Why are fires raging in Similipal?

The fires seem to be both, a natural disaster and human-made mishap, according to experts

Simply Put: Food and fire

Illegal leopard skin trade continues unabated in Odisha

Special Task Force officials have seized 16 leopard skins in the state in last one year

Months after forest fire, Cyclone Yaas threatens flooding in Similipal

Animals are being evacuated from the national park even as power and communication are disrupted

Similipal forest fire: It is time to act

Forest fires can be controlled in the first few hours; it is important to engage local communities in the first line of action

About 400 proposed infrastructure projects will destroy tiger corridors: report

Wildlife Conservation Trust recommends measures to achieve a win-win solution for development and wildlife

Protection assistant shot at by poachers in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve, injured

Sunaram Singh consequently suffered two bullet injuries to his right leg as he and other guards tried to nab armed poachers

Similipal Tiger Reserve needs to be saved from forest fires. Here’s how much it is worth

A Union government report published July 2019 pegged the stock benefits provided by the reserve at nearly Rs 50,000 crore

Fire recorded at 23,000 points across Odisha in one week: Forest Survey of India

Rise in forest fires across Odisha this year can be clearly attributed to a lack of proper planning

Not yet April, but mercury at 44.6 in Odisha’s Baripada

Some 18,500,748 trees were felled in Odisha in the last 11 years, according to the state government

Rain in parts of burning Similipal forest brings temporary relief

The rainfall only covered 10% of Similipal, said a senior forest official

40% fire incidents not responded to by officials, Odisha govt admits

People arrested in several forest areas for starting fires

Similipal forest fire a jolt to livelihood of lac collectors

As many as 2,000 tribals, mostly women and who made craft items from lac, have been stripped of livelihoods

Similipal fire serves as lesson on human activity within protected areas, say experts

With reports citing Mahuli flower collection as the cause of the fire, experts advise caution for those who enter PAs

Similipal fires threaten fauna, could cause human-wildlife conflicts: Experts

The fires, which usually occur from March-May, started on February 23 this year and have also been partly blamed on people

Similipal National Park a poacher’s paradise? Experts note a rise in incidents

On January 22, carcass of a male elephant, whose population is already on a decline, was found 

Recently planted eucalyptus trees may have stoked Similipal fires, say experts

Afforestation of mostly eucalyptus trees has been done in 67,828 of 5,695,873 ha diverted land in the state, an official said 

Bright and black

Female tigers at the Similipal reserve in Odisha are increasingly giving birth to black or melanistic breeds and catching rare worldwide attention

Remaining tribals in Simlipal tiger reserve to be displaced

Those shifted out last December are living under plastic sheets in searing heat. Is this how relocation is meant to be carried out?