A leopard deity worshipped in hilltop shrines may help explain how people in Mumbai live alongside one of the world’s densest populations of wild leopards.
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Maharashtra has widened the legal protection around its forests in a single board meeting, upgrading two areas to wildlife sanctuaries and approving 14 more as conservation reserves across seven districts.
Fishing boats on the Tamil Nadu coast are landing fewer adult devil rays than they did in the early 2010s, which matters because these animals produce roughly one pup every two to three years.
Forest officials have vaccinated two female leopards against pregnancy and released them back into the wild, in a trial meant to ease conflict with people without killing or removing any animals.
Seed companies that profit from India’s crop varieties have paid ₹2.02 crore towards protecting the biodiversity those varieties came from, and the money is now reaching state-level bodies that can spend it on conservation in local communities.
Birdwatchers, farmers and forest staff across India are being asked to count the world’s tallest flying bird this weekend, in a survey meant to set a national baseline for a species that has been in decline.
TRAFFIC says the five orangutans found abandoned in Odisha last month show that India plays a part in the illegal trade in these apes.
Several of India’s best-known tiger reserves reopen their core zones on 1 October after the monsoon. Expect tall grass, full waterholes and a greener forest, and don’t count on a wave of new cubs just because the rains are over.
The Wildlife Conservation Trust closed its four-day Annual Review Meet in the Maharashtra gateway village of Sillari by handing out its top staff honour for heroics that had nothing to do with a tiger or an elephant.
Two of Maharashtra’s tiger reserves have turned out to be among the best places in India to release captive-bred vultures, with survival rates reaching as high as 78 per cent — a result landing just as the government pushes states to open up more Vulture Safe Zones nationwide.