News Articles
Mistakenly Captured Snow Leopard Awaits Release
On May 3, 2020 after repeated complaints from locals about a snow leopard killing around 40 head of livestock in Gue village, the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department captured a snow leopard and transported it to Himalayan Nature Park Kufri in Shimla. The animal had gotten trapped in a corral before being captured. However, the next day, news spread that the snow leopard captured was, in fact, a cub and not the big cat that had killed the livestock... READ MORE
Juvenile Whale Shark Finned in Goa
On the morning of April 16, 2020, the carcass of a juvenile whale shark was found on Baga beach, Goa. The whale shark had been stripped of its fins. Subsequently, a series of videos, allegedly taken by the individuals who mutilated the animal, were circulated to conservation organisations by concerned Goan residents. These show the endangered animal’s fins being sliced off... READ MORE
Aarey to be Declared a Reserved Forest
On September 2, 2020, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced in a meeting that 600 acres of the forested land in Aarey Milk Colony will be officially reserved as a forest to protect the rights of adivasis living here, as well as flora and fauna. The announcement follows a year-long battle to save Aarey’s wildlife and tribal padas or hamlets from deforestation... READ MORE
Gazelles and the FMD Virus
In early April 2020, symptoms of foot and mouth disease (FMD) were reported from Amrita Devi Udyan in Jalore, Rajasthan. A community rescue centre in the western part of the state, it is home to a number of Indian gazelles or chinkara, blackbuck, bluebull, peafowl and several species of birds. Eight Indian gazelles were the first to display symptoms of the virus at the centre... READ MORE
