We requested Praveen Bhargav, Managing Trustee of Wildlife First, to field this question. Since many PAs are plagued by similar problems, we think that his answer has wide relevance and so we decided to publish a detailed answer in our articles section.… Read More
Birdwatchers Help Nab Waterfowl Poachers in Siruthavur Lake Near Chennai
Two and half of hours of drama unfolded at the Siruthavur lake this morning (3rd June 2012). Five of us from the Madras Naturalists Society (MNS) had come to watch and photograph birds in Siruthavur lake, 40 km from Chennai in Tiruvallur district. The lake was full of birds when we arrived around 7 AM. Just as we reached the lakeshore we heard gunshots. We saw grey herons fall followed by egrets. The shots lasted for half an hour or … Read More
Large-scale Waterfowl Slaughter in Puducherry
Every day, hundreds of waterfowl (both resident and migratory) and other animals notified in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, meet with a fatal end in Puducherry (Pondicherry, Union Territory). A large number of gypsies or narikoravas, hunt these birds and sell the meat right under the nose of the Forest Department. Birds are caught at the nearby Oussudu Lake (which is notified as a bird sanctuary) and openly sold for their meat at roadside stalls on Koodapakkam … Read More
Dearth of Studies on Hunting in India
Hunting remains one of the major conservation threats across the world, particularly in tropical countries. Nandini Velho, Krithi K. Karanth and William F. Laurance analyze hunting studies from India. These are the highlights of their study from their paper published in the journal, Biological Conservation.
- The authors did a meta-analysis of 143 published studies on hunting in India.
- 114 mammal species are hunted across India and large bodied species are the most vulnerable.
- A majority (76%) of studies
Crab-eating Mongoose, Lohit District, Arunachal Pradesh
Crab-eating mongoose (Herpestes urva) is found in the lowland and foothill forests of north-east India. This mongoose were chased and clubbed to death by labourers of a logging camp. Across tropical forests, logging often poses additional pressures of increased hunting pressures on wildlife.… Read More
Python Seriously Injured by Villagers, Haripura, Uttarakhand
The Indian Rock Python (Python molurus) is placed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), thus giving it the highest legal protection status our country. Usually, however, this is of no help to the poor creature.
We came upon this injured python in Haripura wetland, Uttarakhand on 12 April 2012. When we asked around, we were told by some children that the python had been hit with a heavy stone by some local villagers when they … Read More
Captive Hill Myna, Munnar, Kerala
In many parts of India, people still keep wild animals captive in their homes as pets. This photographer found this captive Southern or lesser Hill Myna (Gracula indica) at a grocery store in Munnar, Kerala. The store also had a captive Malabar (blue-winged parakeet). This photo was taken in March 2012.
The Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) prohibits any person (other than a recognized zoo including a rescue centre) from keeping any wild animal (species listed in Schedule I … 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
Dead Wreathed Hornbill, Arunachal Pradesh
Freshly killed Wreathed Hornbill (Rhyticeros undulatus) in Mehao wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. 15 Wreathed Hornbill individuals were brought into a village by several local hunters on that single day in January 2008.… Read More
Dead Rufous-necked Hornbill in Mehao wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh
Rufous-necked Hornbill (Aceros nipalensis) has been classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN. Populations of this species have already been exterminated from east Nepal and large parts of Vietnam. One of the primary causes of its population decline is hunting. Logging large trees — like this — for timber and agriculture is another major threat. This individual was shot by a group of young educated men which included a teacher and administrative staff from Roing inside the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary … Read More
Two tigers caught in poachers’ traps near Chandrapur; one dead
Two tigers were caught in steel traps set by professional tiger poachers in a heart-rending incident that took place yesterday in Palasgaon Range near Chandrapur in Maharashtra. One tiger died and the other has been rescued by the Forest Department with serious injuries.
The scene of the crime was a small pond in scrub forest, only 2.5 km from the nearest village Gondmohadi which also has a forest chowki. The Forest Department had been setting up camera traps there to … Read More
Egret Hunting, Koraput, Odisha
This photo was taken in Padwa village, Koraput, Odisha (Orissa) in Dec 2011. These village boys found immense pleasure in killing the egret for the pot using marbles. … Read More
TRAFFIC Post, March 2012
Greetings from TRAFFIC India. We are happy to share with you the 14th issue of our newsletter on wildlife trade issues entitled TRAFFIC Post.
The key highlights of this issue are:
- Scorpions–stung by wildlife trade- INFOCUS
- Indian Rhinoceroses face poaching threat – WILD CRY
- TRAFFIC INDIA UPDATE:
- India and China share expertise on use of sniffer dogs for curbing wildlife crime; TRAFFIC India’s sniffer dog programme leading to early successes
- TRAFFIC accelerates efforts to curb illegal parrot trade in India
Duck Hunting At Karenahalli Kere, Bangalore
At around 11 a.m. on the Bangalore Bird Race Day, Suma Rao, Gayathri Naik, Garima Bhatia, Jainy Maria and I were birding at Karenahalli kere, one of the lakes off Kanakapura Road, just past Somanahalli in the outskirts of Bangalore. Our attention was focussed on a flock of about 30-35 lesser whistling teals, when we heard a gunshot, and the entire flock took to the air. Right across the lake from us, we could see a lone injured duck flapping … Read More
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.
