Last Day! The Hills of Murugan – Photo Exhibition by Ian Lockwood
An exhibition of photographs and annotated maps by veteran photographer Ian Lockwood.
Rare Bird Sighted in Pulicat lake, Tamil Nadu Coast
Birders and nature lovers were in for a treat this season.
A rare pelagic bird was sighted near the Pulicat coast in the last week of April, 2018. This is the first time the bird was sighted near Chennai. There are only two previous records from Tamil Nadu.
Lesser Noddy (Anous tenuirostris) is a bird that is closely related to terns. Pelagic birds spend most of the time in the sea and visit the shores only when they breed.
Pulicat … Read More
To Chop, or Not to Chop? The Issue of Exotic Invasive Trees in the Western Ghats
The Tamil Nadu Forest department is required to respond to a petition filed in the Madurai High court that asked the Forest Department to act to solve a problem. This problem has been in the making for over 50 years and has no simple solution. I define the problem, its complexities, and some interventions that could help guide a response to the court order in the short-term, and possibly address the problem in the long-term.
The problem
Over fifty years … Read More
Ingenious Snare, Kanchipuram
This ingenious snare was set just outside a scrub forest in Kanchipuram district. The small patch of scrub forest supports axis deer, monitor lizard, wild pig, peafowl, partridge and black-naped hare. The snares in this area are primarily set for trapping black-naped hare and birds.
While on a casual stroll on 19th June 2013, I came across this set-up and informed the staff of the near-by forest office. Numerous snares such as this are silently concealed in and around our … Read More
Wetlands in Peril, Chennai
While driving to work on 13th July 2016, I witnessed rapid changes to the remaining wetlands patches along the Old Mahabalipuram Road in Chennai. Studies show that due to rapid city expansion, Chennai’s wetlands have shrunk to alarming proportions.
At a national scale, one-third of the India’s wetlands are already wiped out or severely degraded because of encroachment. Wetlands that were once home to numerous species of flora and fauna have been replaced by concrete jungles virtually in the blink … Read More
Lights on for Elephants
Technology offers solutions for Human-Elephant Conflicts.
The dark hulks ambled in a single file across the stark green landscape of thigh-high tea bushes. Without a pause in their stride, the elephants made their way towards a tiny patch of forest. Save for the tree crickets, there were no other sounds. Had it been daytime, the elephants would have been harassed by people behaving like neurotic monkeys. On such occasions, despite their size, the elephants seemed so vulnerable, with nowhere to … Read More
Brown Mongoose, Valparai
The brown mongoose (Herpestes fuscus) is restricted to evergreen forests, plantations and even human habitations in the Southern Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Not much is known about this species compared to other mongooses. Camera trap surveys suggest that they are less diurnal and more crepuscular than other species of mongooses.
During a recent visit to Valparai we came across a brown mongoose in a small stream amidst tea plantations. Valparai is possibly the best place to observe … Read More
Urgent — Help Safeguard the Western Ghats!
Urgent! Time is short, so please act immediately – your appeal to the Central Government can help safeguard the Western Ghats. Use the form below to write to the minister.
I support the Government’s decision to declare 56,825 square kilometres of the Western Ghats as Eco Sensitive Area (see contents of the letter below the form).
This campaign is now closed. We received support from more than 3500 concerned citizens. We are now sending a consolidated letter to the ministry, … Read More
Gaur in Town!
This image of Gaur in Kodaikanal town in the Palani Hills of South India represents a common sight these days. The reasons for their sauntering into urban areas and hanging around need to be studied in detail, but some, or several, of the following factors, may play a role: habitat fragmentation due to the haphazard growth of Kodaikanal town, private estates, and plantations (and perhaps the fencing around these lands), rampant tourism and development, invasion of the shola-grassland ecosystem by … Read More
3rd Tamil Birders Meet — PSN College of Engineering and Technology, Tirunelveli, November 12 & 13, 2016
The 3rd Tamil Birders Meet is going to be on 12th and 13th November 2016 at PSN College of Engineering and Technology, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
Please fill out this form and register for this meet: https://goo.gl/forms/bS1qRDpkCBQoGw4a2
If you have any specific queries kindly write to tnebirder@gmail.com.
Details of the previous meets can be accessed here: http://www.birdcount.in/tamilbirds/tamil-birders-meet/… Read More
Declining Indian Fisheries: Perceptions of Fisher Folk from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
Although over four million people worldwide are dependent on wild-caught fish as a source of protein, marine fish are not at the top of the conservation radar. Although fish are among the most important components of marine ecosystems after plankton, they are most seriously threatened by human activities in the sea. In recognition of this fact, fisheries across the world are being managed based on estimates of sustainable harvest rates for each population of fish. However this requires intensive data … Read More
Tahr Alert in Tamil Nadu
The Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is an endangered ungulate found on remote mountain slopes in the southern Western Ghats. Found in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, their current range has been greatly reduced to a mere 400 kilometers. These animals are found among the rocky cliffs of montane grasslands, and it is estimated that around 3000 individuals are distributed evenly between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Eravikulam National Park and the grassy slopes of the Anamalai hills are the only … Read More
Science-based Approach to Promote Human-Elephant Coexistence — Lessons from Valparai
Understanding human-elephant interactions is critical for conservation of elephants outside Protected Areas. One of the intriguing questions is how can a person weighing 50kg and a 5000kg animal coexist with no barrier between them?
Conflict incidents frequently lead to use of reactive measures such as chasing elephants, capture and translocation, or retaliatory persecution, but these often fail to resolve conflicts on a sustained basis, empower communities to implement solutions, or help conservation of elephants. Long-term research on behavioural and ecological … Read More
Gaur Crossing, Beware!
As though to justify a road-side sign warning vehicles to go slow, an Indian gaur crosses the road in front of a motorcyclist. This image was taken late in the evening on the outskirts of Valparai, Tamil Nadu.
Valparai has vast tracts of tea estates that are surrounded by forests. As the day comes to an end, gaur move from the forest patches to graze on the grass growing within tea estates. This is the time at which they are … Read More
“What’s that Lizard?” Workshop — Chennai, May 7 – 8, 2016
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust/Centre for Herpetology (MCBT/CFH) is organising a 2 day 1 night workshop for people who are interested in learning more about lizards in particular as we have a variety of them including our recent additions, the largest lizards in the world. This is part 3 of MCBT/CFH’s 4 part “What’s that Reptile?” series and the last part is “What’s in that Shell?”, which will deal exclusively with Chelonians.
For more information on any of these workshops, please … Read More
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