India plans new railway through protected areas, threatens already-imperiled wildlife
—Special report by Sanjay Gubbi and Shreya Dasgupta— On a winter day in November 2013, a passenger train in the eastern state of West Bengal in India collided with a herd of 40 to 50 elephants, killing five adults and two calves. This was not an isolated event. Such grisly incidences have killed tigers, leopards and several other wildlife species in the past. In fact, train-kills like these have become a routine...
Tiger Cub Caught on Camera
Written by Jemma Smith This image of a 4-5 month old tiger cub was recently captured on a remote camera in the India’s Bhadra Tiger Reserve. The Bhadra reserve was identified by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as one of 42 ‘source sites’ that are essential for the future of tigers. These sites are found within 9 different countries and are home to 70% of the remaining tiger population; although only make up 6% of their range....
Rising hope for Asia’s vultures?
Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction from The RSPB on Vimeo. Vultures may not get a lot of love, or respect for that matter, from the public, but they play a vital role in cleaning up and recycling nature’s waste, which also helps prevent diseases from spreading. Vultures were once abundant throughout Asia, but that was until veterinary drug diclofenac became common. Used on cattle and livestock, researchers discovered...
Video: bizarre purple frog sounds like a squeaky toy
Native to India, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The species is also a focal amphibian for the innovative ZSL EDGE program, which selects the species it works with based on their evolutionary uniqueness and threat level. According to the EDGE website: “The purple frog is the sole representative of an ancient lineage of frogs that has been evolving independently for...