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
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
This image of a feral dog (Canis lupus familiaris) chasing a blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) was taken in Thol Lake Bird Sanctuary, Gujarat. Feral dog-wildlife conflict is a significant threat to wildlife and ecosystems in India and globally. Domestic dogs are the most abundant and widespread terrestrial carnivores and there are an estimated 60 million dogs in India.
Many dogs roam with impunity in and around buffer zones of Protected Areas where they form large formidable packs … Read More
Plastic waste is a common sight in aquatic habitats like ponds, rivers, lakes and oceans and is a major problem. There is a growing body of scientific evidence of the slow degradation of plastic and its impact on aquatic food webs. Plastics also act as physical barriers to animals and impede their movements.
This marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) was seen basking in a pile of plastic waste in a river in Girnar close to the Gir Forest in Gujarat. Muggers … Read More
We had been on a visit to Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, in 2016. While on safari, we observed this blackbuck which was injured after getting hit by a vehicle. While it was struggling to walk, a stray dog spotted it and followed the blackbuck until the latter collapsed. The dog began feeding on the blackbuck while it was still alive.
Blackbuck National Park in Velavadar has a healthy population of blackbuck that also roam outside the protected area, and are … Read More
The critically endangered Great Indian Bustard has disappeared from over 90% of its former range due to habitat loss, hunting, disturbance and lack of protection in many ‘lekking’ and nesting sites (see 2013 CI campaign). Now, overhead power transmission lines that crisscross its habitat are sounding the death knell of this low-flying, ground-dwelling species (see attached map). According to a study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), as many as … Read More
First published on 14.6.2017:
Based on a recent complaint filed, in the last several days more than 33 flamingos (both lesser and greater of the species) have died in Kumbharwada in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. This incident was discovered after the locals notified the Forest Department. The inspection and postmortem results confirmed that the flamingos died of electric shock. The electrocution of these flamingos took place due to the presence of high-voltage power transmission lines in the Kumbharwada region. These wires have … Read More
On the afternoon of 15th September, a farmer in the Karamba village in Solapur, Maharashtra was grazing his cattle when he noticed a large, severely injured bird on the ground, its wings singed. Hovering by, helping death to strike were a few feral dogs. As he edged closer, he saw a black mobile like device on the prone creature. He knew the bird, a frequent visitor to his fields from the adjacent Nanaj sanctuary, and immediately informed the forest department. … Read More
On behalf of the Bustard Conservation Team, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
This article is an outcome of Wildlife Institute of India’s ongoing research and conservation activities under the Great Indian Bustard Conservation Project investigated by Yadvendradev Jhala. The team members are, apart from the author, Sujit Narwade, Tushna Karkaria, Bipin C.M., Arjun Awasthi, Mohib Uddin, Devendradutta Pandey, Tanya Gupta, Sourav Supakar, Vineet Singh, Priyamvada Bagaria, Srinivas Y. and Shaheer Khan.
Much of India’s conservation movement has focused on forested … Read More
The Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti) is a curious bird, both by name and nature. It has captured the imagination of many within and outside the country and for the right reasons.
The forest owlet has an interesting past associated with it. Let us travel back in time to the 19th century. It was in 1872 when an Irish officer, Mr. Francis Robert Blewitt (F. R. Blewitt) saw this different looking owl near Phooljhar in eastern Madhya Pradesh (now in Chhattisgarh). … Read More
Gujarat is gifted with a beautiful 1600 km coastline, the longest in India, and a wide continental shelf, making its waters nutrient rich and diverse in marine fauna. It tops the charts in fish production, and has the highest quantities of sharks harvested in India (CMFRI, 2013). Existing catch-related data collected over the years indicated dwindling shark harvests. While at ground level, efforts to increase fish catch were intensified, it was important to study shark fisheries and local fishing trends … Read More
Urgent! Time is short, so please act immediately – your appeal to the Central Government can help safeguard the Western Ghats. Use the form below to write to the minister.
I support the Government’s decision to declare 56,825 square kilometres of the Western Ghats as Eco Sensitive Area (see contents of the letter below the form).
This campaign is now closed. We received support from more than 3500 concerned citizens. We are now sending a consolidated letter to the ministry, … Read More
White Tailed Wood Rat (Madromys blanfordi) — First Record in Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat.
On 23th January 2015 at around 2:29 am, we were travelling from Dhulda to Mahal, passing through the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary (PWLS). The PWLS, spread over a small valley, falls in Kalibel range, situated in Dang district of South Gujarat. The area has dense forests with thick bamboo brakes and is drained by the beautiful river Purna, which gives the sanctuary its name.
As we were … Read More
On 11th March 2012, while looking for the threatened Great Indian Bustards in Naliya grasslands in Kutch, Ramki Sreenivasan and I came across an owl which flew from one low tree to another. The owl was well camouflaged in dense foliage of an Acacia nilotica tree, but permitted a close approach.
The owl was brownish with streaks on its breast and belly. It had extremely long ear tufts, buff brown facial disk, black band down the face between the eye … Read More
On a beautiful morning in the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK), Gujarat, I spotted this falcon with a kill from a distance with my binoculars. When we approached a bit closer it appeared to be a adult Peregrine with a kill. The bird was very skittish and moved away from us a couple of times. We retreated and waited till the bird consumed the kill. After sometime, the falcon decided let go of the remains and took off. We were … Read More
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