On 9th Nov 2013, on our way to Ooty through Bandipur National Park, we witnessed this scene of a chital with its face inside a plastic bag. A couple of months before, we had seen forest staff of Bandipur National Park clearing plastic from the same road. On the whole, they have been doing a commendable job. But tourists need to be educated about littering and there should be regular patrolling on the main road to penalise offenders. It is … Read More
Plastic reaches Ladakh
A female Himalayan Marmot (Marmota himalayana) gathering plastic as part of its nesting material. This photograph was taken enroute to Diskit from Leh. Plastic and other litter irresponsibly disposed by careless tourists on these remote roads can create serious problems for wildlife.
Himalayan Marmots live in alpine meadows with very low rainfall, typically inhabiting slopes where soil can be readily excavated (Molur et al. 2005; Smith and Xie 2008). It lives in colonies and excavates unusually deep burrows, … Read More
Q: I would like to understand why private vehicles are allowed in any sanctuary as it disturbs the ecosystem. One such example is Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali, Mumbai). In such a densely populated concrete jungle we have such wonderful flora and fauna. Why is this getting ruined because the government is allowing private vehicles to access the sanctuary, where speed limit is not observed, people who use the park as their bar and litter the park with bottles and plastic? When we have strong NGOs in the city, why do we fail to stop these harmful activities? I would like to raise these concerns to the forest department but I am unaware of how to go about doing it, so would like CI to look into the matter and give me a solution on how I can give my inputs to conserve the amazing wildlife in my city.
Answer from Debi Goenka, who heads Mumbai-based environmental NGO Conservation Action Trust (CAT):
Private vehicles are only allowed to ply from the main gate at Borivili to the Kanheri Caves, which are not part of the notified National Park. We have tried to get the forest dept. to introduce shuttle buses, but since these are not financially viable, the forest dept. is not interested.
Re alcohol, this is strictly prohibited, and complaints should be immediately made to the SGNP … Read More
Malabar White-headed Starling, Dandeli
Above is an image of a Western Ghats endemic, Malabar White-headed Starling (Sturnia blythii), taken by Vaibhav Kamatkar at Dandeli, Karnataka. “Most people who go to visit wildlife sanctuaries are educated,” he remarks, “so why can we not desist from throwing away plastic trash, which could have such a bad effect on the environment?” … Read More
Plover Drenched in Oil, Navi Mumbai
In August 2010, two cargo ships collided off the coast of Mumbai spilling around 400 tonnes of oil into the Arabian Sea.
This image from the mangroves of Navi Mumbai shows the plight of an oil-bathed Kentish Plover in an oil-soaked habitat that was the aftermath of the incident. Oil penetrates the plumage of birds, reducing its insulating and waterproofing properties. As a result, oil-soaked birds are more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and are much less buoyant in the water. … Read More
Tiger and a plastic bottle, Bandipur
I saw this young tigress in Bandipur with a plastic bottle near its feet.
In spite of a nighttime traffic closure (see CI casestudy), the Ooty-Mysore highway (NH 67) through Bandipur Tiger Reserve causes serious disturbances to wildlife. Tourists and passersby are always stopping by the road to look at wild animals or disturbing them by feeding monkeys, getting close to already agitated elephants, honking, and, not the least, speeding.
However, what disturbed me most was this plastic … Read More
Changing Landscapes
Chennai is surrounded by a number of waterbodies. Kelambakkam backwaters, near Kovalam beach is home to a variety of birds that stop over on long migratory journeys. Some are local migrants like Painted Storks. Visitors from abroad include Flamingos, Western Reef Egrets and many species of Terns.
Storks like many birds wade in the shallows of the water bodies for catching fish and crabs, but the landscape around these water bodies is changing. With the city growing fast, an array … Read More
Strangled
Once bustling with Snipes, Crakes and Sandpipers among other birds, the Rampura lake near Horamavu is now dying a slow, woeful death. A large area of the lake bed serves as a dumping ground for garbage and construction wastes. Water is choked by hyacinth and other weeds and a large electric line cuts right through the lake. However, there is no shortage of the number of ‘lake view’ property projects in the immediate vicinity.… Read More
Chitals Chewing Plastic and Paper, Bandipur
This is an image from Bandipur. After a fine morning drive, having sighted a leopard in all its glory, the constituents of our vehicle were beaming with happines. However, the drive back to the resort brought everyone back to reality. Very close to the checkpost of Bandipur National Park, we saw tourists proceeding towards Ooty, feeding bread and jam to a herd of Chital. It has to be noted that of late, drivers and naturalists of Jungle Lodges and Rests … Read More
Private Vehicles – Bane of Wildlife Tourism?
Screeching tyres, engines revving noisily, exhausts spewing black smoke, horns blaring, cars cutting in front of each other, people shouting and even the odd bang or two. Sounds like normal urban India? Think again, this is a scene from a safari in the heart of a tiger reserve in Maharashtra!
Some tiger reserves allow private vehicles (albeit with a forest guide) for safaris. The drivers have no sensibilities on how to drive in a forest (we barely have any road … Read More
Sambar Deer with Dustbin Cover, Pench
A dustbin cover stuck in the neck of a Sambhar Deer (Rusa unicolor) in Pench National Park, Madhya Pradesh. On 12th March 2012, I spotted this deer early morning at 6am, and it was desperately trying to get this cover out of its neck. Unfortunately, we could not help. A guide from the forest department accompanied us who promised to inform his higher authorities so I just took a picture and we moved on. I dont know whether … Read More
Q: What protection do lakes enjoy in urban / rural landscapes? Under what jurisdiction do they come? Are they protected? How does one report violations about lakes — both protection to the waterfowl as well as the lake itself?
Answer from Praveen Bhargav & Shekar Dattatri:
- Some lakes / water bodies / wetlands such as Bharatpur, Ranganathittoo or Vedanthangal are notified as protected areas and enjoy the same protection as any sanctuary or a national park.
- Waterfowl listed in any of the Schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) receive legal protection from hunting and anybody found even in possession of a gun near any lake can be prosecuted under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA). For more details read
Unilever’s Mercury Fever — Dumping Toxic Mercury in a Biodiversity Hotspot
Corpwatch examines Unilever’s response when caught dumping toxic mercury waste from a thermometer factory in Southern India earlier this year. The Anglo-Dutch company recently closed the factory. Community members, however, allege that the multinational has downplayed the dangers of mercury and misled the public in an attempt to cover up the truth. Indian journalist Nityanand Jayaraman reports for CorpWatch.
In March 2001, residents of Kodaikanal, a pretty hill retreat in Southern India, caught the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever red-handed when they … Read More
Bharatpur — Can we Regain this Bird Paradise?
The year 2004 was a fateful one for Bharatpur, India’s most famous bird sanctuary. In order to appease farmers belonging to particular community, the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan, issued an order diverting water from the Ajan Bund away from the Bharatpur marshes and into the fields surrounding the park, unleashing catastrophic consequences for this 250 year-old artificial wetland. Since then, Bharatpur has never been the same. While various schemes to bring water to the park are under consideration, bird … Read More
- Page 2 of 2
- 1
- 2
CI is a non-profit, non-commercial portal that aims to facilitate wildlife and nature conservation by providing reliable information and the tools needed to campaign effectively.
