Page 8 - Wildlife

World Wildlife Day 2023: Spotlight on the role of business in conservation

This year's World Wildlife theme, 'Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation', celebrates all conservation efforts, right from inter-governmental initiatives, down to the local scale

Protecting animal habitats priority, says PM Modi on World Wildlife Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that protecting animal habitats has been a key priority for his government and this is bringing good results, as he extended wishes on World Wildlife Day. "On World Wildlife Day, best wishes to wildlife lovers and those working on wildlife conservation. Protecting animal habitats is a key priority for us and we have seen good results in that. The year gone by will always be remembered as the year we welcomed cheetahs to our nation," he said. World Wildlife Day is one of the United Nations international days to celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet.

Bengal Forest Dept to set limits within wildlife sanctuaries for tourists

The state forest department sources said that the exact reason behind the rhinos suddenly charging at the tourist safari jeep is yet to be ascertained

Census to find out the exact number of vultures flying across South India

The vulture census, which is being conducted jointly in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, will give an exact number of the vultures in South India

Decoded: How are tiger deaths investigated and what are the major causes

30 tigers have died in India in the first two months of 2023

Project Cheetah: Second batch of 12 to be flown in on Saturday

The project also plans to introduce additional prey in the larger enclosures, where the cheetahs were moved to after an initial stay in quarantine enclosures

380 tiger deaths since 2020 in India as population increases

Country has more than 70% of world's tiger count, expenditure on conversation project dipping

Twelve cheetahs to be translocated from South Africa to India on Feb 18

Twelve cheetahs will be translocated from South Africa to India on February 18, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Bhupender Yadav on Thursday

Jyotiraditya Scindia says 14-16 cheetahs to be translocated to India

As many as 14 to 16 cheetahs are expected to be translocated to India in the coming months, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday and asserted that the government is making holistic efforts for wildlife protection and sustainability. While emphasising the importance of protecting nature for future generations, he also said there is no space for a linear economy now and "there is no place for Take, Make, Dispose model". "Preserving wildlife and ensuring that it thrives is a very important part of our tradition as well as our treasure for us to maintain, develop and grow in a fiduciary role for the generations to come," Scindia said here. Briefing reporters about the government's initiatives for wildlife conservation over the last nearly nine years, Scindia said 14-16 more cheetahs are expected to be translocated to India in the coming months. At present, the government is working on the second phase of Project Cheetah and has signed a pact with South Africa. Cheetahs

Govt making holistic efforts for wildlife sustainability: Scindia

The government is making holistic efforts to ensure wildlife sustainability and protection, with the strategy focussed on four key pillars, including infrastructure, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. Briefing reporters here on the Union government's initiatives for wildlife conservation since 2014, Scindia said a 360 degrees approach has been adopted and emphasised the importance of "animal passage plans" along with development. With such plans, the effort is to ensure a safe environment for wildlife animals, the minister said. The strategy for wildlife conservation is focused on four pillars -- population, policy, people and infrastructure, Scindia added. He is in charge of ministries of civil aviation and steel.

Initial batch of 12 cheetahs to be flown in from South Africa in February

An initial batch of 12 cheetahs will be flown in from South Africa in February.

4 indigenous species in India that need conservation efforts in 2023

India has only about 300-900 Gharials, fewer than 1,000 Lesser Floricans, fewer than 250 Great Indian Bustards and only 674 Asiatic Lions

A tall order

Biodiversity targets will be hard to achieve

India's proposal for enhance protection to Leith's softshell turtle adopted

India's proposal for enhancing protection status to Leith's softshell turtle has been adopted at the ongoing world wildlife conference in Panama, the Union Environment Ministry said on Thursday. The country also proposed to give a higher degree of protection to the red-crowned roofed turtle or 'Batagur Kachuga' and received wide support from other parties at the 19th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP 19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) being held in Panama City from November 14 to 25. The transfer of Leith's softshell turtle from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I would ensure that legal international trade in the species does not take place for commercial purposes, the ministry said in a statement. "It would also ensure that international trade in captive-bred specimens only takes place from registered facilities and that higher and more proportionate penalties are provided for illegal trade of the species," it ...

Missing rare white-rumped vulture from Nepal found in Bihar's Darbhanga

A winged visitor, a rare white-rumped vulture, from Nepal which went missing some ten months ago, was found by Bihar's bird ringing station officials at Darbhanga after it went off the radar despite being radio tagged. The bird, belonging to a critically endangered species, was last sighted in the Himalayan nation's Tanahun district, and was found in a weakened condition as it was starving for want of food, according to officials. The white-rumped vulture was listed as a critically-endangered species in 2000 as its population declined rapidly, primarily as a result of feeding on carcasses of animals treated with the veterinary drug diclofenac, Chief Wildlife Warden PK Gupta told PTI. White-rumped vultures, found generally near human habitations, were very common in the Indian subcontinent, besides Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam. These birds feed mostly on the ground, but roost and nest in trees and cliffs, and spend much of their time soaring on wind current

Vulture population increases in Uttar Pradesh's Amangarh Tiger Reserve

The Amangarh Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a rise in the population of vultures.

Tamil Nadu notifies Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary as 17th sanctuary

The Tamil Nadu government has notified the Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary on 68,640 hectares as the state's 17th wildlife sanctuary, Chief Minister M K Stalin announced on Tuesday. The sanctuary, covering reserve forest areas in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts, is home to 35 species of mammals, 238 species of birds, Leith's soft shelled turtles, smooth coated otters, marsh crocodile and four horned antelopes, and is a wildlife paradise. Grizzled giant squirrel, four-horned antelope, and Lesser Fish Eagle which are exclusively dependent on the Cauvery river and its riverine forest ecosystem, are also found here. These are also red-listed and in urgent need for focused conservation and protection of their habitat. The sanctuary was notified under Section 26-A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, today. It will connect Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu with the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in neighbouring Karnataka thereby forming a large, contiguous network of .

Cheetahs flown from Namibia kill first prey in Kuno National Park

Two male cheetahs brought from Namibia to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh have made their first kill within 24 hours of their release from a quarantine area to a larger acclimatisation enclosure, an official said on Monday. The cheetahs hunted down a cheetal (spotted deer) either on Sunday night or in the wee hours of Monday, Chief Conservator of Forest Uttam Kumar Sharma told PTI. The forest monitoring team got this information on Monday morning, he said. This was the first prey of the felines after their translocation from Namibia to India in mid-September along with six other cheetahs, the official said. The cheetahs - Freddie and Alton - were the first pair to be released into the larger enclosure on Saturday after being quarantined since September 17. The successful first hunt by the cheetahs within 24 hours of moving to the larger enclosure has also allayed the park management's concerns about their prey hunting ability. The cheetahs eat their prey within two hours

1 killed, 6 injured as wild boars go on rampage in Odisha's Ganjam village

A 62-year-old woman was killed and six others were injured when wild boars attacked them in Odisha's Ganjam district on Sunday, police said. The incident happened in Ramapalli village near Kodala in Polasara forest range, they said. People of Ramapalli, Beruabadi and Marudi villages were working in their farmland when they were attacked by the wild boars, said Dilip Kumar Rout, the divisional forest officer (DFO) of Ghumusar South. Bharati Swain succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at the Kodala Community Health Centre, he said. Those injured were later shifted to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. The conditions of two of them are stated to be serious, officials said. "The wild boars, which have strayed into the area, have destroyed crops on acres of land," said Debendra Swain of Ramapalli village. The DFO said 30 forest personnel have been deployed to capture the wild boars.

Quarantine clearance received for 8 cheetahs in Kuno National Park

After getting clearance from the concerned ministry, two male cheetahs were released in a acclimatisation enclosure of Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Saturday