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 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

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

People arrested in several forest areas for starting fires

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

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

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 

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

Rain in parts of burning Similipal forest brings temporary relief

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

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

Odisha forest officials use recorded tiger growls to keep elephants away from villages

Conventional methods such as firecrackers and chili bombs have harmed the animals in the past

Tigress Sundari, brought to Odisha from Madhya Pradesh in 2018, heads back home

The inter-state tiger relocation project has been put on hold after the first attempt was unsuccessful 

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

Tiger relocation project fails: Tigress in Odisha’s Satkosia reserve alone

Satkosia Tiger Reserve had 14 tigers in 2006; it has just one now, which has raised concerns over declining population of tigers 

MoEF&CC chooses minerals over biodiversity, clears rail track in Western Ghats despite red flags 

The Hospet-Vasco Da Gama project has the potential to “damage the integrity of the last remaining wilderness of the Western Ghats” …

A tiger reserve declared this year can rejuvenate Vaigai, India’s heritage river

The Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve will provide protection to Megamalai, the Vaigai’s primary catchment, in turn helping water …

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

Royal Bengal tiger that stoked panic in Bihar villages caught

The tiger had strayed 130 km from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in villages of East Champaran district, Bihar 

Conservation plan chalked out after 150 vultures spotted in Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve

A rescue centre for vultures will be set up in the reserve’s Ganauli range to increase the number of vultures

Albino palm civet sighted in Odisha after 129 years in Satkosia Tiger Reserve

A partial albino common palm civet was last sighted in 1891 in the state’s Kandhamal district

Hundreds of gharial eggs destroyed by floods in north Bihar

Two back-to-back cyclones in May, followed by early floods in June caused officials to release water into the Gandak river, thus destroying the …

India’s leopard count jumps 63% in just 4 years

In 2014, the number of leopards in India was 7,910; in 2018, it rose to 12,852

Floods threaten wildlife at VTR, Bihar’s sole tiger reserve

Floodwaters entered the low-lying areas of VTR following heavy rainfall in catchment areas of Gandak river in Nepal in the last 48 hours  

Jumbo graveyard: Odisha registers 282 elephant deaths since 2018

As many as 2 Bengal tigers and 15 leopards also died in the state in the same period