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(May 17, 2019) By Divya Krishnan©PBSPangolins are the introverts of the animal kingdom. They are nocturnal, solitary and shy creatures and for this very reason, remain elusive to the scientific community at large. Amongst the 8 species surviving across Asia and Africa, they range from a weight of 1.6kgs to a maximum of 33 kgs and are coloured in the pale yellows and browns of spring, to the olive tones of autumn. Imagine an artichoke that walks, you now have a pretty good idea of what these beautiful scal...

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(May 11, 2019) Written by Anisha IyerSurendra Kumar IFSA young boy living on the outskirts of a forest area used to help his father keep wildlife away from their crops. These were farmlands prone to wild boars, deers, sambars and sloth bears. Little did this young man know that he would grow up to be the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala, Mr. Surendra Kumar. Born and brought up in Bihar, Surendra Kumar has always been close to nature, which has struck a fasci...

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(May 07, 2019) Written by Ashni DhawaleIn the remote rainforests of the Western Ghats lives one of the most rare and unique of primates – the lion-tailed macaque. With a furless black face, expressive eyes, and a thick, shiny coat of black fur, this macaque gets its name from the mane of silver and grey that surrounds its face and tail that ends in a tuft like that of a lion’s.© Prakash RamakrishnanConsidered by scientists as the only truly arboreal macaque on Earth, these elusive creatur...

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(May 03, 2019) A former resident of Wayanad wildlife sanctuary who accepted voluntary relocation recounts trials and tribulations of life back then.As a teenager talking and walking through the forests with friends one evening, he had a near-death experience when chased by an elephant. “I very narrowly escaped death,” says Shibu Appu, a school teacher in a government school in Maldives where he now teaches English. His family living in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) accepted the government pa...

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(April 28, 2019) Grasslands of Amrabad Tiger Reserve © Kiran YadavThe Serengeti is a vast and varied landscape, with savannah, hilly woodland and grasslands thrown in. The Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telengana is one of the biggest parks in India. Here too, you will find a mix of dry, deciduous scrub, woodland and grassland, with what some ecologists believe are a savannah spread. If the Serengeti has granite outcroppings in its grasslands, the Indian tiger reserve also has its share of quartzite rocks ov...

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(April 23, 2019) Written by Rohit SubhedarKagaznagar forest landscapeGreetings with any person here usually begin with a hearty “Ram ram kaka”. A chair or a charpai is immediately offered, followed by extremely sweet tea decoction, and it is considered rude not to accept the tea. On a day when one is not working, conversations can be endless.Gonds and Kolams inhabit the Kagaznagar forest landscape in Telangana, which connects three major protected areas namely Tadoba, Indravati and Kawal. The landsca...

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(April 19, 2019) Dr G V Reddy, IFS and PCCF Development, Rajasthan speaks about various concerns facing forests and wildlife in India.Dr G V Reddy, IFSHe is so in awe and admiration of the tiger, he calls himself ‘a servant of the tiger’. Save the tiger and its forests, you save vital water and so many resources we humans need, is his firm belief. This forester of over two decades has had many run-ins with poachers and had arrest warrants issued on counter cases filed by poachers. Dr G V Reddy, the P...

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(April 16, 2019) The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as: “areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing fresh, brackish, or salt, including marine waters, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.”Wetlands often occur in disconnected patches, and therefore wildlife species associated with them are also fairly disconnected, except for their occasional migration. As the number of wetlands in a lar...

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(April 10, 2019) A whole lot of thought and effort go into setting up cameras at vantage points across a landscape.The alignment and initial work before securing the camera to the trunk.We see plenty of wildlife selfies going viral these days - macaques looming large in front of the lens, the rear end of a tiger, a bear scratching his belly, and thousands of other unseen behaviours, all thanks to the magic of camera traps. Being able to get a glimpse of the most intimate moments of the daily life of wild, elusiv...

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(April 05, 2019) A donor pitches in to help a family struggling inside a national park to start a new life outside.The Poojari family settling at the alternative house outside the forestA house deep inside the Kudremukh National Park with the nearest town 6 km away. A 22-year-old child who is an Endosulfan victim and needs constant help. A young daughter who had to trek 6 km to attend classes. A life that became even tougher with reduced job options. An unbuilt house outside the forest for which funds had dried ...

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