Category Archive

Large carnivores like dholes, leopards and tigers, which compete for the same food resources, use several tactics to avoid each other while still co-occuring in the same spaces. Understanding the nuances of their interactions has been of interest to ecologists for a long time. What happens when formidable large carnivores encounter each other? Who wins or who loses? Do they kill each other? Does the availability of prey alter these equations? These interactions, beyond enabling the coexistence of the carnivores … Read More

This year, India surpassed China to become the world’s most populated country with over 1.4 billion people. As we move towards a time of climate uncertainty, the country continues to straddle between high dependency on natural resources on one side, and aspirations of becoming a global economic superpower on the other. In such a scenario, how can we reimagine conservation in a manner that is just and equitable to all Indians? In 2020, the Government of India’s National Mission for … Read More

We deeply regret to inform our readers and supporters of the passing of our co-founder, Ramki Sreenivasan, on December 17th, 2022. Ramki’s passing has left a void in the Indian conservation community, one that will not be easy to fill. The best tribute we can pay him is to continue our efforts to conserve India’s wilds, and we will.

We will share more in due course as we get through this difficult time. Sharing a few media articles here, and … Read More

The ecological implications of plastic pollution on ecosystem processes and human beings are well known. Increasing use of single-use plastic, poor waste management, lack of recycling, and fragmentation of plastic have made it ubiquitous, posing a grave threat to species across trophic levels. Over 1500 species ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates are impacted by plastic pollution. Globally, plastic in marine environments has been reported extensively whereas terrestrial ecosystems have remained understudied. The effects of plastic pollution are alarming, resulting in … Read More

Introduction

Rampant hunting and habitat loss changed the fate of two large Indian carnivores; the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) and the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), the latter of which was driven to extinction in India in 1952. The last and only population of Asiatic lions in the wild is now confined to the Gir Forest in Gujarat and its environs. For years experts have been urging the authorities to translocate a subset of the … Read More

The Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska) is a large-sized species of aquatic turtle with an average carapace length of 60cm. They are known to nest on beaches close to river mouths or on river islands. Once abundant in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar) till the 1900s, the Northern River Terrapin is now listed as Critically Endangered by the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  Wild terrapin populations precipitously declined due to the … Read More

Introduction

The menace of illegal wildlife trafficking is primarily understood in the context of terrestrial species from a layperson’s perspective. However, the definition of ‘wildlife’ under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA) includes aquatic life and their habitat. The WLPA, in its current form, protects marine species like sea turtles, sea cucumber, sea fans, sea horses, some species of sharks and rays, corals, mollusca, etc., under its Schedules. In addition to these, ITCHS Based Import Export Policy provides for … Read More

Book review: Explore Spiders of India: A Pocket Guide by Karthikeyan S.
Published by EcoEdu. 200 pages, Pocket Size, Full colour, Paperback: ₹400.00.

Spiders have always captured popular imagination as depicted by the famous Spiderman or as a terrifying monster like Aragog from Harry Potter. But leaving aside this perception, spiders play a crucial role in ecosystems they inhabit. Spiders are arachnids and belong to the same class as scorpions, ticks/mites, whip scorpions etc. Spiders are predators and occur in … Read More

Introduction

A review paper focuses on the importance of the threatened Myristica freshwater swamps, their ecology, and prior research on them. It focuses on the need for conservation initiatives to save the last few Myristica swamps in India.

What are Myristica swamps?

Myristica swamps are freshwater swamps predominated by members of the Myristicaceae family. These forests are characterized by trees with large protruding roots jutting out of waterlogged soil which remains inundated throughout the year. They have evolved over … Read More

Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a major threat to numerous wildlife species and ecosystems across the world, with established global links to organised criminal activities and an annual value encompassing billions of dollars. Media reports function as an untapped reservoir of publicly available records that can be utilised to understand the nature and scale of this trade.

A report, “Media-Reported Wildlife Poaching and Illegal Trade in India 2020,” was published by the Wildlife Conservation Society-India. It provides a comprehensive overview … Read More