A consignment of over 350 illegally captured Rose-ringed and Plum-headed parakeet chicks was seized by the authorities of Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand. They were seized while in transit to markets.
The birds are typically captured during the nesting season in February-April and sold at a premium. Tribals capture the chicks from their nests in sal and other tall trees, and traders barter the chicks for as little as a kg of rice. They are then sold for about Rs. … Read More
Raptor enthusiasts across the world were overjoyed and relieved to learn that a migratory adult female Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) finally reached her wintering grounds at Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal again on the 10th of January 2013 after an eventful 14,500km journey from the species’ breeding grounds in north-eastern China which started in mid-October last year.
This bird was fitted by Prof. Bernd Meyburg of WWGBP, the World Working Group on Birds of Prey, with a solar-powered satellite transmitter … Read More
The Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko) is one of the largest geckos in the country and the world; at about 15 inches the males are gigantic! This is a nocturnal arboreal gecko, ranging from northeast India, to Nepal and Bangladesh, throughout Southeast Asia, Philippines to Indonesia and western New Guinea. They are very colourful lizards too.
Occurring in the rainforests, it is primarily a tree-dweller. However, they have adapted well to human habitations where they can be seen on … Read More
Forest officials along with Mr. Santosh Martin, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Bellary, raided and arrested several people in the notorious wildlife trading markets of Bengali camp number 2 in Sindh Anur taluk of Raichur district, who were poaching and selling hundreds of turtles and terrapins.
Martin informed Karnataka PCCF (Wildlife) Mr. Deepak Sarmah along with photographs of the thriving wildlife market and the PCCF initiated immediate action. Ms. Radha Devi, CCF Gulbarga and Mr Chakrapani, DFO Raichur sent forest officials … Read More
New Delhi, India, 28th September 2012 — At least four Leopards have been poached and their body parts entered into illegal wildlife trade every week for at least 10 years in India, according to TRAFFIC’s latest study “Illuminating the Blind Spot: A study on illegal trade in Leopard parts in India” launched today by Dr Divyabhanusinh Chavda, President, WWF-India.
The study documents a total of 420 seizures of Leopard skins, bones and other body parts reported from 209 localities in … Read More
We were in Kaziranga to document the July 2012 floods. Rhinos escaping the rising waters of the Brahmaputra, seek shelter in the Karbi Hills to the South. This is where poachers lie in wait.
We saw this poached rhino in a pool of blood, with its horn cut off. The forest department estimates that during floods, about 100 rhinos try to escape to fringe areas like Haldibari, Kanchanjuri, and Panbari. The department attempts to round up and drive back rhinos … Read More
Two Loris – small, nocturnal primates endangered by global illegal poaching – were rescued from the Delhi airport on September 9, 2012. They were being smuggled in the underwear of two men!
“Our Wildlife helpline received a call about two loris confiscated by Delhi International Airport CISF security personnel. When the animals reached us, they were quite traumatized from having been stuffed into socks and then strapped to the smuggler’s underpants as he tried to sneak them past customs in … Read More
Answer from Shekar Dattatri, Conservation India:
Based on years of experience as a once-upon-a-time bird keeper and pigeon fancier, I have to say that it is virtually impossible to definitively differentiate between a plucked feather and a naturally-shed feather through visual inspection. When a wing or tail feather that is still in its growth stage is plucked from a bird, some blood will be evident within the lower hollow tube of the quill, or central shaft. However, when a … Read More
This picture was taken in May 2012 on the streets of Central Kolkata, West Bengal. I had been out doing street photography in my locality. Since I am very much concerned about conservation of nature and natural habitats, this shop caught my attention. I am a biology student and so I knew what these creatures were. These are live limulus or horseshoe crabs. Horseshoe crabs are rare marine fauna that have to be conserved. They are living fossils. A … Read More
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
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:
A parcel containing 601 Indian star tortoises was returned to Chennai from Malaysia and handed over to the Forest department. The tortoises were handed over from Kuala Lumpur after customs officials in the airport found it in an unclaimed parcel that allegedly arrived from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Star tortoises are not protected species in either Malaysia or Bangladesh. They are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA). The tortoises will be quarantined for a couple of days in the local … Read More
Poachers have shot and killed a rhino that strayed out of Kaziranga. Gunshots were heard by forest officials in the wee hours and an operation was launched. The carcass of the rhino was found at 915 AM with its horn missing. The poachers were encountered by the forest guards, but they managed to escape after shooting at the guards. Atleast 20 rounds were exchanged between the forest guards and the poachers. Forest officials say that security has been beefed up … Read More
A male rhino has been killed in Kaziranga National Park. The bullet riddled body with its horn chopped off was found on a remote sandbar by the Brahmaputra inside the park. The animal appeared to have been killed two or three days ago.
This is the fifth rhino to be killed by poachers in and around the park this year. On August 30th, a female rhino was killed by poachers for its horn. Patrolling has been intensified in the area. … Read More
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