The Royal Hunt

A 17- year old tigress hunts a buffalo calf at the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur District on Tuesday. Courtesy:- Times Of India

White-rumped vulture found dead

A juvenile oriental white-rumped vulture was found dead at Junagam near Hazira, some 27kms from Surat in South Gujarat, on Wednesday. Locals informed volunteers belonging to Nature Club(Surat) about the dead bird. This vulture species is protected under Schedule 1 category of Wildlife Protection Act. "It was a juvenile of oriental white-rumped vulture species. it was lying dead. We collected the bird from the spot and sent it to the forest department in Mahuva, Bhavnagar District, where the facility to keep dead birds exists," co-coordinator, Vultures' Conservation Program, Nature Club(Surat), Viral Prajapati said. The postmortem of the dead bird will be done at Pinjore to ascertain the cause of death. According to nature conservationists, three species of vulture endemic to South Asia- the oriental white-rumped vulture gyps Bengalensis, longbilled vulture gyps indices and slender-billed vulture gyps gastroenteritis- are at high risk of extinction. "It has been observed that oriental white-rumped vultures are usually found in the western region of south Gujarat. A small population of oriental white-rumped vulture and long billed vulture still survive in south Gujarat's coastal part near Hazira. There are about 45 oriental white-rumped vultures," Prajapati said. Use of veterinary drug diclofenac is responsible for bringing the three species of vulture's endemic to South Asia to the brink of extinction. The Government of India banned the drug in May 2006. Recently, the state government had said in the state assembly that there were only 1,065 vultures in Gujarat.

Courtesy:- Times Of India

Jungle rule

Courtesy:- Times Of India

Royal Sleep By Asiatic Lions at Sasan Gir, Junagadh, Gujarat, India

Courtesy:- Times Of India

Online dash to save the vanishing Sparrow

If you have been missing the once- familiar chirping of sparrows around your house, here’s your choice to contribute to finding out why this common bird seems to have disappeared from cities across India. A Two-month long online surveys called Citizen Sparrow was launched on Sunday, inviting responses from people on questions such as when they last sighted the bird and details about the area they live in. The survey can be taken at www.citizensparrow.in. “It is an elementary step to gather information. We are encouraging people to report their experience, be it a drastic drop in sparrow count or a sudden spurt. These inputs will give us valuable leads to compile pan-India data”, Suhel Quader, evolutionary ecologists at National Centre for Biological Sciences. The environment ministry-funded survey is being undertaken by the Natural History Society, with the help of 10 partner organizations such as Indian Bird Conservation Network and Nature Conservation Foundation. The disappearance of the house sparrows so widespread till recently that the Chinese Communist Party declared it a pest in1958 and asked people to exterminate it remains a great modern mystery worldwide. In the UK, sparrows are estimated to have declined from over 12 million to 6 million since the mid-70s. While in Europe the decline has been documented and studied, there has been no major study in India so far. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) seeks to change that with its current initiative. “The survey would give is the first baseline data about distribution of sparrows in the country. This would form the basis for further research,” said Kathik K, project coordinator. The objective of moving ordinary citizens rather than experts comes with a purpose. “Almost everyone knows about sparrows. It is an attempt to reach out to people, asking them to share their stories and their understanding of these birds”, said Quader. Participants in the survey would be asked to mark locations on a map and give information about their sparrow sightings, including sightings from the last year and even earlier. Such information will enable a comparison of sparrows in different places, and this is expected to point to particular threats or problems. The findings are intended to feed detailed studies investing causes of decline and potential measures for the recovery of sparrow populations. Asad Rahmani, director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) said, “The sparrow is an indicator of a trend. A number of other birds have also declined sharply in the past few decades. We hope the survey would provide more clues about why these birds are disappearing”. Courtesy:- Times Of India

Gujarat-Bird Watcher's Paradise: Black- Necked stork numbers up in Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India

Gujarat-Bird Watcher's Paradise: Black- Necked stork numbers up in Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India

Black- Necked stork numbers up in Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India

Forest Department officials claim to have spotted 49 black-necked storks in and around Khijadia Bird Sanctuary roughly 12km from Jamnagar in the recent statewide water birds’ census.
It is a significant increase from merely six storks (including two chicks) spotted in 2002 of the 49 black-necked storks, seven were chicks, officials said. Black-Necked storks are classified as “near threatened” in India.
“In the last decade, rare birds like black-necked storks have preferred the environs of Khijadia for breeding and their numbers have increased significantly” said R.D. Kamboj, Chief Conservator of Forests, Marine National Park, Jamnagar.
Kamboj said the birds’ population estimation in and around Khijadia was carried out in the last week of January 2012, when many winter visiting birds were expected.
The number of birds as well the species has increased in Khijadia over the last four years. “During the estimation exercise, a total of 87,681 birds of 185 species were recorded at the sanctuary in the 2008 census, 41,437birds belonging to 119 species were recorded,” Kamboj said.
However, Jaypalsinh Jadeja, an avid bird watcher and ornithologist, said that the population of black-necked storks is not limited to just Khijadia or the area surrounding it but are spread over an area stretching up to Dwarka, which is roughly 150 km from Jamnagar.
“It is a magnificent bird to watch and you will definitely find at least four to five black- necked storks at Khijadiya within one km range,” said Jadeja.
Khijadia Bird Sanctuary is a wetland area located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch in semi-arid region of Jamnagar district. It encompasses freshwater lakes as well as brackish/marine wetland at a place. This complex of wet lands strategically falls on Indo-Asian flyway of migratory birds welcoming the birds coming from Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan and their neighboring areas.
“The sanctuary also has birds like painted storks, darters, lesser flamingoes and Indian skimmers among others. The sanctuary has been proposed recently for inclusion as the wetland of international importance, a Ramsar site”, kamboj said.
Courtesy:- Times Of India