Study flags chemical contamination risk to endangered Gangetic dolphins
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New Indian Express
14-08-2025
- New Indian Express
Here's a handy guide to keep feet of captive elephants healthy
COIMBATORE: The health of captive elephants is expected to improve with the launch of new guidelines focused on foot health on Tuesday. The guide 'Healthy Feet, Healthy Elephants' has been prepared by the Project Elephant and the Elephant Cell at the Wildlife Institute of India. It has included recommendations from an expert committee on maintaining captive elephants in a hygienic atmosphere. Foot problems are among the leading causes of morbidity in captive elephants. Their feet are particularly vulnerable to a range of ailments that can significantly impact their health, comfort, and longevity. Limited movement, altered foraging behaviour and exposure to artificial substrates are prime factors. Abscesses, cracks, foot rot, arthritis, and even fatal infections are often found in captive elephants. The guide will provide a deep understanding of the biological and anatomical basis of the elephant feet, diet, and impact of substrate on foot health. It offers practical, hands-on instructions for foot inspection, trimming, treatment and prevention. The document also helps the budding veterinarians to do quick reference and is a training resource that encourages regular, preventive foot care. "One of the most important aspects of an elephant is its foot. For an elephant, the foot is as important as the heart, and the new guidelines will be useful for the veterinarians, temple authorities, and private owners to take care of the animals," said Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, who released the guide during the World Elephant Day 2025 celebration in Coimbatore on Tuesday. Dr N Kalaivanan, Forest Veterinary Officer at the Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve and one of the contributors to the guide, said "In humans, cattle, and most other wild animals, the digits (fingers and toes) are separated. If one gets infected, it can affect the entire leg. But in elephants, the digits are structured together to support their massive weight. Elephants actually stand on their toes, and an average adult weighs between 4,000 and 4,500 kilograms. They also use their feet to communicate by stomping the ground, sending seismic signals that other elephants can detect up to a kilometer away. Remarkably, they can even sense seismic waves from earthquakes occurring as far as 100 km away.
Time of India
10-08-2025
- Time of India
Parthenium eradication drive in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary to protect grasslands
Guwahati: Parthenium, which is believed to have entered India as a contaminant in wheat shipments from the US more than 70 years ago, has emerged as a major threat to grasslands in Assam's Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world. Colloquially known as the 'Congress grass', the name has been associated with Parthenium because it grows at a fast pace in fallow lands, including wildlife sanctuaries, said well-known botanist and chairman of state expert appraisal committee for union forest ministry Jatindra Sarma. An invasive weed from the Asteraceae family, Parthenium hysterophorus has spread aggressively, invading an estimated 1 million hectares of land across the country, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, as per reports. Forest officials cautioned that Parthenium is notorious for causing various issues such as skin allergies, fever and reducing agricultural productivity and biodiversity. To get rid of it and save the indigenous species of grass for the rhinos, park authorities have eradicated Parthenium across seven hectares in the sanctuary over the last two days. "Rhinos feed on 11 types of grasses found in Pobitora. The invasion of Parthenium has been worrying in the last two to three years. Its growth is significant this year due to fewer floods," Pobitora range officer Pranjal Baruah said on Sunday. As part of a three-day campaign of 'Parthenium Free Pobitora', on the first day, i.e., on Saturday, about 5.2 hectares of Parthenium was cleared by about 40 forest staff, who were led by Baruah. The drive continued on Sunday, with the team clearing a two-hectare area from the Tamuliduva area, along with members of EDCs and Pobitora Jeep Safari Association. "Special precautions have been taken for the forest staff to avoid Parthenium allergy during the drive. Also, special emphasis has been given by the sanctuary authority for the improvement of the habitat of rhinos and other animals by way of weed eradication, soil moisture conservation, etc., so that the carrying capacity of the ecosystem can be enhanced," said Baruah On Monday, the remaining part of about five hectares of Tamuliduva and Kamarpur areas will be covered under the drive. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
10-08-2025
- Time of India
Smaller cats give big cousins a run for their money in Bengal's tiger turf
1 2 3 4 Kolkata: A recent study by the Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on lesser cats in tiger landscapes has found that of the nine lesser cat species in India, six are found in Bengal. Assam is the only other state with the presence of six lesser cats. During the All-India Tiger Estimation exercises, 26, 838 cameras were deployed in 2018-2019, followed by 32, 588 in 2022-2023, across the tiger-range forests in India. Camera trap pairs were placed in 2 square kilometre grids, designed to capture tiger, leopard along with other carnivores. In Bengal, of the 200 grids surveyed, lesser cats — jungle cat, leopard cat, fishing cat, clouded leopard, marbled cat and Aisatic golden cat — were found occupying 166 grids. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata If taken into account an independent study on pangolins by city-based NGO HEAL in Purulia's Kotshila range, Bengal is also home to rusty spotted cat — world's smallest and lightest cat — that made its debut in the state's wild this Jan. The study also highlighted Sundarbans as a stronghold for leopard cats. However, it also sounded alarm over the relatively low occupancy of jungle cats in the mangroves — the species which was found widely distributed in India. Fishing cat presence remained moderate to high in the Sundarbans. While leopard cat occupancy remained largely consistent across landscapes compared to 2018-19, Sundarbans represented a key stronghold for the species with consistently high occupancy, the study revealed. However, even though the jungle cat is widely distributed across a variety of habitats from semi-arid regions to dense rainforests, its occupancy shows marked variation across landscapes. "The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem showed predominantly low occupancy, with only isolated pockets of moderate to high occupancy along its northern fringes," it said. "Based on the single-season occupancy model, moderate to high occupancy was recorded for fishing cats in the Sundarbans, followed by Kaziranga and Orang tiger reserves in NE. In NE India and the Sundarbans, fishing cat occupancy remained largely unchanged, although a few peripheral grids outside protected areas exhibited declines," the study highlighted. For marbled cats, the study decoded high occupancy in north Bengal's Neora Valley National Park and low occupancy in Buxa, Gorumara and Jaldapara national parks in the same region. However, Buxa has recorded high occupancy of another lesser cat — clouded leopard. Whilemoderate occupancy was recorded in Neora Valley and Gorumara, its presence was found to be low in Jaldapara and Mahananda. The occupancy of Asiatic golden cat, the largest among the Asian small cats, was found to be moderate in the forests of Neora Valley and Buxa, the study said. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
