Why PETA wants to ban two age-old Assamese traditions

 

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals have mounted a legal challenge against the practises of buffalo and bulbul fighting in the Gauhati High Court. What are these traditions? Why were they discontinued? Now that they are back, why does PETA want to ban them?

he Assam government’s attempt to revive traditional practices of buffalo and bulbul (songbird) fighting during Magh Bihu has come up against a legal challenge by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the Gauhati High Court, which admitted petitions by PETA India seeking a ban on both.

What is this tradition all about? Why were the fights disccontinued? What is behind the Assam government’s move to revive the tradition? And what is PETA’s challenge?

An age-old tradition

These fights are part of the folk culture associated with the Assamese winter harvest festival of Magh Bihu, which takes place in January, at the same time as harvest festivals in other parts of the country such as Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Lohri.

Buffalo fights are held in different parts of Assam during Magh Bihu, with Ahatguri in Nagaon district being the biggest centre. There, the fights been conducted for many decades by the Ahatguri Anchalik Moh-jooj aru Bhogali Utsav Udjapan Samiti, drawing huge crowds. Bulbul fights, on the other hand, are an attraction at the Hayagriv Madhab Mandir in Hajo, around 30 km from Gauhati. Participants rear birds for around two weeks before Bihu, before they are made to fight until one emerges stronger.“While the buffalo fights are folk culture and tradition, this is tied to religion. Before starting, we light saki (lamps) in Lord Vishnu’s name and lay xorai (offering trays)… The practice is very old, we cannot really say when it started. But it was held with great pomp by the Ahom rulers,” Shiba Prasad Sarma,

Discontinued after SC ruling

The fights had been stopped on the heels of the Supreme Court’s 2014 judgement, which forbid the use of bulls as performing animals in jallikattu events and bullock-cart races in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or anywhere else in the country.

The Court also directed the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to ensure that “the person-incharge or care of the animal shall not incite any animal to fight against a human being or another animal.” In January 2015, the AWBI wrote to the Assam government seeking an end to animal and bird fights during Bihu celebrations, following which the government directed district administrations to prevent them. doloi (administrator) of the temple

This was not without resistance. Buffalo fights continued to be held in some quarters in defiance of the prohibition, and the management of the Hayagriv Madhab Temple challenged the order in the Gauhati High Court.

After SC clears path, Assam govt releases SOP to conduct fights

The Supreme Court May last year overruled its 2014 judgement, upholding amendments made by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka governments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 to allow jallikattu, kambala and bullock cart racing. Subsequently, in December, the Assam Cabinet gave a go-ahead for the framing of SOPs for the conduct of buffalo and bulbul fights without “deliberate torture or cruelty” to the animals.

The SOPs which were subsequently released specified that the fights will only be permitted in places where they have been “traditionally conducted” for the last 25 years, and that moh juj (buffalo fights) will only be allowed between January 15 and January 25. The moh juj guidelines prohibit human inflicted injuries, and ban the use of intoxicating or performance enhancing drugs, as well as sharp instruments to instigate the animals. The bulbul fight SOPs require the organisers to ensure that the birds are released in the open “in perfect condition” at the end of the game. The SOPs state that any organization violating the stipulations will face a ban for the next five years.

With the release of these guidelines, the activities were held again during Magh Bihu this year, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself attended the events in Ahatguri and Hajo, and spoke of their revival as an effort to “preserve Assam’s timeless Bihu traditions.”

PETA’s challenge

PETA India has now filed two linked petitions before the Gauhati High Court seeking the prohibition of both activities, as well an interim stay preventing any such fights from taking place during the course of the proceedings.

In these petitions, they state that they investigated the events in both Ahatguri and Hajo this year. The claimed that in Ahatguri,  in order to instigate buffalos to fight, owners slapped, pushed and shoved them; jabbed and struck them with wooden sticks; and pulled them roughly by nose ropes. They stated that many buffalos had injuries on their bodies from the fights, and that the fights lasted util one of the two buffalos “broke away and fled”.

With regards to the event in Hajo, they stated that the bulbuls “were illegally captured and incited, against their natural instincts to fight over food.”

On Thursday (February 1), the court heard an interlocutory application by the petitioners stating that a buffalo fight event was scheduled to be held in Nagaon district on February 4, which would be outside the stipulated period specified in the government’s guidelines.

The Court observed that organising a buffalo fight beyond January 25 is prima facie in violation of the government’s notification. It stated that the petitioners should inform the relevant district administration of the particulars of the event, following which the latter should take the necessary stops to prevent the event, in line with the SOPs.

Written by Sukrita Barua

Source: Indian Express, 4/02/24

Decline in Indian bird species: Alarming report reveals 60 per cent decrease over 30 years

 Of the 338 bird species studied in India for changes in numbers over the last 30 years, 60 per cent have experienced a decline, says a new report based on data from about 30,000 birdwatchers across the country.

Also, 40 per cent (142) of the 359 species evaluated for change over the last seven years have declined, according to the report titled "State of India's Birds". The assessments rely on three indices: two are related to the change in abundance -- long-term trend (change over 30 years) and current annual trend (change over the past seven years) -- and the third is a measure of distribution range size within India.

Of the total of 942 species evaluated, long-term trends could be determined for 338 species. Of these, 204 species have declined, 98 are stable and 36 have increased, says the report published by a group of 13 government and non-government institutions, including the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

Current annual trends could be determined for 359 species, of which 142 have declined (64 rapidly), 189 are stable, and 28 have increased.

The report classifies 178 species, including Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Tufted Duck, Greater Flamingo, Sarus Crane, Indian Courser and Andaman Serpent Eagle, as "high conservation priority".

Fourteen species, including Indian Roller, Common Teal, Northern Shoveler and Common Sandpiper, have dropped by 30 per cent or more and have been recommended for IUCN Red List reassessment, the report says.

Generalist species like feral Rock Pigeon, Ashy Prinia, Asian Koel and Indian Peafowl are doing very well. Other common species like the Baya Weaver and Pied Bushchat are relatively stable, according to the report prepared using the data uploaded to the online platform eBird.

Habitat specialists — particularly birds of grasslands and other open habitats, wetlands, and woodlands — are declining rapidly.

In terms of diet, carnivores, insectivores, and granivores are declining more rapidly than omnivores or fruit-and-nectar eaters, the report shows.

Also, migratory species appear to be under greater threat than non-migrants while species endemic to the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka region are faring worse than others.

Certain groups of birds are faring particularly poorly, including open habitat species like bustards and coursers, riverine sandbar-nesting birds like skimmers and some terns, coastal shorebirds, open-country raptors, and a number of ducks.

"The finding that endemic species are faring poorly is worrying, since their existence rests entirely in our hands," M Ananda Kumar, Executive Director, Nature Conservation Foundation, said in response to the report.

Ritesh Kumar, Director, Wetlands International-South Asia, said the status of many wetland birds, including ducks and shorebirds, is worrying, and points to the conservation needs of their habitats and ecological corridors.

Source: The Telegraph, 25/08/23

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How do birds make their nests?

 

Birds are really intelligent animals. They use their intelligence, along with their beaks and feet, to find the most clever ways to make nests with whatever materials are available.

The first thing to know is not all birds make nests. For example, emperor penguin fathers carry their precious egg on their feet (to keep it off the frozen ground). Some birds, such as cuckoos, will lay their eggs in someone else’s nests. Others lay them on the ground among leaves or pebbles, or on cliffs with very little protection.

For the birds that do build nests, there is one main goal: to keep their eggs and chicks safe. Many birds also make their nests in tree hollows, including parrots. That’s just one reason it’s important to not cut trees down!

Meanwhile, kookaburras use their powerful beaks to burrow into termite nests and make a cosy nest inside. And the cute spotted pardelote will dig little burrows in the side of earth banks — with a safe and cosy spot for its eggs at the end of the tunnel.

Some birds, such as brush turkeys, spend months building huge mounds on the ground which can heat up from the inside. The male turkey makes sure the ground is exactly the right temperature inside the mound, and then lets the female lay the eggs inside. He’ll take big mouthfuls of dirt surrounding the eggs to check it’s not too hot or cold.

Birds construct many different types of nests. There are floating nests, cups, domes, pendulums and basket-shaped nests. They can be made out of sticks, twigs, leaves, grasses, mosses or even mud.

Magpie-larks (also called ‘peewees’), apostlebirds and choughs make mud bowl nests that look like terracotta plant pots. To do this, they gather mud and grasses in their beaks and shake it around to mix it with their saliva. They can then attach it to a branch and build upwards until the nest is complete. In fact, bird saliva is a really strong and sticky material to build nests with.

Birds will often mix saliva and mud to make a type of glue. And some swiftlets make their nests entirely out of solidified saliva. People will even eat these nests in bird’s nest soup!

Willie wagtails use another type of glue – sticky spiderwebs. They sew grasses together using spider webs and the webs help keep the nests strong against wind and water, too. They have to perfect the technique of gathering the spiderweb though, otherwise it can get tangled in their feathers.

Magpies and crows, both common visitors to our gardens, are also clever nest builders. Not only can they expertly layer their sticks into a bowl, but they also use many human-made materials in their nests. You might find them using fabric, string or a wire to hold a nest together. Some birds such as red kites have even been seen decorating their nests with human rubbish.

And Australian babblers line the inside of their nests with a thick wall of kangaroo poo, followed by soft fluff, to keep their chicks warm. To actually weave the nests, birds will usually create a base by layering sticks or twigs in the place they want it. Then they use their beaks and feet to weave a chosen materials through, to hold the sticks in place. They can pull strips of material with their beaks over and under, just like weaving a rug. They can even tie knots!

Nests can take a really long time to make, so they’re often reused year after year. Weaver birds are so good at weaving, they can build complex nests that cover entire trees and have several chambers. To summarise, birds are really intelligent animals. They use their intelligence, along with their beaks and feet, to find the most clever ways to make nests with whatever materials are available. And they get better at this by learning from others, such as their parents or peers.

Written by Kiara L’Herpiniere

Source: Indian Express, 26/11/21

Like humans, animals too have a right to migrate

A tiger was sighted in Gujarat earlier this week after 27 years. Its surprise appearance has raised a few questions.

Twenty seven years after a tiger was last sighted in the Dang district of Gujarat, a big cat (5-7 years old) was spotted in the state’s Mahisagar district on February 12. With this sighting, Gujarat now has the unique distinction of being home to both Asiatic Lions as well as a Bengal Tiger, which is listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List since 2008.

The surprise appearance of a tiger has raised a few questions: First, where has this tiger come from? Second, can it coexist with lions? And third, what happens if they come face to face? “We can only speculate what is likely to happen… We know that lions are stronger in a group against an adversary while the tiger is a solitary animal. Between both cats, the tiger is definitely stronger,” Mumbai-based lion researcher, Meena Venkataraman, told Down To Earth. On the first question, Times of India reported that after seeing the photos of the big cat’s stripes, forest officials of the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh have claimed that the tiger is from their zone.

If this claim is correct, then the tiger must have trekked almost 300 km of densely populated areas to reach Gujarat. It must have, forest officials claim, survived on livestock and wild animals. In that case, this tiger has been extremely lucky to avoid any conflict with humans during its long journey. But not all big cats are so lucky; and, therefore, measures must be taken to ensure that animals that move from one area to another get secure and safe passage.

This means that animal corridors and buffer zones are maintained across the country, and that infrastructure development around forest areas such as roads, railways and canals take into account that animals, too, have a right to move from one part to another, and that such structures must not impede their movement.

One of the recommendations of the ministry of environment and forests on guidelines for roads in protected areas says, “Wherever possible, natural animal crossings existing across roads should be retained or encouraged. For instance, overlapping tree canopy in closed canopy evergreen/semi evergreen forests is an essential attribute for the movement of arboreal species. Passage to water holes and daily movements of animals must also be safeguarded”. Where natural passes are not possible, it adds, there should be well designed tunnels, culverts, and pipes for a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic species.

For the moment, however, the Gujarat forest department has its work cut out. It needs to keep a strict vigil on the movement of the tiger and also sensitise the local population about the tiger’s movements and the need to protect it.

Half of India’s wildlife in danger of extinction: Living Planet Report 2016

With wildlife disappearing at an “unprecedented” pace across the world, the Living Planet Report 2016 identifies India as an ecological black spot where around half of the wildlife lives in the danger of being wiped out.

The biennial report that tracks over 14,000 vertebrate populations of over 3,700 species from across the world highlights the pressure on water and land India faces because of unsustainable human activities.

Around 70% of surface water is polluted and 60% of ground water will reach critical stage -- where it cannot be replenished -- in the next one decade, the report prepared by World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) with other research institutions said.

The biggest reason for contamination is industrial and municipal waste.

It also pointed out that one-fourth of India’s total land is facing desertification and about a third of land is getting degraded primarily because of depleting forest cover.

“Our consumption patterns and the way we look at our natural world are constantly shaping the future of our planet…We need to come together as a global community and address the threats to biodiversity to protect our environment, as well as our economic and social structures,” said Mr. Ravi Singh, secretary general and CEO, WWF-India.

The Living Planet Index showed that 58% overall decline in vertebrate population abundance between 1970 to 2012. “Population sizes of vertebrate species have, on average, dropped by more than half in little more than 40 years. The data shows an average annual decline of 2% and there is no sign yet that this rate will decrease,” the report said.

It also said that global wildlife populations could decline by an average of 67% between 1970 - 2020, as a result of human activities, it said, adding that the populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have already declined by 58% between 1970 and 2012. This places the world on a trajectory of a potential two-thirds decline within a span of the half-century ending in 2020.

“Wildlife is disappearing within our lifetimes at an unprecedented rate,” said Dr. Marco Lambertini, International Director General, WWF. “This is not just about the wonderful species we all love; biodiversity forms the foundation of healthy forests, rivers and oceans. We have the tools to fix this problem and we need to start using them now if we are serious about preserving a living planet for our own survival and prosperity.”

Wild Asiatic elephants graze in Kaziranga national park, east of Gawahati. (AP Photo)

Looking ahead, 2020 is also a year of great promise as commitments made under the Paris climate deal will kick in, and the first environmental actions under the globe’s new sustainable development plan will come into force.

Source: Hindustan Times, 27-10-2016

Species count down 15%, sets alarm bells ringing

New Delhi: TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Bird Watchers Call For Urgent Steps To Protect Wetlands

The results of Big Bird Day 2016 have left many worried as the total number of species in NCR seems to have come down significantly since 2005.The annual event, which sees participation from teams across the country , sends all its data to ebird portal which consolidates and arrives at trends. BBD organisers told TOI that each team reported a 10% to 15% decline in last year's numbers but birders arent' sure why .Members of the Delhi Bird Group, who organise the event, said wetlands in NCR need to be protected immediately and scientific studies should be conducted to understand why numbers are going down even as the number of birding teams are increasing. For instance, this year, four more teams participated and scouted new places.
BBD began in 2004 as a fun exercise for birders in the NCR but it is now conducted nationwide. The information gathered from this event is valuable for conservation too as it gives people an idea of whether biodiversity is declining or improving over years. “Last year, Bhindawas reported the highest number of species at 184.This time it saw only 150. Somebody , possibly the forest department, needs to figure out why numbers are dropping. Very good wetlands like Basai near Noida are facing immense pressure from the construction sector,“ said Bikram Grewal, author and birder.
This time there were a couple of surprises too--Dighal, a wetland near Jhajjar, reported 161 species while he wetland at Dhanori, which was included for the irst time, reported 109 species. Birders said that while no extremely rare bird was spot ed, those worth mentioning nclude Red Throated Pipit, Whistler's Warbler and Grey Bushchat. “There are vagrant species that are not seen very often in the city ,“ added Grewal.
Scientists at Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) also reported a marginal decline in numbers with about 100 species in 2013, 95 in 2014, 109 in 2015 and 92 in 2016. “It is difficult to say what is causing he trend. It could be local habitat loss, degrading wet lands. The possibility of the warm weather in Europe affecting migration is also being discussed. I think lack of wetland vegetation like Vallisniria, Hydrilla, Phragmitis could greatly affect species. Marshes are fast disappearing,“ said Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist in charge, YBP.
The park has, however, also reported sightings that bring new hope. The Common Pochard, considered a `near-threatened' species by International Union for Conservation of Nature, was seen in large numbers here. Also spotted were important species such as Common Teal and Red Crested Pochards.

Source: Times of India, 9-02-2009

How do parrots talk?

Parrot brains are structured differently than the brains of songbirds and hummingbirds, which also exhibit vocal learning.

Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have found key structural differences in the brains of parrots that may explain the birds’ unparalleled ability to imitate sounds and human speech.

These brain structures had gone unrecognised in studies published over the last 34 years, researchers said.

By examining gene expression patterns, the new study found that parrot brains are structured differently than the brains of songbirds and hummingbirds, which also exhibit vocal learning.

In addition to having defined centres in the brain that control vocal learning called “cores”, parrots have what the scientists call “shells” or outer rings, which are also involved in vocal learning.

The shells are relatively bigger in species of parrots that are well known for their ability to imitate human speech, the researchers found.

“This finding opens up a huge avenue of research in parrots, in trying to understand how parrots are processing the information necessary to copy novel sounds and what are the mechanisms that underlie imitation of human speech sounds,” said Mukta Chakraborty, a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Erich Jarvis, an associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Parrots are one of the few animals considered “vocal learners”, meaning they can imitate sounds. Researchers have been trying to figure out why some bird species are better imitators than others.

Besides differences in the sizes of particular brain regions, however, no other potential explanations have surfaced.

Until now, the budgerigar (common pet parakeet) was the only species of parrot whose brain had been probed for the mechanisms of vocal learning.

The researchers from Denmark and the Netherlands donated precious brain tissue for the study.

They characterised the brains of eight parrot species besides the budgerigar, including conures, cockatiels, lovebirds, two species of Amazon parrots, a blue and gold macaw, a kea and an African Grey parrot.

The researchers looked for specific gene markers that are known to have specialised activity in the brains of humans and song-learning birds.

They compared the resulting gene expression patterns in all the parrot brains with neural tracing experiments in budgerigars.

Even the most ancient of the parrot species they studied, the Kea of New Zealand, has a shell structure — albeit rudimentary. This suggests that the populations of neurons in the shells probably arose at least 29 million years ago.

The scientists now want to find out whether the shells give parrots a greater ability to imitate human speech.

Keywords: Parrots' talk, vocal imitators, vocal learning, human speech imitation

Love und

Animals and humans frequently bond with unconditional love. Read on to find out more.

A pink heart-shaped balloon floats in the blue sky. An advertisement promises us a kiss if our clothes are brighter. A parent and child exchange a quick hug before alighting a school bus. Two best friends in a heated argument break out into spontaneous laughter. A blood-red hibiscus grows its way through a pile of concrete rubble.

The images of love and its various manifestations greet us on a daily basis. Without exaggeration, there is not a single day when we are not touched by its power. Just like its nature, love can be vast or minuscule depending on how one defines it. Living with a dog is a daily reminder of the power of this force that makes the world goes around.

Dogs show us, in countless ways, the simplicity behind the complex phenomenon known as love.

Jurra’s story

Jurra is an eight-month-old golden Labrador dog and one might suspect that she has never contemplated love and its definitions. (It is, of course, a human obsession!)

Jurra is love — meaning that her whole way of looking at the world is from a very different point of view. There are no expectations of what love is, how it should be and how one must behave when expressing it. Her love is rooted in what is happening at present — she carries no past history and no sense of future expectations.

Everything that comes into her field of vision is met with certain clarity, and she responds to what comes her way with a natural ease. A butterfly sunning itself is tickled by her nose, and her tail wagging in great momentum means she has seen her favourite people. Biologists call this instinct. We call it love undefined!

Expectations

One of the characteristics of human love in various relationships is that it is based on expectations.

If we observe the countless ways in which our love manifests, there is always an undercurrent of wanting something. While in some relationships, this is glaringly obvious; in others it is more subtle. When a relationship collapses or is in conflict, it is normally that either person is unwilling to let go of a need that they seek in the other. In fact, when students often come and tell me that they “hate” someone, we have a discussion and they inevitably realise that what they hate is something that they are totally in love with.

Very few beings can love unconditionally, but Jurra’s expression of love is just that. She is totally immune to what you are wearing, how you are looking, body shape and size or whether you have had a bad hair day! The joy with which she greets you can make the surliest among us break into an inner smile. Jurra, in that moment of expressing her love, is not thinking of herself. It is very difficult to understand the nature of unconditional love unless one has really experienced it. A student of mine had a severe reading difficulty, and this often clouded her sense of confidence. One summer holiday, she visited her grandparents who had a dog. Through the course of the month, a friendship developed and both would spend a lot of time together.

One afternoon, the family was surprised to hear her reading aloud to the dog. Her reading still had errors but there was a new-found confidence in the reading. When asked about it, she said candidly, “Oh, Juno does not judge me, she just listens.” There are countless stories of how animals and humans have bonded over this kind of unconditional love. How and why it transpires will remain a mystery in the nature of things.

Dimensions

One of the common misconceptions about the nature of love is that it excludes any discomfort. We expect love to be always pleasant and wrap us in a bubble of coziness.But love has other dimensions to it. Sometimes, love can be tough and seem unfair as it challenges us to face pain and step out of our comfort zone.

A friend who was caught up in a hectic life, found herself in a situation where she had to be home bound to nurse her ailing dog. The dog had developed a cancerous growth and needed a lot of nursing and healing. For someone who had never faced such an unpleasant task that demanded her time and courage, she said it was a lesson in understanding the depths of her own reservoir of love. Something inside her had transformed, and just caring for one who had no voice changed the way she viewed people and life. Each day, Jurra shows us a part of ourselves that we did not know existed. She, of course, is blissfully unaware, and at the time of writing this, has just brought a coconut from the garden as a gift offering.

Maybe we need to talk less about love and live it a little more. Something my best friend teaches me every moment, an ever expanding curriculum on the nature of love!efined

Jan 21 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

2,226 now: Tiger numbers grow by 30% in 4 years

Vishwa Mohan

New Delhi:





There are more than 2,200 tigers in India's forests, the latest census reveals, indicating a sharp 30% rise in four years that'll come as a big boost to India's conservation efforts.The census, held in 2014, found evidence for 2,226 tigers, compared to 1,706 in 2010.
The southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the Western Ghats landscape recorded nearly one-third of the country's total number of big cats. Karnataka continues to have the highest number of tigers in India, itself home to 70% of the world's tiger population.The Mudumalai-BandipurNagarhole-Wayanad forest complex in Western Ghats holds the world's largest tiger population, with 570 tigers. If one compares the 2006 tiger census, when mod ern methodology was adopted for the first time, revealing a tiger population of just 1,411 -the overall increase across the country is a phenomenal 800-odd tigers in the past eight years.
Releasing the 2014 data on Tuesday , Union environment and forests minister Prakash Javadekar said, “We must be proud of our legacy . We have increased the number of tigers by over 30% from the last count (in 2010). “ A total of 3,78,118 sq km of forest area in 18 states, having tiger population, was surveyed during the census that used `double sampling' approach including ground survey and remote camera trapbased capture and recapture technique. Besides, scat DNA sampling method was also used for corroboration in many forest areas.
More than 9,730 cameras were used in the exercise, carried out by National Tiger Conservation Authority in collaboration with the state forest departments, national conservation NGOs and Wildlife Institute of India.
The exercise resulted in 1,540 individual tigers being photographed -making it the most authentic report on tiger population in the country.
The report shows that the tiger population has increased in Karnataka, Utta rakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the past four years, while it has decresed in Odisha and Jharkhand.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

Jan 19 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Why do zebras have stripes? To keep them cool

New York





Zebras’ thick, black stripes may have evolved to help them stay cool in the midday African heat, a new study has found.Researchers have long struggled to explain the purpose of the zebra’s unique black-and-white coat. It has been suggested that the stripes may help zebras camouflage themselves and escape from lions and other predators; avoid nasty bites from disease-carrying flies; or control body heat by generating small-scale breezes over the zebra's body when light and dark stripes heat up at different rates.
Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) examined how 29 different environmental variables influence stripe styles of plains zebras at 16 different sites from south to central Africa. The scientists found that the definition of stripes along a zebra’s back most closely correlated with temperature and precipitation in a zebra’s environment, and did not correlate with the prevalence of li ons or tsetse flies in the region.
These findings suggest that torso stripes may do more to help zebras regulate their body temperature than to avoid predators and tsetse flies, ‘Live Science’ reported.
Other animals also need to regulate body temperature, or thermoregulate, said co-author Ren Larison, a researcher at UCLA, but zebras may especially benefit from an extra cooling system as they digest food less efficiently than other grazers in Africa.

Oct 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Food chain evolving due to Ridge ecology





Vultures, which had practically become extinct in and around Delhi over the past couple of decades, are slowly making a comeback.This year, there have been three sightings of the primary or nominate species of the en dangered Egyptian vulture, a migratory bird for which there is no prior record of sighting near the city.While this comes as good news, the irony is that the primary reason attributed to their return by birders is the easy availability of carcasses. The largest flock of birds seen this year has been at Bhatti mines where a couple of roads divide the forest between Haryana and Delhi. In the absence of a corridor, animals using the road to cross from one side to the other are frequently hit by cars, providing ready food for the birds.
The Neophron percnopterus percnopterus, or the nominate species of the Egyptian vulture, with a dark grey bill, breeds in temperate regions and migrates to the south each year. In March, it was spotted in Dighal in Haryana, followed by two sightings in September, one of a single bird in Ghazipur and a flock of over 20 at Bhatti mines. Surya Prakash, a Delhi birder who was among the few to spot the Bhatti mines flock of Egyptian vultures, says it was a mixed flock that had juveniles and sub-adults. “The bird has been mentioned in Bill Harvey's Atlas of Delhi birds as a rare migrant that can be seen between September and March but of all the records that I checked from the Delhi Birds group and the Oriental Databank on birds, I have only found two other sightings, both of which have taken place this year,“ he said.
The sub-species of the vulture, the yellow beaked Neophron percnopterus gingineanus, are a more common sight in and around Delhi. It is smaller than the grey billed vulture and can be differentiated by the colour of the beak. The third sub-species of the Egyptian vulture has not been re ported from India.
Experts say that the development of Bhatti Mines as a classic example of the Ridge eco-system and the presence of a massive waterbody has seen the evolution of the complete food chain in the region, including presence of scavengers and carnivores like the leopard, jackals and the striped hyena. The vultures too seem to have found the region a suitable habitat.
“We have records of neelgais and other animals being killed in road accidents around Bhatti Mines, providing easy food for scavengers. Thisis a classic case of animals coming in conflict with humans. For them the Ridge is one forest and they cannot distinguish between Delhi and Haryana borders. It is essential to have a dedicated corridor for the animals and also supplementary feeding stations for vultures in Asola and Bhatti,“ said Prakash.

Aug 26 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Honeybees originated in Asia, not Africa says study

LONDON PTI





Honeybees appear to have originated from Asia around 3,00,000 years ago and not from Africa as previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers carried out the first global analysis of genome variation in honeybees. Their findings show a surprisingly high level of genetic diversity, and indicate that the species most probably originated from Asia, and not from Africa as believed.The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is of crucial importance for humanity. One third of our food is dependent on the pollination of fruits, nuts and vegetables by bees and other insects. Extensive losses of honeybee colonies in recent years are a major cause for concern. Honeybees face threats from disease, climate change, and management practices, researchers said.
To combat these threats it is important to understand the evolutionary history of honeybees and how they are adapted to different environments across the world, they said.
“In contrast to other domestic species, management of honeybees seems to have increased levels of genetic variation by mixing bees from different parts of the world. The findings may also indicate that high levels of inbreeding are not a major cause of global colony losses,“ said Matthew Webster from Uppsala University.
Another unexpected result was that bees seem to be derived from an ancient lineage of cavity-nesting bees that arrived from Asia around 3,00,000 years ago and rapidly spread across Europe and Africa. This stands in contrast to previous research that suggests thy originated from Africa.
“The evolution ary tree we con structed from ge nome sequences does not support an origin in Africa, this gives us new insight into how honey bees spread and became adapted to habitats across the world,“ said Webster.
Hidden in the patterns of genome variation are signals that indicate large cyclical fluctuations in population size that mirror historical patterns of glaciation. This indicates that climate change has strongly impacted honeybee populations historically.
They also identified specific mutations in genes important in adaptation to climate and pathogens.
The study was published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Jul 09 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

After 50 yrs, Raju no more a slave

Ishita.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Agra:





An elephant that had been chained throughout its 50-year life and subjected to severe abuse was recently rescued from Farah in UP recently. Raju is now at the Elephant Care and Conservation Centre here run by NGO Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the state forest department. The NGO was also instrumental in rescuing the tusker.The forest department seized the elephant, a male, after its ‘owner’ was found not to have documents for its possession. The entire process took nearly an year.
Raju was used for begging, joy rides and to perform tricks. Veterinarians attending to it said it had been poked with spikes and had wounds in several parts of its body. It had even been fed paper and plastic. Raju’s taste buds have been damaged and it cannot taste food, the vets said. Its digestive system will take a long
time to recover.“It will be long before the elephant’s health is restored. The next six months could prove especially challenging,” one of the vets, Yaduraj Khadpekar, said.
Although friendly to animals, it remains deeply suspicious of human beings, Khadpekar said. The team that rescued Raju claimed that it had tears streaming down its eyes as the chains were removed.
Members of the NGO said it was probably taken from a forest as a calf and then sold several times.

Jun 13 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Honour for Juliet who saved CRPF platoon

Rakhi Chakrabarty

New Delhi: TNN





True to the maxim -every dog has its day -Thursday belonged to Juliet, a Belgian Malinois dog with the CRPF, deployed in antiMaoist operations in Odisha.
On Thursday , CRPF chief Dilip Trivedi decided to award Juliet and her handler with Director General (DG) Commendation Disc for sniffing out two landmines, each weighing 20 kg, thereby sav ing lives of an entire CRPF platoon at Daitari in Odisha's Keonjhar district.On Wednesday , Juliet and her handler Constable Zale Singh went out with CRPF troops as part of area domination duty at Sal Ghati in the Maoist heartland in Keonjhar.
“After patrolling for about 8 km, Juliet stopped at a mound of earth and gravel by the side of the road,“ said CRPF IG (operations) Zulfiquar Hasan.
She sniffed and sat down beside the mound, refusing to budge. After a while, she scratched the ground with her paw revealing electric wires. “Our troops immediately cordoned off the area.
The bomb detection and disposal squad then unearthed a 20kg IED planted by the Maoists about two feet below the ground,“ said Hasan.
About 50 m away from the spot, Juliet sniffed out another 20 kg IED fitted with detonators and torch cells, ready for activation.
“Juliet saved many lives by her timely detection of the IEDs,“ said Hasan.
Currently , the CRPF, nodal force in anti-Maoist operations, has 108 Belgian Malinois dogs inducted over last two years in the Maoist zone.
The Belgian Malinois shot to fame as the dog “that took down Osama bin Laden“. According to reports, a Belgian Malinois accompanied the US Navy Seals team that raided the house in Pakistan where al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden lived.

Jun 02 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Earth staring at mass extinction due to us

Tomas Jivanda

THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES





Thanks To Humans, Plants And Animals Disappearing 10 Times Faster, Says Study

H umanity is responsible for speeding up the natural rate of extinction for animal and plant species by up to 10,000 times, as the planet is on the brink of a dinosaur-scale sixth mass extinction, a new study has warned.Species are disappearing around 10 times faster than is widely believed in the scientific community, while in pre-human times extinction rates were slower than previously thought, researchers from Duke University in the US said. “We are on the verge of the sixth extinction,” lead author, biologist Stuart Pimm, said. “Whether we avoid it or not will depend on our actions.” Praised by independent experts as a landmark report, it fo
cuses around calculating a “death rate” of how many species become extinct each year out of 1 million species.Analysing the latest research, the team concluded that the pre-human extinction rate was 0.1 per year per 1 million, rather than 1 per 1 million, as a previous study led by Dr Pimm in 1995 suggested. Today, the rate is at least 1,000 times greater than the 0.1 figure at 100 extinctions per year per million species, but could be up to 1,000 per 1 million, Pimm added.
Although a combination of numerous factors is responsible for the acceleration in disappearance of species, the biggest is habitat loss caused by humans, Dr Pimm and co-author Clinton Jenkins from the Institute of Ecological Research in Brazil said.
Other major issues are invasive species introduced by humans crowding out native species, climate change affecting where species can survive and overfishing. A good example is the buffy-tufted-ear marmoset.Dr Jenkins said development in Brazil has decimated its habitat while a competing marmoset has taken over where it lives.
The oceanic white-tip shark
used to be one of the most abundant predators on Earth, but they have been hunted so much they are now rarely seen, added Dalhousie University marine biologist Boris Worm, who praised the study. “If we don't do anything, this will go the way of the dinosaurs.” Other species at great risk include the Sumatran rhinoceros, Amur leopard and mountain gorilla.Dr Pimm and Jenkins did however say there is some hope.
Both said the use of smartphones and applications such as iNaturalist will help ordinary people and biologists find species in trouble, they said. Once biologists know where endangered species are, they can try to save habitats and use captive breeding and other techniques to save the species, they said.