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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
100 days later, satellite-tagged whale shark circles back to Gujarat coast: WTI
Ahmedabad: A 28-foot whale shark tagged with a tracker in December completed a 4,000-kilometre journey across the Arabian Sea over 100 days and circled back to the starting point off the Gujarat coast, people familiar with the matter said. The whale shark, rescued from a fishing net, was satellite-tagged and released by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in a collaborative operation with the Gujarat Forest Department. It moved along India's western coastline, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala before reaching the Lakshadweep Islands, where it spent a week. The whale shark next ventured 700 kilometres from the Maharashtra coast to reach the Gulf of Oman, approached near Karachi, and ultimately returned to Veraval on April 4. 'This is the first time a whale shark tagged in India has returned to the coast. This supports our long-held theory that whale sharks in this region are residents of the Arabian Sea,' BC Choudhury, principal investigator of Aquatic Projects at WTI. Researchers said the whale shark's return to the Gujarat coast supports the idea that there was a unique group of whale sharks in the Arabian Sea. 'Previous tissue samples and genetic studies had suggested that whale sharks along the Indian coast may belong to a distinct group, and this tagged individual's homecoming adds weight to that theory,' he added. Choudhury said they needed to tag some more whale sharks for a longer duration before they could reach a firm conclusion. 'The whale sharks are breeding and aggregating off the Gujarat coast near Veraval, migrating and breeding exclusively in the Arabian Sea. We need more oceanographic data. For instance, we need to know why they come up to the sea's surface near Veraval. Is it due to the temperature?' according to Choudhury. He added that while whale sharks are known for long-distance migrations, the confirmation of a distinct regional group raises important conservation concerns. 'If there is only one such population in this part of the ocean, it becomes more vulnerable to local extinction,' he said. 'Just as the pride of lions in Gir is protected to preserve that endemic lineage, this whale shark population in the Arabian Sea must be treated with similar care, as it may not be found elsewhere in the same genetic form.' Jaipal Singh, principal chief conservator of forests (Wildlife), Gujarat, said the latest tagging showed that whale sharks have found a haven along the state's coast. Singh said close to 1,000 whale sharks have been saved along the coastline, a sharp contrast to the situation till the 1990s when whale sharks, the world's biggest fish, were killed for their fins and oil. Mike Pandey's 2000 documentary, Shores of Silence: Whale Sharks in India, exposed this crisis, winning the Wildscreen Panda Award and prompting action. In 2001, India listed whale sharks under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, banning hunting. Gujarat's forest department along with WTI and Tata Chemicals, launched the Save the Whale Shark Campaign in 2004. More than 950 whale sharks have been saved in Gujarat and the project, considered a model in community-led conservation, has since then been expanded to Kerala and Lakshadweep. A research study published in Frontiers in Marine Science on July 6, 2021, conducted by marine researchers from India and Australia, including researchers from WTI, tracked eight whale sharks off Gujarat from 2011 to 2017. Most of them remained near the Gujarat and Maharashtra coast, while two moved into the Arabian Sea, following frontal zones with sea surface temperatures of 24–29°C for efficient plankton foraging. 'The satellite tracking reveals these whale sharks, while part of the broader Indo-Pacific population, remain largely within the Arabian Sea, moving between the African coast in the west and the Indian coast in the east,' said Sajan John, head of WTI's Marine Projects. He said that the return to the tagging location indicates the site fidelity of the whale shark. 'Since whale sharks visiting the Gujarat coast exhibit site fidelity, it is very important to conserve these whale sharks because loss of these individuals over time period will be very detrimental,' he said. John said the geo-spatial migration in the context of the sea surface temperature suggests that the whale shark prefers warmer waters in the range of 25-30°C. 'Further, correlation with the global distribution of phytoplankton suggests the route through areas with high distribution of planktons, the main food for whale sharks,' he added.
NDTV
21-04-2025
- NDTV
Rare Star Tortoise Found Dead Near Temple In Andhra Pradesh, Probe Launched
Srikakulam: In a shocking incident that has sparked public outrage, rare star tortoises were found dead near the sacred Sri Kurmanatha Temple in Srikakulam district -- a revered shrine where Lord Vishnu is believed to have manifested in his Kurma (tortoise) avatar. The tortoises were reportedly dead right behind the office of the Executive Officer (EO). According to regulations, a post-mortem examination should have been conducted to determine the cause of death. Devotees have expressed deep disappointment over the incident. Gara Sub-Inspector Krishna Prasad stated that an investigation has been initiated, and the facts will be revealed soon. In November, Andhra Pradesh Forest officials arrested three people for illegal wildlife trafficking in Srikakulam. Intercepting their vehicle, the officials seized rare species of animals. According to an official press release, the accused were transporting rare species of animals from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, to Bengaluru. The seized animals included a seven-year-old African Sulcata tortoise, two one-year-old tortoises, 17 African ball pythons and a four-month-old serval cat. The suspects, identified as Syaj, Vijay, and Muzayith, were from the state of Karnataka. Cases have been filed against them, and they have been produced before a court, officials said. Animal Husbandry Department officials checked the health of the animals, which were found to be stable after receiving medical care. They will be moved to the Visakhapatnam Zoo. The forest officials said that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found harming or smuggling wildlife. The Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), a species native to northwest and southeast India, continues to face mounting threats from the illegal pet trade, according to the Wildlife Trust of India. The species, known for its distinctive star-like shell pattern, is classified as "Vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. It is also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), indicating that, although not currently threatened with extinction, the species could face such a risk if trade is not closely regulated. Under Indian law, the star tortoise is placed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, a category that offers the lowest level of legal protection to wildlife. Despite this, illegal trade continues to flourish, driven largely by demand in the exotic pet market.
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Miami Herald
04-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Rare creature — one that smells like buttery popcorn — seen on India trail camera
A trail camera in India's Balpakram National Park 'captured a rare sighting' of a uniquely musky mammal that likes to spend most of its time in the trees. There, on the forest floor, was a binturong — a creature reported to smell like buttered popcorn, according to wildlife experts. Their familiar scent comes from a chemical compound in their urine. Binturongs are the largest member of the civet family and can be found 'from northeast India to Southeast Asia,' the Wildlife Trust of India said in an April 2 Facebook post while sharing images of the animal. Officials said the species faces threats such as habitat loss, the pet trade, snaring and its 'use in traditional medicine across its distribution range.' It is considered a vulnerable species, according to the IUCN Red List. Wildlife experts said the species plays a 'vital role' in its habitat, specifically by helping to facilitate forest growth by dispersing seeds and ensuring the balance and survival of other species. Binturongs are one of only two meat-eating species with a prehensile tail, which helps them move about more easily in the trees. The species consumes fish, birds, carrion and leaves, experts said. The camera trap was set up by the Garo Green Spine Conservation Project team. which aims to 'connect the fragmented forest patches' from the West Garo Hills to Nokrek National Park, and eventually create an 'unbroken wilderness link' with Balpakram National Park, according to its website. The areas are in northeast India near the country's border with Bangladesh.
The Independent
18-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
India scrambles to set up new tiger reserves as big cat population booms
India 's wild tiger population has doubled in just over a decade, cementing its status as the global stronghold for the species. But with this success comes an urgent challenge – given their famously large ranges, where will all these big cats live? At least one aspect of India's answer comes in the form of new tiger reserves, with the government rapidly expanding its network of protected areas. Three new national parks have been established in just the last five months, taking the country's total to 58. They house 3,682 tigers, according to the most recent census in 2022, up from 1,706 in 2010. In theory that means an average of 63 tigers per park. But the problem for India's forest officials is that their distribution is not even – the newest reserve, named earlier this month as Madhav National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, was home to no tigers at all up until 2023. That changed with human intervention – the relocation of three tigers, which led to the birth of two cubs in the forest, reported India Today. In March, another tiger was introduced, strengthening the area's credentials as a potentially vital wildlife corridor linking the more famous and established reserves of Ranthambore, Kuno, and Panna. While India's conservation efforts have generally been praised, experts warn that protecting tigers is not just about increasing numbers. More than 60 million people live in areas overlapping tiger habitats, leading to growing concerns about human-wildlife conflict. At the same time, some reserves – especially in the eastern regions of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh – struggle with critically low tiger populations. Conservationists believe these regions could double their tiger numbers with better protection, cooperation with local residents and stricter anti-poaching measures. As India's tigers multiply, officials will face growing challenges – not just to count them, but to ensure they have enough space to survive, explains Milind Pariwakam, wildlife biologist and joint director at the Wildlife Trust of India. 'What matters is the location of the tiger reserve, the unique habitat type it protects,' he tells The Independent. Dr Medha Nayak, a conservation sociologist at the National Institute of Technology in Odisha, explains the importance of Madhav National Park's addition to the list of tiger reserves in the country. 'Madhav Tiger Reserve forms part of the Kuno landscape,' she says. 'It will facilitate wildlife movement from Kuno, Madhav and Panna. Moreover, it shall also provide connectivity to the tigers of Ranthambore in Rajasthan which is not very far, geographically,' she says, referring to the popular tiger reserve in the adjoining north-western state. 'Madhav Tiger Reserve is not only about securing a good habitat but also ensuring a corridor for secured wildlife movement,' she says. India's tiger conservation efforts have come a long way since 1973 when Project Tiger was launched to counteract the alarming decline in tiger numbers due to rampant hunting and deforestation. The initiative initially covered just nine reserves, but over the years the number has expanded to include diverse landscapes from the Shivalik Hills in the Himalayas to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans. While tigers can be found in areas outside these legally protected zones, they only thrive in large numbers near or within them, according to conservationists in the most recent 2022 Status of Tigers report for the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India. These high-density tiger populations play a crucial role in maintaining the species by producing young tigers that then spread across the landscape, wrote the authors of the paper Qamar Qureshi, Yadvendradev V Jhala, Satya P Yadav and Amit Mallick. This movement helps connect different tiger populations, which is vital for their survival by ensuring genetic diversity and stable numbers. Madhya Pradesh leads India's states in terms of tiger population, boasting 785 of the big cats within its nine reserves, according to the latest government figures. Other states with significant tiger populations including the southern state of Karnataka on 563 and Maharashtra with 444. The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand has 560 tigers, with Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve – named after an Anglo-Indian hunter and author born in India in 1875 – holding the largest single population with 260. But not all states or reserves have seen such success, and 16 national parks are rated as being on the verge of local extinction, according to The Indian Express. 'While overall numbers have gone up, tiger abundance and occupancy remains a concern in large parts of our forest network,' says Mr Pariwakam. 'Areas such as North and Western Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha have very low densities of tigers. These forests can easily help double the tiger numbers in the Central Indian and Eastern Ghats Landscape with no negative implications such as human-wildlife conflict,' he says. 'Even if these three states can harbour one tiger per 100 sqkm, which is a very low density, they can pack 1400 tigers in the forests available.' But the states need to focus on strengthening surveillance, as he highlights 'illegal hunting, forest fires, overall lack of protection and patrolling' as the major challenges in these areas. India's economic prosperity and social conditions play a crucial role in determining where tigers can thrive, research has revealed. While some states support high densities of tigers coexisting with human populations, others have seen their big cat populations dwindle due to poverty, poaching, and habitat loss. The study, Tiger Recovery Amid People and Poverty, published in the journal Science in January 2025, found that states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka host significant tiger populations alongside human settlements. However, in regions like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and northeast India – areas that include some of the nation's poorest districts, where bushmeat hunting and poaching have historically been prevalent – tigers are either absent or extinct. The authors suggest that economic prosperity, particularly in regions benefiting from tiger-related tourism and government compensation schemes for human-wildlife conflict, has contributed to better tiger conservation outcomes. However, they warn that development can also lead to land-use changes that harm tiger habitats. 'Tiger recovery is thus constrained at opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, by intensive urbanisation and poverty,' the study states. 'Hence, adopting an inclusive and sustainable rural prosperity in place of an intensive land-use change–driven economy can be conducive for tiger recovery, aligning with India's modern environmentalism and sustainability.'
