Population of Long-Billed Vultures in India still declining: Environment Ministry

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Indian Long-billed vultures in Orcha, Madhya Pradesh (Image Credit: Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons)

Despite conservation efforts, the population of the critically endangered, Long-billed vultures is declining in India. According to Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, there are only 12000 Long-billed vultures left in India as per the latest survey figures.

Answering a query in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry informed that surveys in the past showed that the population of the vultures in the country was establishing after a sharp decline during the mid-90s till 2007. However, the latest surveys show that the Long-billed vulture population is still declining.

The national waterway project may put the turtles of Varanasi Ghats at stake, claims new study

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Boats at Varanasi Ghats in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, India
(Image credit: Jorge Royan/Wikimedia commons)

By Melbin Thomas

Large vessel movement through the Ganga River as part of the proposed National Waterway-1 system under Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) will pose a major threat to the geomorphology of the river and endanger the habitat of soft shell turtles in Varanasi Turtle Sanctuary (VTS), claim researchers from IIT Kanpur and Wildlife Institute of India.

According to their study published in the Current Science journal, the geomorphology within the VTS has remained stable for the past 50 years, except for some minor changes. National Waterway-1 system under JMVP which proposes to connect Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and Haldia in West Bengal, enabling the movement of large cargo vessels through VTS, may disturb this stability, says the study.

Study confirms presence of near extinct Hangul population outside Dachigam NP in Kashmir Valley

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Image Credit: Lovenaimals.com

All may not be lost for the near extinct Kashmir red deer, Hangul, with just around 200 individuals surviving within the 141 square kilometers of Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir. A new study confirms the presence of Hangul population outside the National Park and also shows evidence of other suitable habitats for Hangul in Kashmir Valley.