Living planet report 2022
<p>Wildlife populations monitored across the globe have declined by a massive 69 per cent between 1970 and 2018, according to this WWF's Living Planet Report (LPR) 2022</p>
Reptiles
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Another crocodile caught from pond
Lucknow: Exactly after a gap of ten days since an adult crocodile was caught from a pond in Fattepurwa village of Chinhat locality, forest team rescued another such crocodile from a pond in Bhakamau village. The crocodile was spotted on Sunday morning and the matter was brought to the notice of the forest department team. The team caught the reptile on Tuesday from the village under Gudamba police station, which was then taken to the ghariyal rehabilitation centre in Kukrail.
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State Pulse: Orissa: Crocodile fears
Bhitarkanika too small for reptiles and people - report of Ashutosh Mishra The Oriya name for the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is baula kumbhira, which literally means crazy crocodile. The moniker certainly rings true for people living in about 50 villages around Bhitarkanika National Park in Orissa's Kendrapara district. Home to the largest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the country, the reserve is rife with human-crocodile conflict.
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Tortoises safe as Galapagos volcano eruption ends
The lava from an erupting Galapagos volcano did not affect the islands' famed giant tortoises as first feared, Galapagos National Park officials said today. The Cerro Azul volcano on Isabela Island erupted between Thursday and Sunday, unleashing a heavy flow of lava, park authorities said in a statement. Isabela, the largest island in the archipelago, is home to rare and unique flora and fauna, including the Galapagos giant tortoise, which can weigh more than 230 kilos and live more than 100 years.
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More breathing space for reptiles
If all goes according to plan, the country's only crocodile farm in Phuentsholing will move to a more spacious location, further from the urban centre and allowing elbowroom for its inmates. An acute lack of space has been a longstanding problem for the farm, which was set up in 1976 behind Norgay cinema on a 0.58-acre area with 12 crocodiles (Crododylus palustris) and seven gharials. According to the gharial conservation program in-charge, B P Dhal, the new site planned near Dhoti khola, around a kilometre beyond the present location, will spread over a five-acre area.
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Forest Dept saved 1020 snakes in 2007
There are so many misconceptions about snakes that any of the snake species spotted in residential areas cannot escape without harm from man. For many people immensely fear snakes. But, at least, in Goa, people seem to be shaking off their preconceived notions. They call snake rescuers rather than kill the reptiles. The Wildlife Division of the Forest Department last year succeeded in trapping and saving 1020 snakes across the State.
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Global warming spells bad news for tropical insects
Tropical insects, amphibians and reptiles will probably never enjoy the status of an environmental poster child, but global warming's impact on them can't be ignored. So say Josh Tewksbury of the University of Washington in Seattle and his colleagues.
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New species of lizard found in Pune
Scientists of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have discovered a huge 250 mm long lizard, which is said to be the largest in the common gecko family, in the ghats of Pune's Junnar taluka. According to scientist Varad Giri, the lizard was first photographed two years ago by Pune-based herpetologist Ashok Captain, who forwarded the photos to BNHS for identification. "The new gecko has some distinctive features including its large size and unusual scales on the body,' Giri said. So far, a 220-230 mm long spotted rock gecko was the largest lizard discovered in India.
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Alligator delicacies in Brazil
Brazil's environmental officials have found the skinned and salted corpses of about 740 alligators in the Piagacu-Purus reserve in the Amazon forests. The dried reptiles, weighing about eight tonnes,
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Lessons from the lizard on making a good tissue adhesive
Ants and bees teach us cooperation. Spiders have given us hints about how to make ultra thin and strong fibers. Bacteria and fungi produce molecules that we use as drugs. What has the lowly lizard that we can learn from? Most of us despise it at home, yet it holds a fascination for us. Hindu almanacs (panchamgam) interpret the sounds the lizard makes and the direction from where it falls (on our body), and predict the (often dire) outcome. We grudgingly marvel at its ability to scurry on vertical walls and across the ceiling. Trying to understand It is this ability of the lizard and its larger outdoor cousins