Collared Owlet — a Terror for Small Birds

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In February 2020, I was on a birding trip to Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam with my wife. On the evening of 24th, I was waiting silently for over two hours to get a glimpse of the rare and elusive Black-tailed Crake while dusk was setting in.

Suddenly, I realized that several birds were mobbing and calling frantically at something. And there it was, one of the smallest and cutest birds of prey, the Collared Owlet. It had just killed … Read More

Saving the Elusive Pygmy Hog

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Thanks to a content sharing agreement with Livemint, we are able to bring some interesting conservation articles authored by Ananda Banerjee.

Success in conservation is usually measured by the effectiveness of steps to boost the numbers of big, charismatic species. In India, the stars are the Bengal tiger, followed by the Asiatic lion, the leopard, the elephant and the rhinoceros.

Assam, for instance, is celebrating an increase in the population of the endangered, greater one-horned rhinoceros by 250. Earlier this … Read More

Rewilding the Rare Pygmy Hog in Assam

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Thanks to a content sharing agreement with Livemint, we are able to bring some interesting conservation articles authored by Ananda Banerjee.

On 24 May, six little pigs trotted out of their wooden box enclosures to freedom, into the wild grasslands of Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary in north Assam. Those tiny pig steps could turn into a giant leap for conservationists.

Because these were no ordinary pigs but Pygmy Hogs, the smallest and rarest wild pig or hog on the planet. The … Read More

Rare Black-breasted Parrotbill Spotted In Manas

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The Black-breasted Parrotbill (Paradoxornis flavirostris) is one of India’s rarest, enigmatic and least-known birds. Till recently Debeshwari, in the Eastern Zone in Kaziranga, and Dibru-Saikhowa close to Tinsukia in N Assam were the only two places where the bird was found. However it seems that for the last few years the birds seem to have become extremely scare in these areas.

On 17th March 2011, birders Soma Jha and Sushmita Jha sighted this bird in Manas National Park … Read More

Joint Camera Trapping Between India And Bhutan Reveals 14 Tigers

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Reports from a joint camera trapping exercise in Manas were discussed between park officials of the the two countries — Manas National Park in India and the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. Fourteen tigers have been captured in the camera traps that scanned 650 sq km of protected area. Four tigers were “common”, ie. they were spotted in both countries. Seven tigers were male and six female, with the gender of one being difficult to ascertain. Officials from WWF … Read More

Manas and Kaziranga National Parks at Risk From Dams

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Manas National Park, which recently regained its World Heritage Site status continues to be at risk from hydel projects. The Kurichu hydro electric project (60 MW) and the Mangdechu hyrdro electric project (720 MW) in Bhutan are deemed likely to threaten Manas. The Kurichu dam has already flooded Manas once in 2004, killing large numbers of wildlife. Release of water from the dam has been reported on several occasions in the last six years creating floods in the Manas Biosphere … Read More

Golden Langur Conservation Awareness in Manas

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Locals in Manas, joined hands with the Bodoland Territorial Council, the Assam Forest Department and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) – Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to create an urgent campaign to save the highly endangered Golden Langur. Less that 2500 individuals are estimated to be found in the wild today. The species has suffered tremendously due to habitat loss and fragmentation, which forces them to descend to the ground where they are vulnerable to accidental death and … Read More

Proposal to Include Buffer Areas of Manas Under Field Director Control

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The Management Effectiveness Evaluation brought out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recommended that the buffer areas of the Manas Tiger Reserve under the control of Manas’ field director. Manas was notified as a tiger reserve in 2008, with 500 sq km as the core area and 2,337.10 sq km as buffer. Currently, the buffer areas are under the control of the Forest Chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council. The core … Read More

MoU on Wildlife Conservation in Bhutan

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India and Bhutan are working towards an MoU on Wildlife Cooperation. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had asked the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to identify and prioritize the transboundary protected areas for effective bio-diversity conservation. Of the five such areas that were selected, Manas is one of the shortlisted areas. The 2011 World Heritage Committee monitoring mission had recommended that the continuity of the Indo-Bhutan Manas Tiger Conservation Landscape was of major importance for establishing a tiger source … Read More

Manas Revival Possible Because of Role Reversal of Rebels

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The diverse and rich Manas Tiger Reserve has staged a revival of sorts after the Bodo insurgencies in the last 80s saw its wildlife and forest wealth being plundered. In 1992, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee demoted it to a “World Heritage Site in Danger” and faced prospects of being completely removed from the list. However, a turnaround occurred in 2003 when the Bodo Liberation Tigers gave up their weapons and the locals turned to being protectors. Around 40 former … Read More

Translocation of Swamp Deer Planned in Manas National Park

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In accordance with suggestions given by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC), the forest department is planning to increase the population of swamp deer in Manas National Park. Translocation of swamp deer from Kaziranga into Manas is planned as a three year project. Kaziranga has around 1200 swamp deer, whereas Manas has only 20. Eleven rhinos have been translocated from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary into Manas since 2008 and the translocation has been deemed successful.

The recovery plan has been prepared on … Read More

UNESCO Lauds Manas’ Revival, Removes Danger Tag

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The UNESCO removed the “danger” tag from Assam’s famed Manas National Park, a World Heritage site, acknowledging its revival. The Manas sanctuary, a national park, a tiger reserve, an elephant and a biosphere reserve, was listed as a World Heritage site in 1985. In 1992, it was declared a World Heritage site in Danger due to severe damages to the ecosystem during the civil unrest of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The name of the park comes from the Manas … Read More

Rescued Elephant Finds ‘Family’ in Manas, Assam

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Manas (Assam), June 10, 2011: A rare conservation success story is emerging from Manas National Park with the sighting of a rehabilitated elephant having been accepted into a wild herd – good news for conservationists currently pleading for the removal of the park from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

The elephant, named Hamren, was among the five hand-raised calves, relocated to Manas in January this year as part of the Elephant Reintegration Project – a joint venture … Read More