In July 2012, I was witness to a story of survival in the wild, and how, despite the best attempts of humans, nature has its way. I was in Valparai and we got news that an elephant herd that we were tracking had given birth to a calf. The mother was a young elephant and an older one was observed always staying by her side. A few days later, while I was at Bangalore, I heard the startling news that … Read More
The Pakke Hornbill Nest Adoption Program
There is a quiet change taking place in Arunachal Pradesh. Not big, but quite important. Pakke Tiger Reserve lies in South Western Arunachal Pradesh and is home to several Nyishi tribal villages. Late one morning in December 2011, a group of nine tribal headmen representing their villages, the dynamic Nyishi District Forest Officer (DFO) Tana Tapi, and researchers from the Nature Conservation Foundation’s (NCF) had gathered in a community hall. They were kicking off an innovative program – the Hornbill … Read More
Snow Leopard Research Centre To Be Setup At Kibber In Spiti
One of the first tasks under the funds received from Project Snow Leopard, will be used to setup a research center at Kibber in Spiti, says the Himachal Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden AK Gulati. A lot of conservation interest has sprung up after the animal has been declared as the state animal. It is proposed to spend Rs. 30 lakhs on the center in the first year. Project Snow Leopard has Rs 5.5 crore allocation, spread over Himachal Pradesh, Jammu … Read More
Heights of Success — Snow Leopard Conservation in the High Himalaya
The Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya support highly endangered populations of species such as the snow leopard, the black-necked crane, Himalayan black bear, brown bear, red panda, wild yak, Tibetan antelope (chiru), Tibetan gazelle, Tibetan argali, Ladakh urial, musk deer, goral, serow, and takin, to name a few.
Conservation in these high altitudes has been relatively neglected even though the wildlife here faces a variety of threats:
- The snow leopard, wolf, and other carnivores are widely persecuted in retaliation against livestock depredation.
NCF Recommendation for Elephant Corridors in Valparai Plateau
The Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) has submitted a recommendation to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, titled, “Elephant Corridors in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve”. The report identifies the unique location of the Valparai Plateau in the Anamalai hills, where the gently undulating terrain is suitable for elephants to move from one forest patch to another. The NCF report identifies the Ryan division belonging to the Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation as a suitable candidate for bringing under the control of Anamalai … Read More
Environment Ministry seeks draft policy on Minimizing Impact of Linear Instrusions on Wildlife and Habitats
TR Shankar Raman, a member of the Nature Conservation Foundation has been asked to draft a policy guideline to minimize the adverse impacts of man made intrusions, such as roads, powerlines and railway tracks, on wildlife habitats. Shankar Raman, has already presented a background paper on the subject in meeting held on Jan 24th by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife. Shankar Raman has identified the issues of fragmentation, spread of alien species, dessication, windthrow and animal … Read More
Nobody’s Heroes: Our Forgotten Forest Watchers
It was an hour after dawn. Siddarama, a forest watcher, was walking to the Tiger Reserve’s headquarters from his village a good six kilometres away, when he heard the faint sound of voices. Suspicious, he approached quietly, and saw three men sitting by a stream, smoking and chatting. Two guns leaned on the rocks behind them and a dead giant squirrel lay on a sackcloth. Siddarama was alone and unarmed, but all he could think of then was that he … Read More
Wildlife Beyond Boundaries
The elephants stood at the stream’s edge. As the adults drank in measured trunkfuls, calves gambolled in the water. Just above them, on the slope, a large sambar stag emerged silently from the undergrowth. From a cluster of trees above came the scolding call of a giant squirrel, as a troop of Nilgiri langur foraged in the canopy. Just as we were slipping into a reverie, imagining ourselves in pristine wilderness, a woman called loudly to her children playing nearby … Read More
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