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Eight of 12 villages reject mining in Niyamgiri hills

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Juli 2013 | 22.33

NEW DELHI: Vedanta may have look for an alternative mining site to feed its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha as its plan to mine Niyamgiri hills in the state may not get the Union environment ministry's nod amid strong protests from villagers.

Government sources indicated that since eight of the 12 gram sabhas rejected the state's proposal to allow bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills, the ministry, which will have to submit its report to the Supreme Court, may not go against the wishes of villagers.

Though the remaining four villages are still to express their view, it will be difficult for the government to go against the majority opinion.

After setting up a one million tonne per annum alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, Vedanta had entered into an agreement with the Odisha government for supply of bauxite through the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation. This move was, however, challenged by anti-displacement groups and the company could never operate its plant at full capacity due to shortage of bauxite.

The Supreme Court had on April 18 asked the Odisha government to go to gram sabhas to look into the religious and cultural aspects of the (Dongaria Kondh) tribals in the region in three months and take a decision.

Independent observers of the state government will write to the Union environment ministry once all 12 gram sabhas come out with their views. The ministry will, then, submit its report to the Supreme Court within three months.


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WWF ties up with bookstore chain to save one-horn rhinos

KOLKATA: To save the endangered one-horned rhinoceros in Assam from extinction, WWF-India has tied up with a bookstore for raising funds and increasing public consciousness on the issue.

"The partnership will support our rhino conservation programme and the wild wisdom quiz. Further, we will together reach out to many individuals of the younger generation through the medium of books and small programmes to make for a better natural environment," Ravi Singh, CEO of WWF-India, said.

Among the worlds' most endangered species, rhinos have been poached for their horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines. Destruction of their habitat over the years, has brought the rhinos to the brink of extinction with only about 2,700 of them remaining in the wild.

Through a series of joint events, campaigns and workshops, the Oxford bookstore will become a hub of learning for young minds interested in ecology.

Every transaction at the bookstore will contribute towards supporting WWF-India's 'Wild Wisdom quiz', an environment education programme to inspire the young generation about the values of conservation and enlighten them about concerns of the natural environment.

"We firmly believe in putting our energies into giving back to nature and this was a great opportunity to do so. We look forward to raising awareness and funds towards WWF-India's conservation programmes," said Priti Paul, Director of Apeejay Surrendra Group which runs the national chain of bookstores.


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Gujarat readies to clone its lions

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 30 Juli 2013 | 22.33

AHMEDABAD: Like humans, Asiatic lions now have a gene bank with a cloning facility. In collaboration with the Gujarat State Bio-Technology Mission (GSBTM), the forest department has already collected 80 strains of DNA of the Asiatic lion.

The DNA banking of lions will not only be useful for further disease and management related issues, but will also help to have healthy lion genes. An exclusive "Institute of Wildlife Genomics and DNA Banking" will be set up by the end of this year.

Akshaykumar Saxena, the GSBTM Director, says, "The institute is a joint collaboration of the forest department and the GSBTM, and will come up in Gandhinagar. We are already working on the project."

The institute will help the department to overcome fears that the genes of the lion are deteriorating, as the institute will have a data bank of genes of different types of lions in Gir region.

Having lineage data will help the wildlife experts evaluate breeding stress and disease susceptibility, say officials. The DNA bank will also have embryo transfer technology to supplement highly endangered species.

An official says, "The institute will help identify the cats with the best genes, which will be introduced at the gene pool centers set up at Sakarbaugh Zoo and Rampara Virdi."

Once the institute is fully operational, various studies related to diseases and other management aspects of lions will be taken up. The genetic material stored in these banks will be used to increase genetic diversity. Material from DNA banks can be used to infuse small populations with new genetic material, increasing their chances of survival. Another goal of DNA banks is to increase the population size.

In 1999, at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, a domestic housecat gave birth to an African wildcat kitten that had been frozen as an embryo in a DNA bank. This was the first example of interspecies birth. In 2000, the Center produced test-tube Caracal cats from sperm that had been stored in their DNA bank.

Officials say that the GSBTM is also in the process of collecting samples of cubs born at Rampara virdi to study their genes. The GSBTM also plans to carry out a study of the Pestes Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV). Earlier in May a false alarm citing the death of an Asiatic lion was raised following the outbreak of PPRV virus in Gir lions. The lion had in fact died in 2006.


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Nepal sees remarkable rise in tiger numbers

KATHMANDU: The tiger population has zoomed by more than 50 percent in Nepal but the big cat still faces plenty of dangers.

The government Monday came out with its latest tiger census, putting their number across the country at 198. This is a rise of 63 percent compared to 2009 when the last count was taken.

Although Nepal had vowed to double the tiger population by 2022, illegal trade with China and India, uncontrolled poaching, habitat disturbance and conservation are the major concerns.

"Nepal's results are an important milestone to reaching the goal of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022," said Megh Bahadur Pandey, the head of the department of national parks and wildlife conservation.

"Tigers are a part of Nepal's natural wealth, and we are committed to ensuring these magnificent wild cats have their prey, protection and space to thrive."

Tigers are found in the Terai arc stretching some 960 km across 15 protected area networks in Nepal and India.

Nepal and India embarked on the first ever joint tiger survey using a common methodology in January.

In Nepal, the field survey was carried out between February and June followed by two months of data analysis to arrive at the final estimates.

It was agreed by the two governments that each country could release its national estimates and a joint report will be released later.

Nepal's analysis covered five protected areas and three corridors.

It revealed that tiger population had tripled at the Bardia National Park (BNP) from 18 in 2009 to 50, and doubled in Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, from eight in 2009 to 17.

The BNP is one of the best wild reserves for the endangered big cats.

Tiger numbers at the Chitwan National Park, home to Nepal's largest number of wild tigers, have also increased, from 91 in 2009 to 120.

The results have shown a comeback of tigers in the recently declared Banke National Park -- with the presence of four tigers.

"While we celebrate the positive results from this tiger survey, WWF calls on the government of Nepal to redouble efforts to protect these conservation gains that could easily be lost as human-tiger conflict increases and illegal wildlife trade empties our forests," stated Anil Manandhar, country representative of WWF Nepal.

"Tigers are an iconic symbol of wild nature, and WWF will continue to work closely with the government, conservation partners and local communities in Nepal," he added.

Many wildlife experts have often raised concerns over methodologies used during previous tiger counts.

The constant rise in tiger population after every census in resent years, they claimed, was not justifiable as the counts were carried out at different intervals instead of being done concurrently in all habitats.

Officials claimed that this time scientific tools were used to bring accuracy in the census.


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Myzore zoo successfully pairs two wild tigers

Written By Unknown on Senin, 29 Juli 2013 | 22.34

MYSORE: This Global Tiger Day, there is something to rejoice. Captive breeding of tigers in India could now have a new genetic variant as the Mysore Zoo has been successful in breeding cubs by mating two wild tigers from different habitats.

Experts said it will help in captive breeding of big cats given that the young cubs carry a new gene pool, which will avoid inbreeding complications including premature deaths.

The Global Tiger Day, also called International Tiger Day celebrated on July 29, is celebrated to create awareness on tiger conservation by promoting a system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers, to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.

Four years after she was rescued from Bababundangiri hills in Muthodi Range, which is now part of buffer area of Bhadra tiger reserve, and moved to the Mysore facility, Anu has given birth to four cubs after the zoo's gambit of mating her with Brahma paid off. Anu was three months old when she was rescued. As she was of wild origin, the zoo management decided to pair her with wild cat Brahma, who has successfully mated with captive-born tigress Manya and sired six cubs in the zoo, zoo director B P Ravi said.

Anu gave birth to four cubs on July 18 of which two, both female, died within hours after their birth. As it was her first litter, Anu did not know how to clean the cubs and had licked the two cubs vigorously and had bitten them near the umbilical region leading to their death. "Anu is taking care of remaining two cubs well. Both the cubs are drinking milk at regular intervals and moving around in the den. As per he zoo records, this is the first successful pairing of wild tigers leading to breeding of wild cubs," he said.

Tiger ecologist Samba Kumar said Mysore zoo's success will help in captive breeding of tigers. "The new born cubs have a new gene pool and certainly help in captive breeding programmes of big tigers," he explained.

A vet, who has worked in tiger reserves, told TOI that new genetic variant will reduce inbreeding depression. "Due to inbreeding, the big cats face problems including decreased life expectancy. There is no free movement of tigers across tiger habitats too which has limited creation of newer gene pool in the wild. Mysore zoo's experiment could come in handy," he explained.

However, the tigers bred in zoo cannot be relocated to the wild. It is of little significance to tiger conservation in the wild, an expert said.

QUOTE

The cubs have a new gene pool and certainly help in captive breeding programmes of big tigers

Samba Kumar, ecologist

WILD CATS, NEW GENE

* Anu is from Bhadra and Brahma from Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary in Kodagu

* They were paired in April this year

* Anu gave birth to four cubs on July 18 of which two died

* The zoo now has two cubs with genetic variant, which will help in captive breeding


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All modern day birds evolve from feathered dinosaurs: Expert

INDORE: All the bird species one earth today are glorified dinosaurs and all of them have evolved from small feathered dinosaurs, said professor emeritus of Centre for Advanced Studies in Geology and international expert on dinosaur fossils, Dr Asho Sahni here on Sunday.

Sahni, who was in Indore for launch workshop of National Dinosaur Fossils Park at Bagh in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, said it is believed that dinosaurs are the prehistoric ancestors of modern day birds.

Sahni, however, said there is nothing unusual about it, evolution is natural phenomena. Human have evolve from apes, similarly feathered dinosaurs slowly evolve into birds. He added that dinosaurs were just a wildlife of past.

During the Jurassic period one of the earliest known birds lived and breathed next to dinosaurs. This 150-million year old bird is called Archeopteryx. It is believed to be the "missing link" between birds and dinosaurs.

Elaborating further, Sahni said average mean temperature of earth at present is around 15 degree Celsius and average mean temperature of earth at the time dinosaurs were found was around 24 to 26 degree Celsius. At that time environment of earth was very hot and dinosaurs were cold blooded animals, over the period of time temperature of earth witness lots of fluctuations and in order to insulate there body from external temperature small dinosaurs develops feathers. Slowly there feathers evolve with the time, as selective evolution theory says parts of organ of the living creature grows more if the use of that particular organ or part is more.

Feathered dinosaurs use to use their feather for catching insects for eating, with the changing geological events on earth which forces extinction of dinosaurs feathered dinosaurs evolve into birds.

Fossils of Archeopteryx, called Jurassic bird shared many traits found in small dinosaurs and modern day birds. The Archeopteryx had a jaw filled with sharp teeth. It also had a hyper extendible claw on its foot, known as a "killing claw." Covered in feathers, similar to those that covered dinosaurs, the Archeopteryx had flight feathers; a trait found in birds, but not dinosaurs. This early bird had a long bony tail common in dinosaurs, but a trait modern birds lack. Birds today only have a tiny stub in place of a tail called a pygostyle.

Coming to dinosaur fossils found in MP, Sahni said fossils found in Narmada valley is of great importance not nationally but internationally. The first fossil of dinosaur was found in 1828 by William Sleeman, even before the word dinosaur was coined. The word dinosaur was coined in 1848 on the fossils found by Sleeman. Beside first dinosaur fossils recorded in Asia was from Jabalpur and it is the place were dinosaurs fossils of three generations are found including the youngest one, considered to be last dinosaurs on earth.

The dinosaurs were extinct because of collapse of food web cycle possible due to volcanic eruption or asteroid hit.

A plant fossils expert, Dr Mohan Bande said Narmada valley has rich collection of fossils including plant fossils which can tell us about the flora, vegetation and environment of the time when dinosaurs were found.


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Eco-tourism push for Chandaka sanctuary in Odisha

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 28 Juli 2013 | 22.34

BHUBANESWAR: The state tourism department has set its eyes on developing Chandaka wildlife sanctuary into an eco-tourism spot. Given its flora and fauna, water bodies and the presence of wild animals, the scope for developing the sanctuary into an eco-tourism destination can be explored, sources said.

The tourism department, which embarked upon a project to tap the tourism potential in the Chandaka forest in 2011, is hopeful that the fringe area (periphery of the core area of the sanctuary, where animals roam freely), can be used for eco-tourism purpose. "A high-level team, comprising officials from forest and tourism departments would visit the sanctuary on August 1 to study the feasibility for developing the place as an eco-tourism hub. The team will submit its report to the government after which further decision will be taken to develop the area," said Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) general manager MR Patnaik.

He said that OTDC opened a two-storey tourism complex near Godibari and created some facilities for tourists. "Presently, we have an information centre, a centre for audio-visual and souvenir show, children's park, rope climbing, trekking trail and a recreation zone. About 50 groups of tourists have visited the area in the last two years," said Patnaik.

The tourism and forest departments will explore whether an eco-cottage and more nature trail facilities can be created here, apart from providing boating and sight-seeing facilities, which are already there. "Currently, trekking facilities are available. We need to explore whether some of the water bodies can be developed for boating. The water bodies are frequented by elephants. So, we need to look for the water bodies, which are close to the fringe area," said Chandaka DFO, SN Mohapatra. The sanctuary is home to various animals, including elephants, deer, leopards, fox and peacocks.

Spread over 193sq km, the sanctuary boasts of 23 natural water bodies. Promotion of eco-tourism facility in this area is expected to boost the tourism potential of the capital city.

"Chandaka can become another holiday destination for the people of the city. However, it needs to be ensured that no animal is disturbed in the process," said retired wildlife DFO Akshaya Patra, adding that creation of eco-tourism facility will also create employment opportunities for nearby villagers.


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617 Indian sanctuaries get just Rs 1 lakh each per month

NEW DELHI: How's this for skewered priorities: Over 617 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that are home to several critically endangered species like the Great Indian Bustard and the Snow Leopard get a mere Rs 75 crore or Rs 1 lakh each per month, on an average, while the 43 reserves for the big cat get a whopping Rs 165 crore.

Going by the financial allocation for management of protected areas, each of the 102 national parks and 515 wildlife sanctuaries get only around Rs 12 lakh annually - around Rs 1 lakh per month.

According to the environment ministry, this is despite a Planning Commission promise to double the allocation from the present Rs 75 crore annual to Rs 150 crore.

India's network of 664 protected areas extend over 4.9 percent of the country's geographical area. The network comprises 102 national parks, 515 wildlife sanctuaries, 47 conservation reserves - including 43 tiger reserves - and four community reserves.

"At present, we only get around Rs 75 crore annually for managing 617 protected areas across all states," a senior environment ministry official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"Even if we leave the 100 protected areas in the Andaman and Nicobar region - for most of them being islands - there are still around 517 which need sufficient investment for maintenance, upkeep and smooth running," the official said.

The ministry official said that during meetings to finalise the allocations for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17), the Planning commission had promised to double the Rs 75 crore allocation. "The Planning Commission has given us Rs 150 crore per year on paper but when it came to allocation, Rs 75 crore only came," the official said.

What adds to the ministry's woes is that it has not just to manage the protected areas but has to take up wildlife conservation programmes of other endangered species from the same amount.

"It is a lose-lose situation for us. We are able to focus neither on maintenance of protected areas nor on species conservation. State governments do contribute some amount for upkeep of protected areas but that is not something substantial," the official added.

During a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the board, had emphasised the need to focus on the conservation of other endangered animals and not just tigers.

The much celebrated tiger conservation programme covering 43 tiger reserves gets over Rs 160 crore per year.

The matter to give importance to other species has been raised several times in the meeting of the Standing Committee on the National Wildlife Board.

Divyabhanusinh Chavda, president, WWF-India, said: "While the 43 tiger reserves were allocated a total of Rs 778 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan and Rs 167.70 crore during the current financial year of the 12th Five Year Plan, the total allocation for all wildlife conservation in the country other than Project Tiger, Project Elephant and control of wildlife crime is a mere Rs 75 crore in the current financial year.

"This is a meagre amount to protect the last remaining habitats of India's most critically endangered species such as the Jerdon's Courser, the Great Indian Bustard, the Snow Leopard, the Kashmir Stag and the Manipur Deer," he added.


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Rising CO2 levels causing 'tooth decay' in sea organisms: Scientists

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 Juli 2013 | 22.33

LONDON: Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are having a catastrophic effect on microscopic marine life, according to scientists.

Experiments by the University of St Andrews show microscopic organisms, called foraminifera ('forams'), suffer the equivalent of tooth-decay as seawater becomes more acidic.

Foraminifera are tiny single-celled organisms that build intricate shells to protect themselves. They feed on algal cells called diatoms, which they break open using tooth-like structures on their shells.

Experiments suggest that as seawater increases in acidity (reduces pH), these 'teeth' are reduced in number and size, with many becoming deformed. These mutations are likely to make them much less effective at feeding.

Since 'forams' may number 500,000 in a square metre of sediment, other organisms further up the food chain are also likely to be affected by these changes.

"The studies of foraminifera are only a small part of the story of ocean acidification impacts. But we know that many species were lost from the fossil record the last time that CO2 rapidly rose, around 55 million years ago, with other major disruptions to marine," said professor David Paterson.

"The threat of future acidification is very real, and comes at a time when the human population depends more than ever on a healthy and productive marine environment," he said.

Too much CO2 is a great threat, being the major greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Less well-known is the role of CO2 in increasing ocean acidity, by forming carbonic acid: this lowers pH and causes other chemical changes to seawater.

Marine scientists are seriously concerned that these changes will have a significant impact on marine life (and human life), with consequences for shellfish, cold and warm-water corals, as well as many other components of ocean food webs, researchers said.

"There have already been enough measurements around the world to conclusively demonstrate that ocean acidification is occurring. But there are regional differences that we can't fully explain," Dr Phil Williamson, Science co-ordinator of the UK Ocean Acidification research programme, said.

"We now need joined-up science to observe not only chemical changes but also ecological responses, to improve threat assessments and provide the evidence for national and international policy action," said Williamson.


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Study finds rare turtles, gharials in parts of Yamuna

NEW DELHI: The filthy stretch of Yamuna in Delhi is often not acknowledged to be a river at all. But wildlife researchers studying the Yamuna say that the river has immense importance biodiversity wise. A recent study by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) in collaboration with the Thames River Trust, UK has documented the faunal diversity on a 194km river stretch from Bateshwar Ghat in Agra to Dibholi Ghat in Etawah. Among other significant findings, the team of researchers found gharials nesting near the confluence of Yamuna and Chambal. They also found other threatened species like the ganges dolphin and black-necked stork.

The study was conducted between July 2011 and February 2013 by a team of four researchers including a boatman to record biodiversity, threats to habitat and perception of communities to river biodiversity in the region. "Most reports on Yamuna are related to water quality but there is complete lack of information on biodiversity. The study is going to help develop a 'biodiversity conservation action plan for Yamuna' says Asghar Nawab, project coordinator (River Basin) Freshwater and Wetlands Programme, WWF. The report that is currently being compiled is likely to be published in a couple of months.

According to Asghar, two of the most important things that the team came across were the nesting of gharials near Gohani village, approximately 10km upstream from the Chambal-Yamuna confluence and sightings of small groups of Ganges river dolphins from Hamirpur to Panchnada. "This is the first succesful nesting record of Gharial since 1980's when the species was said to be locally extinct. The sighting is very important because historically there are many references to the Yamuna being a thriving habitat for gharials," adds Asghar. Other species documented by the team included turtles like the chitra indica and soft-shelled turtle; birds like egyptian vultures, pelicans and spoonbills among many others.

The threats to the habitat of these species are different in the stretch studied from that of Delhi. For instance the threats cited the research team was river bed cultivation, overfishing, sand mining and presence of exotic species like the Chinese carp. "Upstream in Delhi and other parts there is huge threat from pollution. Our project can be replicated in other reaches of Yamuna including Delhi to understand possibilities. However, in Delhi it's going to be really difficult to recreate similar biodiversity," explains Asghar.

The research team is also working closely with riparian communities in the region to see if they can have alternative livelihood options. For instance the fishermen are also being trained in spinning of rope and jute material so that the stress on fish extraction is reduced. One of the key recommendations that the team has made is to recognize some parts of the river as conservation units. "Peripheral areas of the National Chambal Sanctuary fall in the Yamuna which are used as seasonal migratory routes by endangered species like gharial need protection measures on an urgent basis," says Asghar.


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PETA to protest against caging of tigers

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 26 Juli 2013 | 22.34

IANS Jul 25, 2013, 06.24PM IST

NEW DELHI: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India will stage a protest "Save the Tiger - Say No to Zoos" outside the Delhi zoo Friday at noon.

A statement Thursday said two PETA volunteers will put on tiger body suits as part of the protest.

According to the animal rights activist group, the protest comes in the wake of eight tigers dying at the zoo over a six-month period.

"Tigers, kings of the jungle, are reduced to living sad lives in zoos. Tiger-protection efforts must ensure both the physical and mental well-being of the animals but zoos often fail on both counts. No matter whether the species is endangered or not, nobody wants to be caged," said PETA-India campaign advisor Bhuvaneshwari Gupta.

The group also urged the government to shift its focus to protecting tigers and other animals in their natural homes instead of pouring crores of rupees into keeping a few miserable animals jailed in zoos.

"Tigers and other animals in zoos often express their frustration and loneliness through obsessive, repetitive and even self-destructive behaviour such as constant pacing, circling, swaying, head-bobbing and even self-mutilation, a behaviour not found among animals who roam around in the wild," the statement added.


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China plans to spend $275 billion to cut air pollution

BEIJING: China will spend $275 billion to tackle air pollution over the next five years, highlighting how the issue has become a priority for the leadership.

The amount is more than the total economic output of Hong Kong last year and underlines how the government is eager to bring about a visible improvement in China's bad air, which has caused discontent among its citizens and tarnished the country's image abroad.

The China Daily reported on Thursday that the plan targets Beijing, the neighboring port city of Tianjin and densely populated Hebei province, which surrounds them.

The environment ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

China's government was long indifferent to the environment as it pursued economic development. The country's major cities have some of the world's worst smog and water supplies are badly polluted.

The government has begun launching anti-pollution initiatives after mounting public frustration.

The China Daily said the latest initiative aims to reduce emissions of pollutants in Beijing and surrounding areas by 25 percent by 2017 from 2012 levels. It said details would be released in late July at the earliest.

In 2012, Hong Kong's gross domestic product was $263 billion.


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Plight of animals turn poacher into conservationist in Assam

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Juli 2013 | 22.33

GUWAHATI: Here is the story of a man who started as a poacher, but the risks involved in illegal hunting and the helplessness of innocent animals turned him into a conservationist.

Maheswar Basumatary was forced into poaching animals in the 90s when as a 19-year-old he faced the daunting prospect of supporting his family during the days of Bodo insurgency.

But Basumatary soon came to realise the risks involved in poaching and was overcome by the helplessness of the animals. He ultimately turned away from it to become a passionate protector of wildlife and environment.

Known as 'Ontai' among his associates, Basumatary said since he knew the ins and outs of the Manas sanctuary very well, his service was sought by the poachers.

"I was married at the age of 19 and without any means to support my family, I had no way-out, but to join the poachers. My wife, however, left me when she found out that my source of income was not honest," he regretted.

Political situation in the region began to improve and in 2005 he surrendered before the authorities of the Forest Department and Bodoland Territorial Council.

He embarked on his new journey when he joined one of the Community-based Organisations (CBO), tasked with reviving the Manas National Park.

The one he joined at Kachugaon was named as Green Forest Conservation.

"We were looking for someone to help us with the Clouded Leopard Rehabilitation Project. We needed someone who was not only familiar with the landscape, but really knew about the animals, their habitat, and their behaviour. We struck gold with Basumatary," the regional head of the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (Northeast India), Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, said.

Basumatary was a very disciplined person who knew the landscape, understood the project and was a team player who quickly learnt how to use a GPS or the nuances of a radio collar, Choudhury said.

Besides, he was an excellent tracker who shared a good rapport with the Bhutanese, which came "handy for us as we tracked the clouded leopards all the way to the other side of the border".


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PETA to protest against caging of tigers

NEW DELHI: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India will stage a protest "Save the Tiger - Say No to Zoos" outside the Delhi zoo Friday at noon.

A statement Thursday said two PETA volunteers will put on tiger body suits as part of the protest.

According to the animal rights activist group, the protest comes in the wake of eight tigers dying at the zoo over a six-month period.

"Tigers, kings of the jungle, are reduced to living sad lives in zoos. Tiger-protection efforts must ensure both the physical and mental well-being of the animals but zoos often fail on both counts. No matter whether the species is endangered or not, nobody wants to be caged," said PETA-India campaign advisor Bhuvaneshwari Gupta.

The group also urged the government to shift its focus to protecting tigers and other animals in their natural homes instead of pouring crores of rupees into keeping a few miserable animals jailed in zoos.

"Tigers and other animals in zoos often express their frustration and loneliness through obsessive, repetitive and even self-destructive behaviour such as constant pacing, circling, swaying, head-bobbing and even self-mutilation, a behaviour not found among animals who roam around in the wild," the statement added.


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Shivraj may snatch Gujarat̢۪s lions, steal Modi̢۪s thunder

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 Juli 2013 | 22.33

AHMEDABAD: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is engaged in an apparent game of one-upmanship with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, is likely to steal his thunder further if the neighbouring state gets final approval from the Supreme Court for the translocation of some Gir lions to MP.

The project for creating a second home for the Asiatic lions in Kuno Palpur is finding favour with the government of India and tilting the balance against Gujarat in its final battle to remain the only state that boasts of being the habitat of the king of the jungle.

The SC had on April 15 okayed the translocation of lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh and directed that this be done in six months (October 15). On the day of the judgment, an excited Chouhan had tweeted, "I welcome Supreme Court's verdict on Asiatic lions. We are well-equipped to welcome them in their new home." The Gujarat government had filed a review petition on May 13 but failed to get a stay.

Chouhan continued being pro-active on this matter and his government sent three reminders in the last three months for convening a meeting of the experts group, as directed by SC. The Centre has finally convened a meeting in New Delhi on July 29.

The 12-member committee has just been formed and the meeting will be chaired by Dr Rajesh Gopal, additional director general, forest (wildlife), an officer who has worked extensively in MP. The other committee members are also overwhelmingly in favour of the relocation plan drawn up by the Wildlife Institute of India at Dehradun.


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Leopards vanishing faster than tigers in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: While the leopard is one of the most widely recognized cats after tigers, its days may be numbered in Madhya Pradesh. Thanks to poaching, retaliatory killing, conflicts with farmers followed by weak investigations, the spotted feline may soon qualify for 'vulnerable'status.

Within 24 hours of a leopard's death in Panna district, another one got killed in Seoni district on Tuesday morning. Even as a failed poaching attempt is being alleged in the Seoni case, officers concerned claim that the big cat was killed in a territorial war with tiger.

However, with these two casualties, MP has lost 15 leopards in the last seven months, including six that were trapped, axed and electrocuted to death for hides and nails. While one leopard was killed in retaliation by villagers, others lost their lives to territorial wars and road accidents.

In other cases, leopards were poached using crude bombs and deadly clutch wire traps, at Chhatarpur and Sagar districts. Poachers had chopped off the claws for their nails in two different cases reported from Alirajpur and Dhar. A hide was seized from south Balaghat area on February 13.

The frequent deaths have prompted wildlife activists to call for conservation programs for leopards in line with those conducted for tigers.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has written a letter to the Union minister for forest and environment (Moef), Jayanti Natarajan, to constitute a special cell or wing at national level for their protection. An RTI filed by him has revealed that 138 leopards have died in MP since 2008.

Maximum casualties were reported in 2011 (43) of which 17 were killed by poachers in Seoni, Balaghat, Burhanpur, Barwani, Mandla, Sehore, Panna, Hoshangabad and Badwah forest areas.

Poor investigations by inexperienced and un-resourceful rangers has led to submission of week charge-sheets in most of the cases, said wildlife experts adding that the conviction level in poaching cases in MP is below 5%. The poaching figures could have been much more if all cases of leopard deaths are investigated properly. Allegedly, in most of the cases, officers shy away from registering a poaching case. "Instead, a common reason is put forth- "killed in territorial war" to avert action from their higher-ups," said Dubey.

Indore based wildlife photographer Amit Kanungo, claimed that leopards were easily spotted in forest areas around Indore division till 2009."I have not seen even a single one in the last four years," said Kanungo adding these cats will vanish much before tigers in MP.

None of the wildlife officials wished to comment at length on the status of leopards in MP. A few of those who spoke, wished anonymity and said that tigers will remain on priority list. Newly posted chief wildlife warden (CWW) Narendra Kumar said that he will look at better conservation efforts


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Dolphins call each other by name like humans: Study

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 Juli 2013 | 22.34

LONDON: Dolphins have names for each other and call for each other just like humans, a new study has revealed.

Research conducted by the University of St Andrews in Scotland has found that the marine mammals use a unique whistle to identify each other, the BBC reported.

It was suggested that when the animals respond after they hear their own call played back to them.

According to Dr Vincent Janik, from the university's Sea Mammal Research Unit, dolphins live in this three-dimensional environment, offshore without any kind of landmarks and they need to stay together as a group.

Janik said that these animals live in an environment where they need a very efficient system to stay in touch.

It had been-long suspected that dolphins use distinctive whistles in much the same way that humans use names.

To investigate, researchers recorded a group of wild bottlenose dolphins, capturing each animal's signature sound, after which they played these calls back using underwater speakers.

They found that individuals only responded to their own calls, by sounding their whistle back.

The team believes the dolphins are acting like humans: when they hear their name, they answer.

Janik said most of the time dolphins can't see each other, they can't use smell underwater, which is a very important sense in mammals for recognition, and they also don't tend to hang out in one spot, so they don't have nests or burrows that they return to.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


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Ford joins greenhouse gas reporting programme

CHENNAI: Detroit biggie Ford on Tuesday became the first automaker to join a voluntary greenhouse gas reporting programme recently established in India. Participation in the India program builds on Ford's leadership in greenhouse gas reporting. The company already participates in similar programs in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Voluntary reporting provides overall transparency regarding the company's CO2 emissions and underscores the importance of the issue to Ford, which has a goal of reducing CO2 emissions at its global facilities, including two in Chennai, by 30% per vehicle by 2025. "Ford is pleased to be the first automaker to participate in the voluntary India greenhouse gas reporting program," said Andy Hobbs, director of the company's environmental quality office. "We look forward to sharing our knowledge and helping to establish greenhouse gas reporting in India."

India's program is a joint effort between the World Resources Institute, The Energy and Resources Institute and the Confederation of Indian Industry. As the first automaker to participate in the program, Ford's role will be to assist in the establishment of credible and verifiable greenhouse gas inventories.

"Ford India is committed to bringing fuel-efficient and safe vehicles to India that our customers want and value. And we are growing our manufacturing capabilities in India in an environmentally responsible way as part of our One Ford plan," said Joginder Singh, president and managing director, Ford India. "Ford is proud to be the first automotive company to join the voluntary greenhouse gas reporting program in India, and this is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to sustainability of manufacturing operations globally."

Ford's India manufacturing plant produces the Ford Figo, Ford Fiesta, Ford Classic, Ford Endeavour and Ford EcoSport. The company's engine plant produces 17 variants of gasoline and diesel engines. A vehicle assembly and engine plant complex are under construction in Sanand, Gujarat. The facilities are equipped to reuse 100% of wastewater generated, have reduced water use 30% per vehicle produced in the last three years, and reduced energy consumption 10% per vehicle.

"Indian Industry has set a powerful precedent in the region, by collaboratively engaging on a multi-stakeholder platform to take the next leap on GHG measurement and management. The program would strive to promote climate stewardship and innovation that would merge core business benefits along with environmental and social agenda" says Vivek P Adhia, senior associate - climate & energy, WRI India.


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Global warming 5 million years ago raised sea levels by 20 metres

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Juli 2013 | 22.34

LONDON: Global warming five million years ago may have caused parts of Antarctica's large ice sheets to melt and sea levels to rise by approximately 20 metres, a new study has claimed.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, and their academic partners studied mud samples to learn about ancient melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

They discovered that melting took place repeatedly between five and three million years ago, during a geological period called Pliocene Epoch, which may have caused sea levels to rise approximately ten metres.

Scientists have previously known that the ice sheets of West Antarctica and Greenland partially melted around the same time. The team said that this may have caused sea levels to rise by a total of 20 metres.

Understanding this glacial melting during the Pliocene Epoch may give us insights into how sea levels could rise as a consequence of current global warming, experts said.

This is because the Pliocene Epoch had carbon dioxide concentrations similar to now and global temperatures comparable to those predicted for the end of this century.

"The Pliocene Epoch had temperatures that were two or three degrees higher than today and similar atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to today," said Dr Tina Van De Flierdt, co-author from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London.

"Our study underlines that these conditions have led to a large loss of ice and significant rises in global sea level in the past.

"Scientists predict that global temperatures of a similar level may be reached by the end of this century, so it is very important for us to understand what the possible consequences might be," Flierdt said.

The East Antarctic ice sheet is the largest ice mass on Earth, roughly the size of Australia. The ice sheet has fluctuated in size since its formation 34 million years ago, but scientists have previously assumed that it had stabilised around 14 million years ago.

The study was able to determine that the ice sheet had partially melted during this "stable" period by analysing the chemical content of mud in sediments.

These were drilled from depths of more than three kilometres below sea level off the coast of Antarctica.

Analysing the mud revealed a chemical fingerprint that enabled the team to trace where it came from on the continent. They discovered that the mud originated from rocks that are currently hidden under the ice sheet.

The only way that significant amounts of this mud could have been deposited as sediment in the sea would be if the ice sheet had retreated inland and eroded these rocks, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.


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Global warming 5 million years ago raised sea levels by 20 metres

LONDON: Global warming five million years ago may have caused parts of Antarctica's large ice sheets to melt and sea levels to rise by approximately 20 metres, a new study has claimed.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, and their academic partners studied mud samples to learn about ancient melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

They discovered that melting took place repeatedly between five and three million years ago, during a geological period called Pliocene Epoch, which may have caused sea levels to rise approximately ten metres.

Scientists have previously known that the ice sheets of West Antarctica and Greenland partially melted around the same time. The team said that this may have caused sea levels to rise by a total of 20 metres.

Understanding this glacial melting during the Pliocene Epoch may give us insights into how sea levels could rise as a consequence of current global warming, experts said.

This is because the Pliocene Epoch had carbon dioxide concentrations similar to now and global temperatures comparable to those predicted for the end of this century.

"The Pliocene Epoch had temperatures that were two or three degrees higher than today and similar atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to today," said Dr Tina Van De Flierdt, co-author from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London.

"Our study underlines that these conditions have led to a large loss of ice and significant rises in global sea level in the past.

"Scientists predict that global temperatures of a similar level may be reached by the end of this century, so it is very important for us to understand what the possible consequences might be," Flierdt said.

The East Antarctic ice sheet is the largest ice mass on Earth, roughly the size of Australia. The ice sheet has fluctuated in size since its formation 34 million years ago, but scientists have previously assumed that it had stabilised around 14 million years ago.

The study was able to determine that the ice sheet had partially melted during this "stable" period by analysing the chemical content of mud in sediments.

These were drilled from depths of more than three kilometres below sea level off the coast of Antarctica.

Analysing the mud revealed a chemical fingerprint that enabled the team to trace where it came from on the continent. They discovered that the mud originated from rocks that are currently hidden under the ice sheet.

The only way that significant amounts of this mud could have been deposited as sediment in the sea would be if the ice sheet had retreated inland and eroded these rocks, researchers said.

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.


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Death of animals in Thiruvananthapuram zoo causing concern

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Juli 2013 | 22.33

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The zoological park here, one of the oldest in South India, has turned into a virtual graveyard of animals with at least ten inmates dying due to various diseases in the last fortnight.

The casualty included two leopard cubs, four spotted deer, two sambar deer, one Malabar giant squirrel and a 13-day-old hippo cub.

With the death of the leopard cubs, the total number of the wild cats has come down to five, zoo sources said.

The leopard cubs, Sarishma and Asha, died after being infected with the Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPV), commonly known as 'cat plague'.

Most of the deer were victims of a contagious disease spread by flies which extract blood from its hoofs.

However, B Joseph, the director of the zoological park, said the issue of animal deaths was a "bit exaggerated" as most of them had died due to age-related ailments.

"It is true that the leopard cubs died due to FPV, which affects the cat family. But, many deer had died due to age-related ailments. The case of Malabar squirrel was also not different. The hippo cub was killed after it was kicked by its mother hippopotamus under water," Joseph said.

In the wake of the deaths, an experts' panel, comprising officials of animal husbandary department and veterinarians, has been set up to study the issue and suggest remedial measures, on instructions from minister for zoos and museums PK Jayalakshmi.

"Incessant rain is a major reason for the spread of disease-causing flies in the animal enclosures. It is also a major hurdle for taking up hygienic measures," Joseph said.

Established by Travancore King Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma in 1857, the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo is located in a 55 acre campus in the heart of the city.

The green-rich park, which houses large number of animals like lion, tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, Asiatic lions, elephants, and zebras besides birds like Indian Peafowl, White Spoonbill and Cassowary, is frquented by holidayers and nature buffs.


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Goa's greenery a problem, says Parrikar

PANAJI: Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said that while the state was blessed with "unique beauty", its bountiful environment was turning out to be a problem.

"Goa has unique beauty, but sometimes its beauty is a problem," Parrikar said. He added that "the more green you are, the more stringent the judiciary as well as the union environment ministry becomes towards you".

The chief minister was speaking at the IIT-BAA Global Alumni Business Summit, which is being held at a resort near Panaji.

Parrikar said overzealous green concerns as well as scams were reasons why India was suffering from a shortage in foreign exchange.

To back his premise, Parrikar cited the mining ban in Karnataka and Goa, allegations of illegal mining and the coal scam, which has resulted in a freeze in the sector.

He said the judiciary tends to throw out the baby with the bath water while dealing with these issues, explaining that an entire industry need not be penalised for excesses by some.

"Those who are involved in scams must be punished but you should not throw out the baby with the bath water. It seems to be a problem at the highest judicial level," Parrikar said.


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Three dragonfly species discovered in China

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 20 Juli 2013 | 22.33

BEIJING: Scientists have discovered three dragonfly species, indigenous to China, inhabiting the Shennongjia nature reserve, a researcher said on Friday.

"The three new Cephalaeschna species are found nowhere else in the world but central China," Zhang Haomiao, an aquatic animal researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

He said the species can be "used" to monitor water quality, as they live only in the relatively pristine streams and cannot tolerate polluted water.

The dragonflies also do not like sunshine and only become active after dusk, he said.

The scientists' findings have been published in the International Journal of Odontology.

The Shennongjia nature reserve in a Unesco world heritage site in Hubei province. According to official statistics, there are approximately 1,131 species of plants, 54 kinds of animals, 190 species of birds, and several types of reptiles and amphibians.


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New Great Indian Bustard habitat found in Jaisalmer

JAISALMER: The state bird and critically endangered Great Indian Bustard has found a new habitat.

A flock of 24 GIBs was recently spotted in the grasslands of Salkha area, 45 km from Jaisalmer district. Of them, 21 were males and three females.

The area is situated outside the Desert National Park and the forest department, for security reasons, has set up a temporary check post.

Conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts are excited at the prospect of the birds finding a new habitat. The state government has approved Rs 4.5 crore for conservation and promotion of GIBs, which fall under schedule-1 category of endangered species.

Chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Dr Govind Sagar Bhardwaj confirmed the spotting of GIBs in the Salkha area. The area is new for the birds as earlier they were spotted at Sudashri closure or the national park.

The recent development has given hope to the forest department to make all possible efforts for conservation of the birds.

"The grassland is part of sacred groves or 'oraans' spread over 40 sq km. Little human disturbance, low grazing pressure and minimum encroachment for human settlement provide an ideal location for the GIBs. In just two hours, I could spot 24 birds," Bhardwaj said.

He said the area can be developed as an alternative habitat for the birds. "It is located 30km north of the Sudashri enclosure. There is a need to create awareness among locals to conserve the habitat," he said.

Chairman of Wildlife Trust of India Ranjit Singh said the immediate efforts have to be made to conserve the new-found habitat. A high-level meeting was organized in New Delhi to discuss ways to conserve GIB habitats and directions in this regard were given to the officials.

Singh said this is the mating and breeding season of the birds and priority must be given to ensure the eggs of GIBs are safe. In some instances, tourists carry the egg from a place to another, therefore, denying it the mother's warmth required for hatching.


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Environmental depredation alleged in Greater Noida West

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 19 Juli 2013 | 22.33

GREATER NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared housing projects and townships in Greater Noida West, formerly named Noida Extension, without considering key environmental parameters and the rich wildlife of the area, which has now all but vanished, concerned environmentalists here say.

"The state's environment directorate has completely failed in discharging its duties to protect wildlife and provide a healthy environment to its people. The government has simply acted as traders and agents of private builders," Akash Vashishtha, conservation coordinator of the Hindustan Environment Action Group (HEAG) said.

"Wildlife is the first aspect while assessing the environmental impact of any project or development in an area. In Greater Noida West, this primary factor was completely ignored. These area still has a Saperon ki basti (snake charmers' settlement). We have captured several nilgai on camera which are on the verge of extinction in the area due to their lost habitat and complete loss of vegetation," he added.

According to environmentalists, Greater Noida West, comprising villages like Bisrakh, Patwari, Itehera, Roja Yakoobpur, Jalalpur, Khairpur and Sadullapur, once abounded with reptiles, peacocks, blackbucks and nilgais but the UP State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority ( UPSEIAA) ingored this while approving the private housing projects.

Although several nilgais still inhabit the area, the reptiles, including diverse species of snakes and cobras, have altogether vanished due to the destruction of their habitats and rising noise pollution due to construction activities.

Similarly, blackbucks have almost been exterminated from the area and the peacocks, too, are dying a slow death amidst their fast-shrinking habitat. All these species are protected under the Wildlife Protect Act, 1972.

Seeking the urgent intervention of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), environmentalists have written to environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan to direct the state and its agencies to immediately stop the reckless, unbridled construction work in the area under Section 5 of the Environment Protect Act, 1986.

"Every forest division in the country conducts a wildlife census every two years. But surprisingly, the Gautam Budh Nagar forest division, comprising Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas, has no wildlife census till date. They have never bothered to know how many wildlife species exist in the division, forget about conserving them," Vashishtha added.

Housing projects and townships fall in the Category B of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, which require clearance from the state government. The category A projects, on the other hand, need clearance from the centre. Environmental parameters like wildlife, local ecology, soil and ground water conditions are taken into account while granting environmental clearance to any project.

Alleging that "deep collusion was taking place between the private builders and government officials", environmentalists have asserted that "only about 10-15 per cent of them have the environmental clearances in place. Of about 60 builders in the area, only 6-8 have the clearance while the remaining ones are carrying out work without the mandatory nod".

"Several builders in Greater Noida West are illegally drawing out millions of gallons of groundwater daily for their construction purposes in violation of the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT). Greater Noida West is a semi-critical zone declared by the Central Ground Water Authority. We fail to understand how clearances were awarded to these construction projects," Vikrant Tongad, another environment activist who is fighting against the ground water depletion by private projects in the NGT said.

Environmentalists have also claimed that reckless construction activities by private builders in Greater Noida West have also endangered the lives of several villagers in the area who have complained of respiratory ailments amidst rising air pollution.

The Greater Noida West area is one of the most fertile belts in western Uttar Pradesh, supporting three crops a year.

When contacted, Ashok Kumar, the acting divisional forest officer of Gautam Budh Nagar, said: "We are acting as per the guidelines issued by the state government. It is up to the senior functionaries in the government to act against those who have not sought the environmental clearances. We have initiated the process of conducting a wildlife census in the district."


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Three dragonfly species discovered in China

BEIJING: Scientists have discovered three dragonfly species, indigenous to China, inhabiting the Shennongjia nature reserve, a researcher said on Friday.

"The three new Cephalaeschna species are found nowhere else in the world but central China," Zhang Haomiao, an aquatic animal researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

He said the species can be "used" to monitor water quality, as they live only in the relatively pristine streams and cannot tolerate polluted water.

The dragonflies also do not like sunshine and only become active after dusk, he said.

The scientists' findings have been published in the International Journal of Odontology.

The Shennongjia nature reserve in a Unesco world heritage site in Hubei province. According to official statistics, there are approximately 1,131 species of plants, 54 kinds of animals, 190 species of birds, and several types of reptiles and amphibians.


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Parts of Himalayan region vulnerable to major quakes

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 18 Juli 2013 | 22.34

HYDERABAD: Parts of the Indian Himalayan region are facing the risk of major earthquakes in the future, according to a study conducted by city-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).

"The conclusion was reached following seismic imaging (similar to human body imaging) of the Kumaon-Garhwal region in Uttarakhand for the purpose of the study," Shyam Rai, Chief Scientist (Seismic Tomography), who led the team of NGRI scientists, told PTI.

The study, also contributed by Stanford University of United States, was conducted from April, 2005 to June, 2008 as sought by the Union government and the initial report was submitted in 2010. However, full details regarding seismic imaging and other aspects of the study were found out subsequently.

Asked if recent heavy rains in Uttarakhand were anyway related to the findings, he replied in the negative but said they are coupled systems.

"Uttarakhand was chosen because space measurements were available, which show that the strain build-up is maximum in this area. So, the chance of having an earthquake also is maximum. So, they wanted to know where the earthquakes are occurring. Also, in Kumaon, there was a major earthquake in 1803," Rai said.

Quoting from British Gazettes of the date, he said the effects of the 1803 quake were felt right up to Lucknow.

"If nothing bigger, even if that has to occur now, with this whole bunch of new constructions and dams and large population, the effect would be far more severe. It is in this context, the government decided that we should have a proper monitoring," Rai said.

He said that several destructive earthquakes had occurred along the part of Indian Himalayan belt - from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

Geophysicists found that 90 per cent of earthquakes were concentrated along a line that passes through Badrinath, Kedarnath and goes up to north-west Himalayas.

NGRI, under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is the country's largest research and development organisation.

It is generally felt that earthquakes are likely to occur in the region where they have already taken place.

"It is always said that India is going down beneath Asia and that's what basically causing all earthquakes...So, it will be going down at some angle. If this angle is very smooth, then the chances of any energy concentration would be very low. But if the angle becomes high, then there is a stronger chance of energy concentration, where it is bending," Rai explained.

Earlier, it was said that India was "going down" at something like 4-5 degrees which was smooth. However, when we tried to image this, we found that this is not true," Rai said.

The observation made by the NGRI team was that the seismic development was taking place at the steep angle of 16 degrees.

"From flat to very steep, the energy concentration would always be much higher. This is happening closer to Chamoli. A couple of years back, we had a sequence of quakes in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, and most of them happened where it is bending.

"This is the precise reason why we made the statement that this is bending and bending at a much steeper angle," the chief economist said.

He said the geophysical activity in the area makes it vulnerable to big tremors.

"...The chance of energy concentration is going to be much higher. Energy concentration is continuously going on and no big earthquake is coming.

"That means, continuously energy is being stored at that location. But, it cannot happen indefinitely. It has to be released. If it has to be released, then an earthquake has to be of magnitude more than eight or there are 20-30 earthquakes of more than seven," he said.

"However, this is unlikely and an earthquake, if it hits the region, could be of the magnitude of more than eight," Rai said.

He said that any major earthquake in Chamoli or Kumaon region could affect Delhi too as the city is in the line.

Rai said it was impossible to assign any time-frame to the calamity.

"However, a prediction based on general pattern of cyclicity of earthquakes shows that it is possible to have an earthquake of more than 7.5 magnitude after 180 years. The last such major earthquake had occurred in 1803 in that area," he said.


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Now adopt a zoo animal in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: With a view to conserve environment and wildlife, Haryana government has come out with a new policy under which the people can adopt animals from zoos in the state at reasonable rates and the employees of the zoo would take care of these animals.

While disclosing the new scheme, spokesman of Haryana wildlife department informed that as environment could be conserved only with the help of people, the state government has launched this unique scheme. Any person may adopt an animal, as a gift to loved ones on their anniversaries or other occasions.

He said that names of all persons adopting animals would be displayed on a board in the zoo and free entry pass would be provided to five members of each such family. The passes would be valid for 12 times in a year. He said that the rates have been decided to adopt animals and the people would have to deposit charges per year which would be Rs 3.60 lakh for tigers, Rs 52,000 for Indian fox, Rs 38,000 for crocodile and alligators, Rs 22,500 for deer, Rs 1.41 lakh for hippopotamus, Rs 50,000 for bear, Rs 1000 each for partridge, red jungle fowl, and cockatiel, Rs 600 each for java sparrow, love bird and budgerigar, Rs 8,500 each for langoor, monkey, baboon and Rs. 22,500 for black buck.

The officials of the state wildlife department further stated that at present, Surender Singh Memorial Mini Zoo Bhiwani has about 268 wild animals including crocodiles, black bucks, sambhars, barn owls, alligators, silver pheasants, tigers, love birds, java sparrows, Indian foxes, deer, cockatiels, black bears, leopards and hippopotamus.


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Odisha village turns into safe habitat for endangered bats

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Juli 2013 | 22.34

KENDRAPARA (ODISHA) Thanks to locals' animal-friendly endeavour, a sleepy river side village under Garadapur block in Kendrapara district of Odisha has turned into a safe habitat for endangered bats.

Local residents have come forward to ensure the safety of the mammals. Not long back poaching of bats was rampant in these areas. However, the species is now firmly ensconced in the village with people keeping tight vigil on poaching activity.

"The banyan trees on the banks of Paika river are abuzz with the sound of bats. The sight of hundreds of bats clinging on to the branches of two banyan trees adds to the natural beauty of Kundilo village. These creatures have become a major attraction. Villagers have made it a point to feed them with grains. Due care is taken so that the harmless mammals are not disturbed", said Prakash Jena, who heads Evergreen Forum, an environment protection outfit, said today.

"There was a general belief that raw meat of bats cured respiratory and asthmatic ailments. That's why, bats were being killed indiscriminately. We convinced the people that consuming bat meat was not the remedy to get the better of asthma. People later discarded the myth and pledged to save these endangered species," he said.

"People have now nurtured the belief that the bats are harbinger of peace and prosperity. Killing them would invite danger. Natural beauty of the place is heightened by the sight of thousands of bats hanging from the branches of the large trees. We have formed a bat conservation committee to protect bats. This has resulted in rise in the number of bats inhabiting in the village", said Diptiranjan Kanungo, a local.

The committee has decided to impose penalty on anybody found catching the nocturnal creatures or causing harm to the species, he said.

Bats numbered less than one hundred about four to five years back in the village. Now their population has shot up to more than one thousand because of change in people's mindset, sources said.


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New dinosaur species discovered in US

NEW YORK: US palaeontologists have discovered the fossil of a previously unknown dinosaur - a strange horned beast that roamed an island continent 76 million years ago.

Researchers said the new species has been dubbed Nasutoceratops, which translates to "big-nosed horned face."

The giant creature discovered in the Utah desert lived around 76 million years ago and was part of the ceratopsid group, which consists of plant-eating, rhinoceros-like dinos, including Triceratops.

"It has the biggest nose and the longest horns of any of the ceratopsids," said study co-author Mark Loewen, a paleontologist at the University of Utah.

Loewen and his fellow researchers unravelled two specimens several years ago in the barren deserts of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, 'LiveScience' reported.

One of the specimens included a mostly intact, 1.8 meters skull, along with parts of the creature's spine and a few fragments of its legs. The other specimen contained just a few fragments of skull.

The herbivorous dinosaur was roughly five metre long, and a relatively austere frill with little ornamentation surrounding its head.

The giant creature had a long, flaring snout and absurdly long, curving horns that stretched almost to the tip of its nose.

Lowan said that Nasuceratops likely used its outlandish horns to deter rivals and deflect predators similar to modern-day elk or deer. However, the main purpose of the ornamental headgear was probably sexual selection.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.


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Australian PM changes carbon tax ahead of election

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 16 Juli 2013 | 22.34

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday he will transform a deeply unpopular carbon tax a year ahead of schedule, in a bid to cut costs to households as a national election looms.

The fixed-price carbon tax on Australia's worst industrial polluters, which went into effect in July 2012, was supposed to remain in place until 2015. At that point, it was set to be replaced by an emissions trading scheme, in which the cost of producing a ton of carbon would be determined by free market forces.

Rudd is advancing that timeline by a year, with the emissions trading scheme now beginning on July 1, 2014. The move to a floating price will reduce the cost of carbon from a predicted 25.40 Australian dollars ($22.40) per metric ton in July next year to an estimated AU$6 per metric ton, Rudd said.

"This is the fiscally responsible thing to do," Rudd told reporters in the northern city of Townsville. "The nation's 370 biggest polluters will continue to pay for their carbon pollution, but the cost will be reduced, meaning less pressure on consumers."

The move is expected to save Australian households an average of AU$380 a year, Rudd said. It would largely be in the form of lower energy bills.

The government will make up for the predicted $3.8 billion shortfall in the federal budget with cuts to other programs, including scaling back funding for some environmental programs.

The carbon tax was enacted under the previous prime minister, Julia Gillard, who was ousted by Rudd last month in an internal Labor Party coup. Rudd had been ousted as prime minister by Gillard in her own internal coup three years ago.

Gillard pushed through the tax in a bid to gain needed support from the minor Greens party, despite a campaign promise not to do so. The government defended the move as a necessary weapon against climate change. Australia is one of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita because of its heavy reliance on massive coal reserves to generate electricity.

But the backlash from the public was intense, with some dubbing Gillard "Ju-liar." And conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott has repeatedly hammered Labor over the tax, using it to paint the ruling party as untrustworthy.

On Tuesday, Abbott criticized Rudd for saying the government was terminating the tax.

"All he's done is simply brought forward Julia Gillard's carbon tax changes by 12 months. He's not the terminator — he's the exaggerator. He's not the terminator, he's the fabricator," Abbott told reporters in the island state of Tasmania. "He's changed its name, but he hasn't abolished the tax. All he's done is given Australians one year only of very modest relief."

Under Gillard, Labor looked set for an overwhelming defeat at this year's elections. But recent polls suggest the race has tightened since Rudd took back the reins. Gillard had set elections for Sept. 14, though Rudd can hold them between August and November. He has refused to publicly announce a date, though said "there's not going to be a huge variation" from September 14.


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Global warming may raise sea levels by more than 2 metres: Study

Berlin: Each degree celsius rise in global temperatures is likely to raise world's sea levels by more than 2 metres within the next 2,000 years, a new study has warned.

While thermal expansion of the ocean and melting mountain glaciers are the most important factors causing sea-level change today, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will be the dominant contributors within the next two millennia, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Half of that rise might come from ice-loss in Antarctica which is currently contributing less than 10 per cent to global sea-level rise.

"CO2, once emitted by burning fossil fuels, stays an awful long time in the atmosphere. Consequently, the warming it causes also persists," said Anders Levermann, lead author of the study and research domain co-chair at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

The oceans and ice sheets are slow in responding, simply because of their enormous mass, which is why observed sea-level rise is now measured in millimetres per year.

"The problem is: once heated out of balance, they simply don't stop. We're confident that our estimate is robust because of the combination of physics and data that we use," Levermann said in a statement.

The study is the first to combine evidence from early Earth's climate history with comprehensive computer simulations using physical models of all four major contributors to long-term global sea-level rise.

During the 20th century, sea level rose by about 0.2 metres, and it is projected to rise by significantly less than two metres by 2100, even for the strongest scenarios considered.

At the same time, past climate records, which average sea-level and temperature changes over a long time, suggest much higher sea levels during periods of earth's history that were warmer than present.

For the new study, the international team of scientists used data from sediments from the bottom of the sea and ancient raised shorelines found on various coastlines around the world.

If global mean temperature rises by 4 degrees compared to pre-industrial times, which in a business-as-usual scenario is projected to happen within less than a century, the Antarctic ice sheet will contribute about 50 per cent of sea-level rise over the next two millennia, researchers said.

Greenland will add another 25 per cent to the total sea-level rise, while the thermal expansion of the oceans' water, currently the largest component of sea-level rise, will contribute about 20 per cent, and the contribution from mountain glaciers will decline to less than 5 per cent, mostly because many of them will shrink to a minimum, the study found.


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Countries mull Antarctic marine sanctuary plans

Written By Unknown on Senin, 15 Juli 2013 | 22.34

BERLIN: Countries that regulate fishing in the Antarctic are meeting in an effort to break an impasse over proposals to create marine sanctuaries off the continent's coast.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which brings together 24 countries and the European Union, meets on Monday and Tuesday in the German port city of Bremerhaven.

Countries including Russia, Ukraine and China balked last year at a plan put forward by the US and New Zealand to protect the Ross Sea, considered one of the world's most pristine. There is also disagreement over an Australian-European plan for a sanctuary covering a number of areas of the Southern Ocean in the eastern hemisphere..

Deputy German agriculture minister Peter Bleser urged delegates to "take this opportunity" to advance marine protection.


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Karnataka plans Rs 109 crore project to tackle man-elephant conflict

BANGALORE: Karnataka government has prepared a Rs 109 crore comprehensive project to contain man-animal conflict in the backdrop of the increasing menace of wild elephants.

Forest minister B Ramanatha Rai told the legislative assembly during question hour that the five-year project proposal is under government consideration. The districts proposed to be covered under the project are Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Mandya, Mysore, Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Ramanagara, Tumkur, Dakshina Kannada, Belgaum and Dharwad.

Several members, including Ravisubramanya L A (BJP) who raised the issue, expressed concern over the rising menace of wild elephants, human casualties and trail of destruction.

Rai listed the steps taken by the government to prevent the menace of wild elephants, including building trenches, solar fences and appointment of temporary watchers to address the issue. He said steps are being taken to grow bamboo and varieties of grass to meet food shortage, and to desilt tanks in forest areas so that elephants get drinking water round the year.

"There is no proposal before the government regarding implementation of an elephant corridor project to prevent the menace of wild elephants", Rai said.

Deemed forests

To another question from C T Ravi (BJP), he said said state government is reviewing the report on 10 lakh hectares of deemed forests. Some opposition members pointed out that the report is erroneous as it includes areas with dense population as deemed forests. It was also suggested that the forest and revenue departments conduct a joint survey to demarcate forest and revenue lands for clarity on the issue.


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Ivory Coast turns to brute force to save forests

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 14 Juli 2013 | 22.34

SASSANDRA (Ivory Coast): It was a brutal end to a long-term problem. Faced with the dilemma of trying to save a protected forest, which had become home to thousands of people, the Ivory Coast government turned to force.

Soldiers, some armed with rocket launchers, and bulldozers were sent in to reclaim the southwestern forest of Niegre.

In a swift operation last month, the army completely razed the small town of Baleko-Niegre, tucked away in the tropical forest of the Sassandra region, about 360 kilometres (225 miles) west of the commercial capital Abidjan.

Little was spared: brick houses and clay huts were flattened, and the local school, church and marketplace were demolished. Camps deeper into the forest were also destroyed.

The government says the operation was to preserve Ivory Coast's woodland from illegal exploitation by people, often farmers, who squat the land.

"The government has decided to take back control of its protected forests, which slipped away from it for 10 years," minister of water and forestry Mathieu Babaud Darret said.

The June evacuation is believed to have left at least 20,000 people who had been living on the land for years bereft of homes and employment.

"We had occupied the protected forest in search of food," local farmer Raymond N'Dri Kouadio told AFP.

Those who had moved to the forest had done so to grow cocoa, of which Ivory Coast is the world's leading producer.

Leon Koffi N'Goran, a man in his 80s who lived in the Niegre forest for 28 years, acknowledged that the villagers were engaged in "clandestine" activity.

But the evacuation was "brutal and surprising", he said.

Many of those who were forced to flee complain of more sinister abuses.

The soldiers "even raped girls and they took away from me two motorbikes, 800,000 CFA francs (1,200 euros, $1,600 dollars)", one resident said.

The claims of rape have been denied by authorities in the West African state.

Forest protection: 'a priority issue'

The government says it acted as part of a policy to regain control of protected woodland, exploited illegally during a decade of rebellion and warfare culminating in post-electoral violence in 2010-11 that claimed 3,000 lives.

During the years of troubles, many people began living in the forests, ignoring the government ban covering tracts of land rich in plant and animal life.

Sometimes, local warlords would "privatize" entire zones to exploit their resources.

Darret is convinced that it is time to act to prevent "the abusive and illegal exploitation" of some three million hectares (7.4 billion acres) of remaining forest in Ivory Coast.

Forest cover has dropped drastically since the 1960s, when it stood at 16 million hectares. Deforestation is blamed largely on the timber trade and the growth of the cocoa sector.

The desire of the Ivorian government to protect its forests appears to have support in Europe.

"The illegal exploitation of forests is a priority issue for Ivory Coast," said Thierry de Saint Maurice, the head of the European Union delegation in the country.

He added that forestry management poses considerable challenges in matters of "governance" and pleaded for "more regulations and more respect for rules".

Conservation experts say the exploitation of forestry has been aided by corruption at government level.

"Corruption spreads like gangrene among officials from the water and forestry" ministry said Paul N'Goran, who works for the NGO Action for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Ivory Coast.

N'Goran claims that many departmental workers "have sold, without being troubled, hundreds of hectares, even whole domains of the forest" to politicians and bosses in the timber industry.

Authorities have said they may provide for the people of Niegre who lost their homes, though it is unclear how.

Many of the villagers have since sought refuge in other settlements, often with relatives.

Now people occupying other protected forests also fear for their future.

At Moussadougou, another big village built in the forest of Monogaga, west of Sassandra, residents dread that the bulldozers will come for them next.

"If we are chased out, there's only one thing left for me: to await my death," said 70-year-old Moussa Diaby.


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Air pollution kills over two million people each year

WASHINGTON: Human-caused outdoor air pollution may be responsible for over two million deaths worldwide - a large number of them in South Asia and East Asia - each year, US researchers have said.

A study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, has estimated that around 470,000 people die each year because of human-caused increase in ozone, Xinhua reported.

It also estimated that around 2.1 million deaths are caused each year by human-caused increases in fine particulate matter, tiny particles suspended in the air that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing cancer and other respiratory disease.

"Our estimates make outdoor air pollution among the most important environmental risk factors for health," co-author of the study, Jason West, from the University of North Carolina, said in a statement.

"Many of these deaths are estimated to occur in East Asia and South Asia, where population is high and air pollution is severe."

In the study, the researchers simulated the concentrations of ozone and fine particulate matter in 1850, when the industrial era began, and in the year 2000.

A total of 14 models simulated levels of ozone and six models simulated levels of fine particulate matter.

According to the study, the number of these deaths that can be attributed to changes in the climate since the industrial era is, however, relatively small.

It estimated that a changing climate results in 1,500 deaths due to ozone and 2,200 deaths related to fine particulate matter each year.

Climate change affects air quality in many ways, possibly leading to local increases or decreases in air pollution, it said.

For instance, temperature and humidity can change the reaction rates which determine the formation or lifetime of a pollutant, and rainfall can determine the time that pollutants can accumulate.

Higher temperatures can also increase the emissions of organic compounds from trees, which can then react in the atmosphere to form ozone and particulate matter, said the study.

"Very few studies have attempted to estimate the effects of past climate change on air quality and health. We found that the effects of past climate change are likely to be a very small component of the overall effect of air pollution," West added.


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Solar tsunami helps measure Sun's magnetic field accurately

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Juli 2013 | 22.33

WASHINGTON: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Japanese Hinode spacecraft have observed a solar tsunami to provide the first accurate estimates of the Sun's magnetic field.

Solar tsunamis are produced by enormous explosions in the Sun's atmosphere called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

As the CME travels out into space, the tsunami travels across the Sun at speeds of up to 1000 kilometres per second.

Similar to tsunamis on Earth, the shape of solar tsunamis is changed by the environment through which they move.

Just as sound travels faster in water than in air, solar tsunamis have a higher speed in regions of stronger magnetic field.

This unique feature allowed the team, led by researchers from UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, to measure the Sun's magnetic field.

Dr David Long, UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, and lead author of the research, said: "We've demonstrated that the Sun's atmosphere has a magnetic field about ten times weaker than a normal fridge magnet."

Using data obtained using the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), a UK-led instrument on the Japanese Hinode spacecraft, the team measured the density of the solar atmosphere through which the tsunami was travelling.

The combination of imaging and spectral observations provides a rare opportunity to examine the magnetic field which permeates the Sun's atmosphere.

The findings are set to be published in the journal Solar Physics.


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Insect discovery sheds light on climate change

TORONTO: Biologists have discovered a new, extinct family of insects that will help scientists better understand how some animals responded to global climate change and the evolution of communities.

The researchers have named the new family the Eorpidae, after the Eocene Epoch, the age when these insects lived some 50 million years ago.

The fossils were found in British Columbia and Washington state, most prominently at the McAbee Fossil Beds near Cache Creek.

This new family raises questions about its extinction. Insect families have steadily accumulated since before the Eocene, with few, scattered losses - apart from the distinct exception of a cluster of family extinction within a group of scorpionflies that includes the Eorpidae.

"The Eorpidae was part of a cluster of six closely related families in the Eocene, but today this group is reduced to two. Why were these different?" said Bruce Archibald from Simon Fraser University in Canada.

"We believe the answer may lay in a combination of two large-scale challenges that would have hit them hard: the evolutionary diversification of a strong competitive group and global climate change," he said.

In a major evolutionary diversification, ants evolved from a small group to become major ecological players in the Eocene, now competing with these scorpionflies for the same food resource in a whole new, efficient manner.

"These scorpionfly families appear to have retained their need to inhabit cooler climates, but to persist there, they would need to evolve toleration for cold winters, a feat that only the two surviving families may have accomplished," Archibald said.

"Understanding the evolutionary history of these insects adds another piece to the puzzle of how animal communities change as climate does but in this case, when an interval of global warming ends," he said.

The study was published in the Journal of Paleontology.


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Evil eye falls on slender loris

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 12 Juli 2013 | 22.33

BANGALORE: They are round-eyed, timid, nocturnal primates. And their chances of survival seem to be getting slender owing to the gruesome way in which they are maimed and killed in the state. The slender loris, activists say, are being increasingly hunted down for black magic.

People for Animals, an NGO working with urban wildlife, found six injured slender loris in the past two months. The NGO says the nature of injury on the animals point towards them being used in black magic rituals.

"The animals are injured in the most barbaric way. Their arm or leg are usually cut off or crushed. The belief is that whatever is inflicted on the animal will in turn happen to the person's enemy," said Kishan C H, general manager, PFA Bangalore.

The forest officials believe that tribals are being paid to catch the nocturnal animals. Familiar with the forests and hunting techniques, it does not take much to catch these slow-moving creatures. Of the six that were found, three did not survive as septicemia caught up through the open wounds. The other three were released back into the Sravanadurga forest after experts ensured they could manage in the wild.

Some of the animals were found in a farm house in Nelamangala. Interestingly, two of them were found in Shivajinagar. "As it is a hub of carpentry, the animals would have reached them through trucks carrying wood from the outskirts," Kishan said. Another one was brought to the veterinary hospital in Hebbal by a citizen but was directed towards PFA as the creature was a wild animal.

Bangalore had, once upon a time, a lot of urban wildlife, slender loris being one among them. The small patches of dry scrub jungles here were home to large number of these tiny creatures. They are now endangered and a variety of loris comes under the vulnerable category in the red list. According to Sindhu Radhakrishna, associate professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, who has done her doctoral research in slender loris, the numbers of the primate are diminishing. Apart from black magic, they are used as pets and in folk medicine. "There was a time when they were sold off in the Russell Market," she says.

Slender survivors

Slender loris is found only in India and Sri Lanka

They are round-eyed, timid, nocturnal primates

They face many challenges, one of the biggest is loss of natural habitat

They tend to get traded for folk medicine and pet trade

They were also used to pick cards like parrots

We are losing loris

We do not know about the numbers of slender loris we are losing. But we have to remember that if we lose them from India, we lose them from the world

Sindhu Radhakrishna, associate professor, NIAS

Keeping close watch

We have realized that using slender loris for black magic is turning rampant. We have already come across six instances in two months. We have not made any arrests yet but are keeping a close watch on it

M Nagaraj, forest range officer, south Bangalore

Loris habitats in city

Nelamangala

Uttarahalli

Kanakapura

Anekal

In the black list

That animals are being used for black magic is nothing new. Barn owls were used for pooja and the birds were found captive from many 'swamijis' years back. Turtles were believed to be good for vaastu and red sand boa was thought to bring prosperity.


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Sheila Dikshit asks CPWD to promote green buildings

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday urged the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to promote green buildings, saying such structures were the answer to the rising power consumption.

"Green buildings alone will be an answer to the kind of power consumption we are witnessing currently. I will be grateful to CPWD if they bring out manuals for green buildings in the city," Dikshit said, addressing a gathering at the 159th CPWD Day.

Union housing and urban poverty alleviation minister Girija Vyas was also present at the function.

Describing the concept of green building as "least expensive", Dikshit suggested how power consumption can be "substantially" reduced by painting the roof white.

The chief minister also stressed the need for recycling waste.

"I am very happy that CPWD has started building bricks from waste. But I am afraid we must give it a big push as there is resistance to the building bricks made from malba (construction rubble) as these bricks are not considered good," Dikshit said.

She also expressed concern that Delhi produces 10,000 tonnes of waste each day.

Dikshit hailed the CPWD for completing all the infrastructure work on time for Commonwealth Games, which she described as a "game changer".


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Forest fires could melt glaciers faster: Report

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 11 Juli 2013 | 22.33

KOLKATA: Black carbon generated from forest fires could be leading to faster melting of Himalayan glaciers and affect flow of snow-fed rivers, warns a new study.

"The mass balance of numerous glaciers located in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, such as Pir Panjal and Greater Himalayas, could be significantly affected due to deposition of black carbon on the accumulation area in addition to changes in temperature and precipitation," says a report by scientists of Divecha Center for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

During their investigation, they analysed the change in 'reflectance' in the accumulation area of Baspa basin in Himachal Pradesh for the year 2009, as the region has experienced extensive forest fires along with northern Indian biomass burning.

Their report shows that the drop in 'reflectance' in the visible region from April to May in the accumulation area was significantly higher in 2009 than in any other year from 2000 to 2012.

The number of forest fires in the summer of 2009 was substantially higher than in any other year between 2001 and 2010.

"This can only be explained by the deposition of black carbon. The study suggests that a change in snow albedo in the accumulation area due to the deposition of black carbon from anthropogenic and natural causes can influence the mass balance of the glaciers in the Baspa basin, Himachal Pradesh, India," says scientist A V Kulkarni.


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Unused oil rig turns into underwater Garden of Eden

WASHINGTON: A rig, which is thirty-eight miles off the Louisiana coast, and stopped producing oil more than a decade ago, has become an object of attraction for thousands of sea creatures.

One hundred feet below the water surface, its coral-covered legs is a magnet for fishermen and is known to scuba divers as an underwater Garden of Eden, CBS News reported.

Dr Paul Sammarcom, who is a biologist with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, said that there are hundreds of old oil platforms that look like this, but under federal law, they are required to be removed in the next few years.

He said that when these platforms are put in place, people have no idea that they are going to develop into these massive artificial reefs; he added that they are more environmentally valuable in the water than they would be if they are scrapped out of the water.


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Coal pollution cuts lifespans in north China by 5.5 years: Study

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 09 Juli 2013 | 22.33

OSLO: Air pollution is shortening the lives of people in northern China by about 5.5 years compared to the south, a disastrous legacy of a policy that provided free coal for heating in the north, an international study shows.

Environmental problems are a source of rising social discontent in China; last month Beijing promised new measures to crack down on air pollution, partly by hastening a shift to renewable energy from fossil fuels.

The report, by experts in China, the United States and Israel, said a communist policy of giving out free coal everywhere north of the Huai River in central China between 1950 and 1980 meant more heart and lung disease among 500 million people living in the area.

"Life expectancies are about 5.5 years lower in the north owing to an increased incidence of cardio-respiratory mortality," the researchers wrote in Tuesday's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Studying pollution and deaths in 90 cities, the experts found that life expectancy tumbled just north of the Huai River, where air pollution from burning coal was 55 percent higher than to the south between 1981 and 2000.

"The analysis suggests that the Huai River policy, which had the laudable goal of providing indoor heat, had disastrous consequences for health," the study said. It did not estimate how many lives the policy may have saved from winter cold.

Legacy continues

"The legacy of the policy continues today," Michael Greenstone, a professor of environmental economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the four authors, told Reuters. He noted that many buildings still had the coal-fired boilers that were installed for heating when coal was free, often with few filters.

The scientists said the findings, which firmly link air pollution to life expectancy, might help emerging economies such as China, India or Brazil to find better ways to combine a drive for economic growth with environmental controls.

"These are very powerful results," said Barbara Finamore, a China expert at the US Natural Resources Defense Council who was not involved in the study. "It provides new reason for concern among the population in northern China about the effect of coal on health."

China's cabinet last month promised measures such as accelerating the installation of pollution control equipment on small, coal-fuelled refineries and curbing the growth of industries such as steel and cement that consume large amounts of energy.

The World Health Organization says that about 2 million people die every year from air pollution, mostly in developing countries. Cities such as Karachi, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Beijing, Lima and Cairo are among the most polluted, it says.

Even in Europe, for instance, air pollution shortens average life expectancy by 8 months, said Anke Luekewille, an expert at the European Environment Agency in Denmark, although pollution levels have fallen considerably in recent decades.


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Endangered animals give birth in Sipahijala Zoo

AGARTALA: The Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura is now a proud host to new-borns of three endangered animals - clouded leopard, pig-tailed macaque and spectacle monkey.

The Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary, one of 42 national breeding centres in the country and situated roughly 18 km from here, was assigned by the Central Zoo Authority of India to breed four animals prone to extinction.

While Reshmi, a clouded leopard, gave birth to a baby on June 8, prized spectacle monkey gave birth to a baby on May 28 and the pigtailed macaque, a primate, delivered two babies on May 5 and June 2 respectively, director of the sanctuary, Ajit Bhaumick, said.

However, another endangered animal binturong, also known as bearcat, is yet to give birth to a baby in the breeding centre, Bhaumick said.

"Recently we have brought one such bearcat from Mizoram and are trying for conservation breeding. While selecting any animal, we try to find out how healthy it is. We are trying our best to get a baby of binturong in this breeding centre," Bhaumick said.

Binturong is rare with its population decline estimated to be more than 30% over the last 30 years.

A clouded leopard's average life span is 12 to 15 years. There are three female clouded leopards and as many males in the breeding centre.


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Whale calf gets trapped in fishing net, dies

Written By Unknown on Senin, 08 Juli 2013 | 22.33

NAGAPATTINAM (TN): A whale calf which got trapped in a fishing net off nearby Vedaranyam coast died as efforts by fishermen to save it failed, officials said on Monday.

The 12-foot-long whale calf, weighing about a ton, got entangled accidentally in the net of four fishermen from Seruthur in Vedaranyam last night.

The fishermen tried to rescue it from the net in the sea itself. When they freed it after reaching the shore, it was found dead, they said.

Fisheries officials, on being informed by fishermen, visited the village.


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Fishery college starts Magur seed production

NAGPUR: Magur fish is considered as a great delicacy by fish eaters. But this fresh water fish is fast dwindling in Maharashtra. With an aim to conserve this fish and promote Magur farming by farmers in the state and region, the College of Fishery Sciences has started a seed production and breeding programme in the college.

From August onwards the college would make available seeds of this fish to farmers. The fish is in demand from the state fishery board as well as the fish cooperatives.

"There is no agency in the state which is producing Magur seeds. So we initiated a project initially to multiply it on a small scale. But when we found the technique good enough to be used for commercial seed production we started this initiative. The seed production technique is very technical and specialized and not everyone can do it," said professor R D Kalorey, acting associate dean of the college and dean of faculty of fishery sciences in Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University ( Mafsu).

Though the college is already into seed production of other major fresh water fish Rohu, Katla and Mrigal the multiplying Magur is a highly skilled job and hence the college has created a separate facility for it near Telangkhedi garden.

The college is using a specialized technique called as breeding by stripping method. Swapnil Ghatge, assistant professor in the college, explained that the males are first killed, their testes removed and the sperms flushed out. To remove eggs the female fish are pressed along the length of their body to squeeze out all the eggs. Both eggs and sperms formation is induced through hormonal injections.

The two are mixed in the laboratory and allowed to fertilize. They are then kept in incubation trays before releasing into earthen ponds.

"It requires a round the clock monitoring of temperature of water, oxygen levels, water flow and quality, feeding and nursery management. For this, the final year students are given the duty to maintain record in shifts. After ten days, the seeds are released in shallow earthen ponds. Once the seeds reach fingerling stage they can be given to farmers for further growth in fish ponds or farm ponds," said Ghatge.

At present the college produces about 80 lakh seeds of Rohu, Katla and Mrigal put together. But for Magur the college is producing 25,000 seeds to begin with this year. Dr Kalorey says that farmers in region are still not very aware about good practices. They prefer to buy spawn which is much cheaper compared to fingerlings not realizing that survival rate of this is very low. So the college is also trying to educate farmers.

The college has nine fish nurseries of 150 sq m, four rearing ponds of 500 sq m and two breeding ponds of 2800 and 1600 sq m.


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