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Tiger Population in India shows 30.5 percent increase in 2014


A tiger under captivity in a zoo in Mangalore, Karnataka.

























As per the latest estimates released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the number of tigers found in the wild, in India increased from 1706 in 2010 to 2226 in 2014. The new figures shows that there is a 30.5 percent increase in the tiger population compared to the last estimate. The results of the survey show that states like Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala marked an increase in the tiger population.

According to the press release issued by Press Information Bureau, the figures were released by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in the inaugural address at the two day meeting of the Chief Wildlife Wardens of Tiger States and Field Directors of Tiger Reserves. According to the minister conservation efforts related to Special Tiger Protection Force, Special Programme for Orphan Tiger cubs, efforts to control poaching and initiatives to minimize Human-Animal conflict and encroachment have resulted in the growth of tiger population in the country. 

The figures are derived from a comprehensive survey of 18 Tiger States, covering an area of 3,78,118 sq.kms of Forest Area. The double sampling procedure used in the survey, using camera traps made a total of 1540 unique Tiger Photo captures. 

“The third round of independent Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves has shown an overall improvement in the score of 43 Tiger Reserves from 65% in 2010-11 to 69 in 2014”, says the release. Moreover, the forest cover assessment also indicates improvement. “The assessment of Forest Cover Change in Tiger Landscape of Shivalik-Gangetic Plain has indicated an improvement of forest cover in core areas of Tiger Reserves”, says the release.

Birds of India- Red Billed Chough




One among the only two species belonging to the Pyrrhocorax genus, Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) will redraw the popular Indian idea of black crow. Though a member of the crow family, unlike the Indian Jungle Crow or House Crow, the Red Billed Chough has red beaks, and legs and a very different call (Watch the video, if you have never heard the call of Red Billed Chough !)

You can find Red - billed Choughs in the Himalayas. In Himachal Pradesh, if you are lucky, you may find them in Manali and Great Himalayan National Park. But when ever you go to more heights, you have more chances of spotting this bird. This video was shot from Komic Village in Kaza, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh in India. We were lucky to find its close relative – Alpine Chough or Yellow Billed Chough also from the same village.

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Colonies of rare Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bats spotted from Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya

Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (Otomops wroughtoni)
[Image:By Kalyanvarma (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons]






Researchers located three new roosts of the rare Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (Otomops wroughtoni), from Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya in the North Eastern India. According to the researchers, this rare bat species is so far known only by three records –from Meghalaya, Western Ghats of India and from Cambodia. 

The researchers have spotted the bat colonies while undertaking an exploration facilitated by the Meghalaya Adventures Association to identify new caves in the south-western parts of the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya. While exploring these caves which are located in a 15 kilometer radius around the village Lakadong, the researchers have found different bat species in 13 caves. Among these, they were able to spot Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat from two caves situated near Pynurkba and Umlatdoh villages. Though they were able to detect the sound signals of the bats from a third cave, they were not able to spot the bats since it was a very narrow crevice. According to the account of the researchers, which is published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, the roosts have at least 90 members.