Mysterious disease kills Indiana bats

In response to information about a mysterious illness that has been associated with the deaths of more than 8,000 bats, conservation groups have asked the us Fish and Wildlife Service to close all bat hibernation sites and withdraw all federal permits to harm or kill the imperilled bats until the cause of the deaths is understood.

Illegal fishing continues to claim Olive ridleys

about 3,000 olive ridleys have died in various parts of Orissa since November 2007. The casualty was especially high--1,437--along the Gahirmatha coast in Kendrapada. Activists allege the numbers are a gross underestimation. "There have been more than 10,000 casualties. The situation is alarming," says Biswajit Mohanty, coordinator of Operation Kachchap.

Himalayan herbal heritage fading

twelve species of medicinal plants preferred by Uttarakhand villagers for their many uses are now rare and endangered, and one near threatened. These are the findings of a recent study by the National Medicinal Plants Board of India.

Indus dolphin in Punjab

Revival plan for a disappearing tree

an important tree species is fast disappearing in the Western Ghats. A 'recovery plan' is currently underway for the tree, which is used primarily as a traditional cure for skin diseases, though not on a commercial scale. There are only 100-odd trees left. The freshwater swamp species, locally called kan holegar, is found on four isolated pockets in the Western Ghats.

Controvesy over South China tiger's photograph

Photographs supposedly showing a South China tiger in the wild have sparked a controversy. Chinese wildlife experts, officials, Internet users and media organizations have been drawn into a row over whether the tiger still exists in Shaanxi province.

Range size has a clue for threatened species

there is a new approach to find out if bird species are threatened. Usually, a bird is classified as endangered or critically endangered on the basis of its range size--the minimum space a species needs to survive. Range size in birds is among the several criteria used by the World Conservation Union (iucn) to determine the threat level.

Endangered gharials die mysterious death

more than 40 gharials were found dead downstream in the Chambal river, ahead of its confluence point with the Yamuna. Preliminary reports indicated liver cirrhosis was among the causes of the deaths, said D N S Suman, chief wildlife warden of Uttar Pradesh. According to GSridhar, divisional forest officer, wildlife, National Chambal Sanctuary, heavy metal pollution may have caused the liver cirrhosis.

Fisherfolk demand lifting of ban on sea cucumber fishing

a delegation of fisherfolk representatives met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September. Top on their agenda was a demand to lift a ban imposed in 1982 by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on fishing sea cucumbers smaller than 75 mm in length. The delegation also wanted the revocation of a 2001 ban on the trade in sea cucumbers.

Why are vultures dying?

The anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac has been incriminated as the main cause for decline in vulture numbers in South Asia. The birds, it is said, perish after feeding on carcasses that have residues of the drug. The argument seems logical but is not based on scientific evidence. The diclofenac-toxicity argument, in fact, obscures a deeper malaise in vulture conservation: a shortage of skilled hands and a lack of seriousness.