Close your eyes and think of the wilderness. What do you see? Chances are that you visualized a forest or a wooded area. While that is not incorrect, it does not present a complete picture. We live on an immensely diverse planet, with a range of environmental regimes or biomes. Biomes are distinct areas of the planet that support certain types of plants and animals based on the temperature, soil type, light and water available. Forest biomes cover a third … Read More
Wild Canids and Hyenas: Flagships for Increasing India’s Conservation Potential?
India has a wide diversity of carnivores that represent multiple unique ecosystems like forests, grasslands, scrublands, open / barren lands, deserts, ravines and the trans-Himalayan plains. A recent study by researchers from Wildlife Conservation Society–India, University of Florida (USA), Ashoka Trust for Ecology and the Environment, Wildlife Conservation Trust, National Centre for Biological Sciences and James Cook University (Australia) proposes that protecting wild dogs or dholes, jackals, wolves, foxes and hyenas, and their habitats, can offer incredible potential to expand … Read More
Forests May Not Recover Even After 36 Years of Abandoning Plantations, Finds Study
All over the world, the number of plantations have been increasing for timber, paper and other produce. Several studies have been carried out to understand if plantations can sustain native flora and fauna. But, how long does it take for an abandoned plantation to recover and grow back into a forest? In a new study published in the Journal of Tropical Ecology in February 2019, researchers from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Gubbi Labs, … Read More
The Menace of Feral Dogs, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Feral dogs have gone on a rampage, killing 55 chinkaras in just two villages of Rajasthan last month.
The fleet-footed chinkara, the Indian gazelle, is an ace sprinter and can outstrip any pursuit by predators. Found in good numbers in western Rajasthan, the chinkara is now under threat from man’s best friend—the dog.
The chinkara, along with the camel, is also the state animal of Rajasthan.
Fifty five chinkaras were reported killed by feral dogs in the first 20 days
Awareness Programmes on Urban Biodiversity – Bangalore, Oct 4-7 2012
As a run-up to the UN’s convention on biodiversity, the 11th Conference of the Parties, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Bangalore, Citizen Matters and Red Frames are organising the following awareness programmes on biodiversity in Bangalore from October 4 to 7.
- Talk on ‘Nature in the City: how people shape and are shaped by biodiversity in Bangalore”, by Harini Nagendra, Ramanujam Fellow, ATREE, on October 4.
Book Review — Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of Western Ghats by Gururaja K.V.
This field guide to the amphibians of the Western Ghats is not just a tool for researchers.
Did you know that most toads tend to have poisonous glands while most frogs don’t? Frogs also feel slimier when held, while toads are rough. Also, there are several very bright, even beautiful, frogs and toads.
“I find them all beautiful,” says Gururaja K.V., who has been researching amphibians since 1998 and has recently put together a guide titled Pictorial Guide to Frogs … Read More
Joint Camera Trapping Between India And Bhutan Reveals 14 Tigers
Reports from a joint camera trapping exercise in Manas were discussed between park officials of the the two countries — Manas National Park in India and the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. Fourteen tigers have been captured in the camera traps that scanned 650 sq km of protected area. Four tigers were “common”, ie. they were spotted in both countries. Seven tigers were male and six female, with the gender of one being difficult to ascertain. Officials from WWF … Read More
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