Union minister for corporate affairs, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily has written a letter to the Union environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, asking that a decision to include 455.96 sq kms of land with the Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuary, be reconsidered. Wildlife experts and enthusiasts are enraged that this maybe the work of timber and mini-hydel mafias. Moily’s letter states that the inhabitants are in fear of losing their agricultural land. The Joint director of Wildlife has forwarded the letter to the Principal … Read More
Elephant Crossing, Bandipur
An elephant herd crossing the road (NH 67, Gundlupet – Ooty) in Bandipur National Park after a patient wait. Ironically, even inside a protected area, these animals don’t seem to have right of way inspite of the carefully placed boards near crossings animals prefer. A group of ill-informed motorcyclists were off their vehicles trying to take pictures of the herd which had lined up to cross the road. Soon many vehicles crowded the road stopping traffic and preventing the elephants … Read More
Poaching For Crude Medicines Continues To Threaten Nilgiri Langurs
Poaching continues to be the key threat for Nilgiri Langurs, where their pelt, organs, blood and flesh are used to produce crude medicines and aphrodisiacs. This was highlighted by the National Studbook on Nilgiri Langurs, released recently by the Central Zoo Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India. Prior to the Wildlife Protect Act, 1972, these crude medicines were widely available and even advertised. Karinkorangu Rasayanam was one of the leading products at that time. With the act and campaigning … Read More
Environment Ministry Seeks Restoration of Night Traffic on Highways Through Bandipur
The Karnataka High Court had banned night traffic, between the hours of 9 PM and 6 AM, through the two national highways that cut through Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The Karnataka Forest Department had provided evidence that wildlife including elephants and tigers were being regularly killed after being run over by vehicles and were also being driven out of the forest due to sound and light disturbance. Based on these evidences, the High Court had passed the order. However, the Ministry … Read More
An Electrocuted Elephant
Several elephants die in India every year by electrocution. Some of these are electrocutions related to electric fences of farmers adjoining protected areas — like this one near Bhadra — or coming into contact with overhead power lines that hang lower than the regulation height above the ground.… Read More
Private Tour Operator Vehicles Banned in Karnataka’s Protected Areas
From September 1st, only state-owned Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) will be permitted to operate in sanctuaries and national parks. This was based on the conclusion that the current process for granting permission to tour operators was intransparent and discriminatory. Jungle Lodges and Resorts stated that it was able to meet this demand. It was also decided that JLR would reserve 50 percent of the vehicles for its own guests and the other 50 percent for guests from other resorts. … Read More
Closing Highways to Night Traffic — A Case Study From Karnataka
This Conservation India exclusive by Sanjay Gubbi, Assistant Director, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Member, State Board for Wildlife, Karnataka, highlights the conservation threat posed by roads and highways through PAs, showcases successful night closures of two major highways running through Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and provides tips and inspiration for road closures in other protected areas.
Background: Impacts of roads on wildlife
India is in a phase of rapid infrastructural growth where improving the surface transport system is … Read More
Watchers and Guards — Unsung Heroes of Wildlife Conservation
Originally published in The Hindu Survey of the Environment 2011.
Scorching sun, raging fires, inhospitable terrains and a few men trying to douse fires in these hostile conditions. Does this sound like a science fiction from a Hollywood blockbuster, unfortunately you are wrong. This is the scene in several of our protected areas during summers and few can bear with these situations and continue to fight for a cause. This clan has continued with this daunting task for decades in … Read More
CEC Report Calls Mining in Chitradurga and Tumkur Illegal and Irresponsible
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court, submitted a report that agrees with the Karnataka Lokayukta in calling the iron ore mining in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts as illegal and irresponsible. The amicus curiae, A D N Rao has said that the adverse effects in both districts were identical to the one witnessed in Bellary and has advocated that mining be controlled by the apex court, as it was done in Bellary. The court has issued a … Read More
First Conviction in Karnataka for Tiger Poaching
Three poachers have been convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Bangalore. The three had been arrested in an operation in 2008 for possession of tiger paws, tiger pelts and bones. The conviction is a first of its kind for the State. Though the sentence is light, conservationists are happy that convictions have finally started. For many years, arrests have made news but the culprits would eventually go scot-free. The Upparpet police … Read More
Supreme Court Suspends Mining in Bellary, Karnataka
The Supreme Court suspended mining in 10,868 hectares in Bellary district of Karnataka. The court also said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests will come out with a report on how much Iron ore is needed for the country’s steel industry and also spell out how much is to be domestic and how much needs to be imported. The bench’s decision came after a report from the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) that said that illegal mining was not only … Read More
Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve Notified
An area of 299.52 sq kms has been declared as the Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve in Karnataka. Lion-tailed Macaque (LTM) distribution in the Karnataka forests has been studied over the years by various scientists. A detailed survey along with Vijay Mohan Raj, DFO and Mr K. Santhosh, with the financial support from Karnataka Forest Department, Rufford Small Grants, Primate Action Fund (Conservation International) and Primate Conservation Inc. was carried out in 2008. This study confirmed the results of our … Read More
Leopard Runover by Truck on Bangalore NICE Road, Feb 2011
A leopard was run over by a heavy vehicle on the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) Road, connecting Bannerghatta Road and Kanakapura Road. It shows how much the urban sprawl have begun infringing on wildlife habitat. Forest officials and the Bannerghatta police, who visited the spot visit in the morning, said that the leopard sustained head injuries and died on the spot. The forests urban department which has ordered a probe is in the process of identifying the vehicle from … Read More
Rare Wayanad Laughing Thrush Spotted After 23 years in Uttara Kannada
The rare Wayanad Laughing Thrush has been spotted again in the forests of the Joida Taluk in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. Dr. Ranjit Daniels had discovered the bird in these same forests in 1988. Prasanna Parab has discovered the bird in the Diggi Forests now. Only three species are found in South India — all enedmic to the Western Ghats. Parab has also spotted other rare birds such as the Malayan Night Heron and the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon in the … Read More
NTFP Collection and its Impact on Forests in the BR Hills, Karnataka
Although the collection of NTFPs (Non-Timber Forest Products) is an age-old practice in India and many other parts of the world, there is little concrete knowledge about the sustainability of long-term, intensive extraction of forest fruits, roots, shoots, bark, resins and other products, and what ecological changes follow the commercialization of an NTFP. Such information is required – by foresters, conservationists and local people – to understand the ways in which wild resources are being manipulated, the subsequent ecological impacts, … 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.
