Coexistence & conflict, sides of the same coin: Assam villagers’ kindness towards injured elephant heartening

When an injured tusker was found in an Assam village, locals rushed to his aid with food, medical assistance 

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (March 16, 2023)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal   

Centre notifies India’s 31st elephant reserve in Tamil Nadu

The new reserve will be spread over an area of 1,197 square kilometres in Agasthiyamalai

Odisha forest officials use recorded tiger growls to keep elephants away from villages

Conventional methods such as firecrackers and chili bombs have harmed the animals in the past

‘Protocol not followed’: Complaint lodged in Karnataka forest department sharpshooter death case

Venkatesh, tasked with tranquilising an injured wild elephant in Hassan, was trampled to death by it in what his son has blamed as negligence by …

Arikkomban should be trained to become a kumki

That is the best option for a rogue elephant in the habit of raiding human habitations, killing people and damaging properties

Over 500 died in human-elephant conflict in Odisha in last 5 years

Around a quarter of these deaths occurred during summer season between April and June  

Two forest officials suspended for deaths of elephants in train accident

Environmentalists have called out the forest department for only taking action against low-rank officials

‘It is the elephant-headed aspect so prevalent in Ganesha that has allowed his icon to gain a foothold in many cultures’

Down To Earth speaks to Lode Rosseels, a Belgian engineer, linguist and Japanologist, on Ganesha's journey from India to Tibet, China and Japan

Kerala’s gaur-human conflict debates fail to address some core issues; here is why

Gaurs had turned violent & aggressive after being shot by poachers; contentious issues, including the role of poachers, remain unaddressed

The Borneo elephant has been overshadowed by its bigger cousins: Nurzhafarina Othman

Down To Earth speaks to Nurzhafarina Othman, a Malaysian elephant ecologist, on the little-known Borneo elephant  

Deep dive: Science alone cannot provide solutions to human-elephant interactions in South India; here’s how

Government departments, nonprofits and scientists must work together to advance inclusive policies without discounting the urgency for scientists …

Odisha readies radio collars for 7 elephants: Why experts don't like that

Radio collaring to track wild elephant movement has failed in other states, say conservationists; add exercise will be a waste of public money

Wild elephant tests positive for herpes virus in Odisha forest

In 2019, five elephants had died within 33 days in Odisha after testing positive for herpes

Two elephants found dead in Odisha’s Keonjhar

At least 7 elephants have died under unnatural circumstances in Odisha in the last 7 months

How forest elephants move depends on water, humans and also their personality

A new study offers some answers for forest elephant management, but also highlights complicating challenges

Leopard skin, 2 elephant tusks seized by police in Odisha’s Nayagarh

Authorities in Odisha have seized 20 leopard skins in the state during the past year  

World Environment Day 2023: This project in south India is all about bridging art, conservation and empowerment

Adivasis make life-sized elephants from lantana; this provides them with employment besides decreasing lantana in the forest and raises awareness …

‘What’s left of the jungle’ tells why India’s forest dwellers are its best conservationists

Nitin Sekar’s book mixes two strands of narration, juxtaposing the present times with India’s conservation history to conclude that …

Similipal National Park a poacher’s paradise? Experts note a rise in incidents

On January 22, carcass of a male elephant, whose population is already on a decline, was found 

Bihar man-eater shot: ‘We need to put down problem animals for wildlife conservation’

Shafath Ali Khan, who was engaged by the Maharashtra government in the operation to eliminate Avni in 2018, released a book this year to narrate …

Elephant tusks seized, four arrested in Bihar

The prime accused repeatedly claimed that he was the proud owner of two captive elephants that died four years ago and that their tusks were kept …

Total weight of humans is 10 times that of all wild mammals put together

The weight distribution is also skewed: 40% global biomass of wild land mammals is concentrated in only 10 species

Bhupender Yadav launches field manual for forest staffers to manage human-elephant conflict

Yadav also released the Preliminary Report on Human Elephant Conflict and a booklet titled Trumpet

India identifying, defining forests wrongly, say experts at Anil Agarwal Dialogue

The urgent agenda today is to reinvent forest management for the future; so that India can build a wood-based future, but still protect the …