On the morning of 5th September 2013, Sourav Mondal and I went to Baisha Bil (wetland) on a birding outing. There were hundreds of Baya Weavers, Zitting Cisticolas, and other birds in the wetland. We were shocked to see two people trapping many of these birds (mainly Baya Weavers) using nets. We heard from the local people that other birds, such as the Open-billed Stork, Little Egret, Pond Heron, and Lesser whistling Duck, are also trapped and killed in this … Read More
Crab-eating Mongoose in Gorumara – Chapramari, West Bengal
The Crab-eating mongoose (Herpestes urva) is a member of the Herpestidae family which represents the mongooses. Within Indian limits it is found in northern West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeastern hill states. Though it is found in a variety of habitats, the Crab-eating Mongoose appears to prefer the vicinity of waterbodies. They eat crabs, but will also feed on fish, frogs, molluscs, insects and crayfish.
On 28 July 2013 I sighted and photographed a Crab-eating … Read More
Water monitor eating Jungle Babbler, Sundarbans
While walking around at Sajnekhali, Sundarbans, on 12th March, I heard jungle babblers crying the world deaf. I went ahead to find this water monitor swallowing the last parts of a jungle babbler, while the other birds of the flock kept on chattering loudly in alarm, flying overhead and jumping on branches. I don’t know how the seemingly sluggish monitor managed to catch a timid jungle babbler. It could be that the monitor was lying somewhere unnoticed when the poor … Read More
A Satyr Tragopan From Neora Valley, North Bengal
The male Satyr Tragopan (Tragopan satyra) is easily one of the most beautiful birds in India and also one of the rarest. The Satyr Tragopan is found in the Eastern Himalayas, besides Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. It is best seen in Neora Valley National Park in North Bengal. Male Satyr’s are 68cm and are a bright crimson red with white spots. Females are smaller and less conspicuous.
Tragopans are often called “horned pheasants” because they display horn-like projections … Read More
Rare Buffy Fish Owl Photographed In Sundarbans
On 18th March 2012, we were on a boat riding into the salty waters of Sundarbans. The breeze was just warming us up for the long day ahead, when Mridul Kanti Kar, a young fellow birder with an amazing ability to spot birds, shouted out ‘Owl! Owl!’. We were near the famous Sajnekhali Watch Tower. We were clicking pictures furiously, not realizing the rarity we were looking at. Though initially mistaken for the common Brown Fish Owl, something about it … Read More
Yearly Tiger Census in Sunderbans
Phase IV of the tiger estimation exercise will see Sunderbans gaining more sample sites and also yearly estimation of tigers. Currently, camera traps have been laid in only 100 sq kms. In the new format, three more sites covering upper, lower and middle Sundarbans have been suggested and the new protocol will use 25 pairs of double sided cameras per 100 square kilometres and a minimum trapping effort of 1000 trap nights per 100 sq km. Distance sampling protocols may … Read More
Mega World Bank Project to Conserve and Develop Sundarbans
A mega project is being undertaken by the World Bank, to conserve the biodiversity of the Sundarbans and to develop the regio socio-economically. This is based on a recommendation from the planning commission of India. The project will be completed by the end of the year. The State minister for Sundarbans Affairs has said that steps will also be taken to develop the site as a major tourist destination. There is concern from environmentalists though that the region is already … Read More
Leopard Enters Siliguri Village; Policemen and Forest Guards Injured
A leopard that strayed into a village near Siliguri injured policemen and forest guards who tried to tranquilize it. Five other villagers were also injured. The leopard eventually died in the evening after being brought to a veterinary center at Sukna. Villagers spotted the leopard in the morning and raised the alarm. The leopard was startled and when the villagers started chasing it around, it tried to flee and injured five villagers in the process. The forest department officials reached … Read More
Signs of Gharial revival in Hooghly; Breeding group identified at Purbasthali
In good news for the seriously threatened Gharial, better than thought before numbers of the reptiles have been counted in the Hooghly. The Gharial population has now been estimated to be around 250 in a 500 km stretch of the Hooghly from Farakka to Tribeni. The population is also apparently breeding, as new born members have also been spotted. The species was considered extinct in that region for about 60 years. The study was done by iRebel, an NGO that … Read More
Railways and West Bengal govt. to declare Railway stretch as ‘elephant corridor’
The Railways and the Wildlife officials of both the West Bengal government and Centre today unanimously agreed to declare the entire 164-km stretch between Siliguri and Alipurdiar on the North East Frontier Railway as an “elephant corridor” and put a speed restriction of 45 kmph on all the trains – day and night.
Both the sides formulated and agreed on a number of other steps to prevent recurrence of such animal dashing by speeding trains, official sources said.
On Wednesday … Read More
Seven elephants die after speeding train hits herd
Incident once again raises questions over movement of trains along the elephant corridor.
Seven elephants of a herd died after being hit by a goods train in the Banarhat area of Jalpaiguri district (West Bengal) on Wednesday night.
While four were killed on the spot, the rest died on Thursday. The dead include a sub-adult and two juvenile elephants, Divisional Forest Officer (Wild Life II) Sumita Ghatak told The Hindu over telephone.
The incident has once again raised questions over … Read More
Sundarbans — Danger in the Delta
Man, tiger and cattle battle for survival where the land, river and sea meet.
This is not a pretty travelogue, though there is no place more exotic and wilder than the Sundarbans. Because nowhere else is the man-animal conflict—one of the biggest issues confronting wildlife conservation—as acute or as complex as in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, where people and “man-eating” tigers are engaged in a prolonged, bitter battle for survival.
Occupying 2,585 sq. km of the … Read More
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