This image was shot at 1209 hrs on 13th Oct 2012, at km 510/21 on the B-line of the Palakkad- Coimbatore railway line, a kilometre away from the Walayar Railway station, in Kerala. The B-line, which has been laid through the Walayar Reserve forest, bisects an elephant corridor. More than thirty elephants have been killed / maimed during the last two decades (see post on calf being run over), due to speeding trains between Kanjikode and Madukkarai (a … Read More
Macaque Eating Cookies, Pench Tiger Reserve
Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta), although seen in urban and rural areas, deserve the same respect as any other wild animal. They are mostly herbivorous and are known to occasionally eat insects. Processed foods, like biscuits and chips, are not a part of their natural diet.
This image of a macaque, eating from a packet of Oreo cookies, exemplifies the pitfalls of unregulated wildlife tourism. In May 2013, we came across this macaque at Rukhad, Pench Tiger Reserve, eating … Read More
Cormorant Caught in Fishing Net, Bhadra
We found a dead Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger) caught in a fishing net in the backwaters of the Bhadra Dam. Cormorants are fish-eaters, feeding on small eels, fish, and even water snakes. They dive underwater and propel themselves with their feet. Cormorants can dive to depths of upto 45 metres.
Birds like cormorants, as well as other animals like crocodiles, can get entangled in these fishing nets that are cast in rivers and backwaters. The dangers caused by … Read More
Tribals and Dhole, Nagarahole
On Saturday 13th April 2013, I was surprised to see these people / tribals walk along the Kabini backwaters in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve so close to the wild dogs. Just before walking past the wild dogs, they walked past some elephants as well.… Read More
A ‘Conflict’ of Words – One-sided Reporting Can Harm Wildlife
Scanning through wildlife news in Indian newspapers, a disturbing theme repeats itself – CONFLICT. Words frequently used include, ‘menace’, ‘threat’ and ‘fear’. These are repeated so often that every time someone mentions a wild animal, we assume some form of “conflict” or “threat”.
Headlines are written to grab eyeballs, and most often we are influenced and affected by them subconsciously. In a paper titled ‘Discourse analysis of newspaper headlines: A methodological framework for research into national representations’, by Christine Develotte … Read More
Catalysing Awareness — How Mumbai’s Media Represents its Leopards
The common leopard (Panthera pardus) is a highly adaptable species that is found throughout the country (and beyond) in a variety of habitats, from the pristine rainforests to human-modified and dominated landscapes. Despite its ability to survive on a wide range of prey species including the wild and the domestic, the leopard population is on a downward spiral owing to intense persecution and pressures of illegal wildlife trade.
Authors Saloni Bhatia, Vidya Athreya, Richard Grenyer and … Read More
Marsh Crocodile Dead After Swallowing Fishing Net, Ranganathittu
A male ‘Marsh crocodile’, found dead in Cauvery River at Ranganathittu bird sanctuary near Srirangapatna in the Mandya district on Monday night, swallowed a piece of fishing net.
The crocodile was around 40-years old. The carcass of the crocodile was found floating near an islet at the sanctuary on Monday night. There was some panic that it died of disease as at least 35,000 birds have nested on the trees at the islets at Ranganathittu. The incident has raised a … Read More
Electrocuted Elephant, Nagarahole
This magnificent tusker was electrocuted on Nov 12th, 2012, around 1 a.m., in Balle Range in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. The elephant was frequently seen in the area and was known to have sight in only one eye. As it was attempting to cross a tribal village, it appears to have entangled in a triangular section formed by an electric pole and the guy wires holding it up. The elephant’s attempts to free itself seem to have brought the guy … Read More
Domestic Dogs chasing Indian Wild Ass, Little Rann of Kutch
The Indian Wild Ass or Khur (Equus hemionus khur), is an endangered animal with its last refuge in India’s only wild ass sanctuary. The Khur was formerly widespread in the arid zone of northwestern India and Pakistan, westwards through much of central Asia. However, it is now limited to the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India. The khur probably went extinct in Baluchistan and the extreme south of Pakistan, on the Indian border, during the 1960s (Corbet … Read More
Wild Leopard Rescued From South Delhi in Major Operation
In a dramatic seven hour long rescue operation by NGOs Wildlife SOS and Friendicoes SECA with the cooperation of the Delhi Police and the Fire Department, a grievously injured adult leopard was rescued from South Delhi’s chattarpur area.
The wild leopard possibly from the Aravalli hills was spotted leaping onto a high wall of a farm house in Chattarpur DLF farms by a local guard. The leopard in an attempt to scale the 15 foot wall got impaled on the … Read More
Human-Tiger conflict in Russia and its relevance in India by Dr. John Goodrich — Bangalore, 3rd February 2013
Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) in association with Panthera, UK, is very happy to invite you to a talk titled “Human-tiger conflict in Russia and its relevance in India” by Dr. John Goodrich, Senior Tiger Program Director at Panthera (see bio). Given the backdrop of an alarming number of human-tiger conflict incidences in Karnataka, Dr. Goodrich’s talk will give a pertinent look at the issue and lessons we can learn from the world’s longest running radio-telemetry based tiger research … Read More
Palamu’s Killer Tracks
One of the biggest threats to the wildlife of Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR), spread over an area of 1130 sq.kms in West-Central Jharkhand, has been the New Delhi-Ranchi Railway line that slices through the Tiger Reserve’s core ranges of East & West Chhipadohar over a distance of 8 kms. About 70 trains — both passenger and freight — ply on this busy rail route everyday (these lines have been in existence before Palamu’s notification as a Tiger Reserve in 1973). … Read More
Elephant Taunting – A Despicable Spectator Sport in Coimbatore Forests
Editor’s note: This report exposes a serious problem that needs urgent resolution. CI requests journalists to highlight this issue so that the authorities put strong measures in place to stop it. We request all conservationists and conservation NGOs in Coimbatore to join hands to help the Forest Department in solving this problem urgently.
Coimbatore, often referred to as the Manchester of South India, harbours hundreds of factories and multinational companies, which need land and other resources. Despite this, the … Read More
Blackbuck and Sheep
This was photographed in a field near the Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve (formerly Maidenahalli) in Tumkur district, Karnataka. These free ranging blackbuck share their habitat with sheep herders and a lot of sheep. The sheep herders use dogs to protect their livestock and these dogs sometimes prey on newborn blackbuck — another threat to the numerous ones the reserve and the blackbuck already faces.
See this post for more conservation threats to the Jayamangali Blackbuck.… Read More
Cattle grazing inside Bandipur National Park
This was photographed in December 2011 in Bandipur National Park. … 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.
