Nature News, Vol. 5, Issue No.10-11 (Oct – Nov. 2016)

BIRDS

The Hindu 10 Oct.2016 
Vultures thrive in Bejjur forest of Telangana:   Cattle slaughter is said to have played a significant role in increasing the number. The increase in the number of vultures, which are under protection in the Bejjur forest range in Telangana, can be attributed to a significant practice cattle slaughter. The vulture population has tripled in just three years at the Pala Rapu cliff by the Peddavagu stream  Read more

The Hindu 24 Oct.2016
Quarrying destroys Laggar Falcon habitat in Madurai : Indiscriminate sand quarrying on the Vaigai river bed, and granite quarrying in many parts of Madurai, have spelt disaster for many raptor species and today, only two Laggar Falcons survive on the rock cliffs of Arittapatti near Melur in the district. They are probably the only birds spotted in the entire south Indian region in the last two years. Read more

The Times of India 25 Nov.2016
NCR races again for new birds, spots 253 species: With 253 sightings of different bird species recorded in the capital and its neighboring areas, birders had a field day at the 6th edition of Delhi Bird Race.  The race is held every year to celebrate the rich and diverse birdlife in the National Capital Region (NCR). Read more

ENVIRONMENT

The Indian Express 30 Nov.2016 
Cities at crossroads: Recycling begins at home: I have been unbundling the challenge of handling the garbage that we produce as a society. The response has to begin with the segregation of the solid waste at source (be it households or commercial establishments), and go on to ensure that the waste goes through the different streams of recycling and resource recovery till the much reduced final residual Read more

FORESTS & BIODIVERSITY 

Indian Express 15 Nov. 2016  
Forest rights and wrongs :  Soon after daybreak, driving through the forests of Sonitpur district in Assam in late 2005 we made a quick U-turn when a herd of around 15-20 elephants, young ones in tow, emerged from the forest to forage right next to the road leading to the fishing camp at the Nameri Tiger Reserve  Read more

The Pioneer 28 Nov.2016 
7 States failed to implement Forest Rights Act – Report: Seven States in the country have failed to implement the Forest Rights Act (FRA) effectively, as per the progress report of States on FRA implementation. There are a lot of rejections majority of them being wrongful  based on invalid and flimsy grounds, as per a report of the Union Tribal Ministry. Further, these States have been  Read more

HUMAN-ANIMAL CONFLICT 

Deccan Herald 22 Oct .2016 
 To resolve human-wildlife conflict, work outside forests: Indian forests host more than 60% of the global populations of the Asian elephant, royal Bengal tiger and single-horn rhinoceros besides 100% of the Asiatic lion population in the wild. Given the unrelenting pressure from an increasing human population (35 crore to 121 crore from 1947 to 2011) for forest biomass  Read more

The Indian Express 28 Nov.2016 
Why neighbourhood leopards are no threat to humans: Last Tuesday, Delhi was thrilled to discover a resident leopard by its river. Within 72 hours, officials decided to trap and shift the big cat to Uttarakhand’s Rajaji national park or Delhi zoo. The trigger was the lynching of another leopard in Haryana’s Sohna, within the national capital region, on Thursday. Read more

The Hindu 29 Nov.2016 
Lifelines that can sound death knells: Thin lines criss-crossing and connecting the country, like arteries and veins connecting different organs of the human body, drive the economy. Rail lines, roadways, canals and electricity cable networks occupy pride of place in India’s rapidly growing infrastructure. Investments in them have been huge and their expansion immense. It is a win-win situation, it is argued, that benefits all. Read more

WILDLIFE & ENDANGERED SPECIES 

The Pioneer 3 Oct.2016 
Conservationists fear breeding of exotic species for sale: The Second North India’s Avian Meet (NIAM) that brought together exotic bird breeders and pet traders from across the country has raised concern among conservationists and various Animal Welfare Organisations. They contend that such occasions fan the trade of globally threatened birds listed under Read more

The Hindustan Times 5 Oct.2016 
Five Southeast Asian nations to adopt India’s tiger estimation method: The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) will push India’s robust tiger estimation method in five Southeast Asian countries to boost the big cat population. Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar are the five countries earmarked by the GTF for pushing India’s methodology.
Read more

The Hindustan Times 12 Oct.2016 
Pangolin scales seizure of Delhi has roots in northern India: Seventy-five kilograms of pangolin scales recovered from four smugglers in Delhi on October 8 were brought from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, said officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), which had assisted the CBI in busting the racket. The seized pangolin scales were supposed to reach Guwahati  Read more

The Pioneer 13 Oct.2016 
Wild boars may soon be legally hunted in Goa: In Goa, wild boars may soon be legally hunted, with the State wildlife board recommending periodic killing of the wild species, due to complaints by local farmers and horticulturists, about the beasts destroying their crops regularly. State Environment and Forests Minister Rajendra Arlekar on Wednesday told The Pioneer that the Read more

The Pioneer 17 Oct.2016 
Zoo to provide wildlife training: One of the most visited place in the national Capital, National Zoological Park (Delhi Zoo) has branched out into research, offering internship and field training in wildlife and environment conservation. Delhi zoo is providing internship training to Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) students from Haryana Agricultural & Read more

The Hindustan Times 21 Oct.2016
Uttarakhand man-eater tigress shot dead after 44-day hunt, Rs 75 lakh spent : A man-eater tigress that had terrorised people across a vast swathe of land in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district was shot dead on Thursday after a 44-day hunt involving several hunters and hundreds of forest department workers besides a helicopter and drones. Read more

The Indian Express 24 Oct.2016 
From the lab: In study on survival, a surprise finding; new species: A PIKA is a small mammal found in the colder climates of Himalayas, and in some other parts of the world. By outer appearance, they can resemble small rats but are very different. There are several species within the pika family. In the Indian region, they are mostly found in locations that are over Read more

The Pioneer 29 Oct.2016 
Must we kill for our dose of excitement? : Hunting represents a cowardly attempt to escape from a deep feeling of insecurity. It must not only be treated as murder but condemned and banned. There is no heroism in killing living beings that cause no harm. According to reports, Police Scotland has said in a submission to Lord Bonomy, who is reviewing Scotland’s 2002 law on fox hunting Read more

The Hindustan Times 3 Nov.2016 
Animal lovers launch online campaign to free caged Gir lion: Wildlife enthusiasts in Gujarat have launched an online petition demanding that a Gir lion, caged since last year for wounding a woman who later died of heart attack, be freed. This handsome young Asiatic Lion from Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary is behind bars in Sakkerbaug zoo, Junagadh, for no fault of his since Read more

The Times of India 7 Nov.2016 
Tiger count up in Sunderbans, latest survey puts total at over 85: The number of big cats in the Indian Sunderbans is healthy and rising. A recent camera-trap exercise has spotted at least 9 more tigers over last year's figures in the entire mangroves, including the tiger reserve area and the South 24-Parganas forest division. Read more

The Indian Express 10 Nov.2016 
Wildlife, environment protection in India dates back to Kautilya, Ashoka’s time: Wildlife conservation, particularly protection of elephants, in India dates back to fourth century BC during the time of Kautilya and Chandragupta Maurya, and there were severe penalty for those found guilty of cruelty to animals, US-based environmental attorney and  Read more