No mermaid fairytale

A loud “oooooph” was heard as the giant surfaced, the sound loud enough to capture the attention of people across the shoreline. They saw a mermaid-shaped body gently skimming the surface of the water. A loud splash, and the animal disappeared into the deep blue, leaving a quizzical look in the eyes of the people.

Making slow headway

On April 3, the Supreme Court ordered states to declare buffer zones around their tiger reserves. A buffer zone is an area which is adjacent to the core area of a tiger reserve and is aimed at promoting coexistence between humans and wildlife. The limits of these areas are determined using scientific criteria and are set in consultation with the gram sabha and an expert committee.

Hunters are invited

I am often witness to and a part of small disasters while in the field, but I learn something each day that keeps me going. I still remember the day we spent five hours pulling our Maruti Gypsy out of the dirt track. We were on our way to Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. To make matters worse, Tana Tapi, the tiger reserve’s divisional forest officer and I were blaming each other for accelerating in the neutral, making the tyres sink deeper in the mud.

News 360°- Briefs

deforestation Kenya evicts settlers Three decades after allotting land to the hunter-gatherer community of Ogiek in Mau forest, the Kenyan government has asked them to leave. The 2,500 Ogiek families have been asked to surrender their title deeds by October.