wooing, nesting and feeding ways of birds with colourful sketches, he prepares a witty and engaging journey through the lives of a 100-odd birds found on the sub-continent. The...

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(August 29, 2019) Whether it be the Green Army or his work at SGNP, Sunil Limaye has believed that effective conservation can happen only when all affected people are involved.  He has a spider and a lizard named after him – Jerzego sunillimaye and the day gecko respectively. Perhaps he is the only forest officer, or the first Indian even, to have such a distinction. The honour bestowed on him can be traced not only to his dedication at work but his efforts to support research work and engage with...

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(August 23, 2019) Written by Dhruv Gangadharan ArvindThe cruciality of communicating proper information cannot be understated while reporting biodiversity conservation to global audiences. With respect to our understanding of animals, the Indian Army’s announcement a few months ago of “Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti’” – with photographic evidence of footprints – reveals how the “discovery” of such a cryptic species is communicated. It is also an examp...

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(August 20, 2019) Forensic science has fascinated many of us over the years. From television crime shows to movies, which portray our favourite actor in compelling storylines, investigating and weaving clues together to catch a criminal. Solving crime in real life can however be a strenuous process, with real victims involved. Applying scientific methods and knowledge to criminal investigations is what forensic science does, by incorporating different aspects of science. Forensic science has several sub divisions...

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(August 16, 2019) Climate change and habitat degradation are the prime reasons, and both point to human activity.Landslide in Munnar, Kerala 2018 ©eos.orgAlmost on the dot, exactly a year after the 2018 floods the rains poured down on Kerala causing havoc and claiming lives once again. Some new areas were affected catching residents by surprise, but some of those affected last year were battered again. This time around, lives have been lost mostly to landslides, which steamrolled mud and water on estate...

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(August 14, 2019) A holistic view of conservation that looks at a diversity of habitats and species is the focus of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka, Sanjai Mohan, IFS.Sanjai Mohan, IFS is the Chief Wildlife Warden and PCCF (Wildlife), Karnataka Working as a forest officer, often it calls for a combination of quick thinking and a binding belief in one’s duty to protect wildlife, when caught in a tough situation. So it was that the then ACF of Koppa, Sanjai Mohan had handed over charge on transfer...

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(August 12, 2019) By Kartick SatyanarayanWe are celebrating World Elephant Day today. However, the worrying aspect is only about 27,000 wild elephants remain in India, as opposed to a million a decade ago as indicated by research. There has been a 98 per cent nose dive in the wild elephant population.India is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries of the world. Being home to 7-8 per cent of the world’s recorded species, from top predators such as the Asiatic lions, Bengal tigers to large herbiv...

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(August 02, 2019) As I looked at my first Rhinoceros in the wild, overwhelmed with joy, I wondered if this one was born in Manas, or among those brought in from Kaziranga and Pobitora. Since the 1990’s when there were no Rhinos left in Manas, to 2019, with a stable population on the rise, the national park seems safe and sound for these species. The Indian Rhino Vision began Rhino translocation in Manas with 18 Rhinos in 2008 and 8 more were moved by the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation. ...

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(July 29, 2019) From the science of its ecology to the emotions it evokes, the tiger has captured the attention of most of us. On World Tiger Day, an ode to the national animal.Pondering recently on the fate of our national animal, the tiger - beaten by mobs, shot down to avert human deaths and knocked down by vehicles - I revisited Ang Lee’s film of Life of Pi, as also a novel Tigers in Red Weather by Ruth Padel. What did they tell me on International Tiger Day?Yann Martel’s Richard Parker is one o...

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(July 19, 2019) Ashwini Ramesh shares notes from her interactions and learning from physicist-cum-naturalist Ramana Athreya, credited with the discovery of a rare and critically endangered bird.“..and this is Planet Earth” echoed David Attenborough. I sat transfixed as I watched the beautiful male bird-of-paradise perform its mating dance ritual. In my eighteen years of education, I had never been exposed to ecology – not like this.In India, Ecology was conflated with Environmental Sciences. S...

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