Five actions Madagascar's president must take to save country's biodiversity
Andry Rajoelina’s term represents the last chance to save some of Madagascar’s incredible natural heritage
Reworking of times past
In the race to make a fast buck from Jurassic Park, Spielberg lost a cinematic shot at recreating the complex ecosystem where dinosaurs ruled Earth
Meet thy neighbours
Every existence has its excuse, it is said. Every year taxonomists in India venture into uncharted landscapes and scan every nook and corner to …
Species census
Total number of known species on Earth are rising. A report by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University, US,…
Growing old in the wild
The conventional belief is that animals don't live into old age, but succumb much earlier to "unnatural" causes. Recent research, however, …
Global pet trade in amphibians is bigger than we thought
There is a strong bias for certain types of amphibians; six amphibian families contributed disproportionately high numbers of traded species
Climate change forces Red-tailed Hawk to skip migration
According to experts, the bird has become a year-round resident, giving up embarking on a long journey southwards
Catch a tiger by its pug
Accurate tiger census methodology assumes significance in the context of the recent controversy over the declining number of tigers in the Indian …
Looking beyond hype and nostalgia
To most modern Indian writers, the environment means trees, birds and animals -- and human beings, in aesthetic or metaphysical communion with them.
Making a start
Ground realities alone will determine the future of Himalayan biodiversity and the people of the area
The Earth's biodiversity could be much greater than we thought
A widely touted study proposes a total of 8.7 million species, but they could be 10 times more
Mira Behn: A friend of nature
The urge to be close to nature guided Madeleine Slade, who came to be known as Mira Behn, throughout her life
Himalayan yew to fight cancer
Taxol, an effective anti-cancer drug that was approved for use in the US last year, will soon be available in India at half the cost
Notch in the mountains
HIMALAYAN BIODIVERSITY-ACTION PLAN·Edited by Uppeandra Dhar·Himvikas Publication No. 10, published for the G B Pant Institute of …
Capturing nature
CHHOBI MELA–2001·exhibition of photographs on nature and wildlife·The Academy of Fine Arts·Kolkata·January 2001
Global Eco Watch: How climate may have helped exacerbate Spanish Flu
Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology
DNA from air may help identify, track animals in the wild: Studies
The findings could help understand the composition of animal communities and detect the spread of non-native species
How did elephants evolve such a large brain? Climate change is part of the answer
The evolutionary history of elephants is interesting. It parallels humans’ in many ways
Sliding towards extinction: scientists find 60 per cent of mammals are imperiled
Treating large mammals as ‘umbrella species’ for conservation facilitates protection of the larger ecosystems and overall biodiversity
The seeds of trouble
Privatisation of tea and rubber plantations has endangered the flora and fauna in southern Sri Lanka
Dying repositories of the world's biodiversity
Rich in flora and fauna, rain forests are nevertheless ecologically fragile. Their loss due to human depredation could result in environmental …
‘The ship has reached the shore’: The planet finally has a treaty to protect life in the high seas
The high seas are areas of oceans that lies beyond countries’ national waters. These are the largest habitat on Earth and home to …
Human reproductive technologies like sperm freezing and IVF could be used to save threatened species
They could solve genetic and cost issues and prevent inbreeding depression among such species
How the warming world could turn many plants and animals into climate refugees
Almost unprecedented rate of global temperature increase means that species need to migrate at rapid rates
New species of frog discovered in Western Ghats
It has been named Ghatixalus magnus after its large size, making it the biggest known tree frog in the Western Ghats