The fundamental metric that we need for assessing and monitoring the status of threatened or endangered species is the population size, i.e., we are typically interested in finding out how many individuals of a species currently exist. Unfortunately, estimating these numbers is a daunting task because most endangered animals– especially those that live in dense tropical forests– are rare, secretive and elusive. For animals that have individual markings (like the stripes of a tiger, spots of a cheetah, rosettes of … Read More
A Roadmap for Dhole Conservation in India
Country-level species conservation plans serve as a blueprint for identifying important areas, prioritizing management actions and judicious use of conservation funds. India is a biologically megadiverse country, yet many threatened and endangered species do not have science-based conservation plans. In a new study, scientists from Wildlife Conservation Society–India (WCS-India), University of Florida, Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), and National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) propose a detailed framework for conserving the endangered dhole in India using a combination of ecological, social, … 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
Roadkills: A Citizen Science Initiative
Roadkills: For win-win solutions to minimise wild animal deaths along roads, irrigation canals and railway lines.
Roadkills is a Citizen Science Initiative to collect data on mortality of wild animals on roads, irrigation canals or railway lines in India.
This Citizen Science Project endeavours to engage with concerned citizens across the country. We hope that the data collected will be useful to researchers and infrastructure planners across the country to help in reducing wildlife mortality, install wildlife crossing structures at … Read More