BNHS And Bishnois Join Hands To Save The Great Indian Bustards In Khetolai, Rajasthan
She spread out her arms in glee as she stood on the land she owned. She was happy because this land was now nurturing new generations of a fast-disappearing species of bird – the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB). Eighty-five-year-old Mangli Devi Bishnoi and other Bishnois of the Khetolai village of Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer District […]
Meet The BNHS Scientist Spearheading The Conservation Of India’s Three Most Threatened Birds And Their Vanishing Grassland Habitats
During childhood, he would watch the Great Indian bustards in the grasslands near his home in a small village close to Solapur city in Maharashtra. At that time, he was completely unaware of their sad plight. By the time he grew up and acquired the knowledge and experience to help these birds, they had disappeared […]
BNHS Now And Into The Future: From The Director’s Desk
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), one of India’s oldest and largest NGOs, established in 1883, stepped into its 141st year in 2024. Throughout its long history, the organisation has contributed significantly to wildlife research and conservation and continues to do so in the present day. In this interview, Kishor Rithe, the Director of BNHS, […]
Battling The Many Threats To Save The Great Indian Bustards In Their Last Stronghold In The Thar Grasslands
The Great Indian Bustard, a bird that once dwelled across large parts of the Indian subcontinent, has now lost over 90% of its range. It is racing towards extinction, with the grasslands of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan being its last remaining home and hope. Even this landscape is now riddled with threats. Outside the […]
Meet The BNHS Scientist Helping Protect India’s Wetlands And Migratory Bird Flyways For Nearly Three Decades
Since childhood, birds fascinated Dr. P. Sathiyaselvam. Growing up in a small village in Tamil Nadu, he had the opportunity to experience the bounties of nature all around him. Often, he would play with his friends near rivers, lakes, and ponds, getting close to many feathered visitors in and around these water bodies. Although he did […]
Meet The BNHS Scientist Studying The Secret Lives Of Otters In India
As a child, he was mesmerised by their mischievous ways of frolicking along the banks of the Arasalar River that flowed near his home. For hours, he would observe them efficiently swimming in the river, catching fish, and grooming each other. At that time, he had no inkling that one day, these otters would be […]
Diary Of A Scientist: A Day In Tadoba with Vultures And Tigers
I woke up to the rising sun and the melodious calls of the common hawk cuckoo and the Indian pitta – a summer visitor to the region. I was staying at a forest rest house in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. Still groggy, I grabbed my camera and quickly left the rest house, determined […]
The JALCHAR Mobile App Launched To Protect Marine Life
In 2023, a blue whale calf weighing around 5 tons was discovered stranded on a beach near Ganpatipule in Ratnagiri. However, despite great attempts made to rescue it and send it back into deep waters, the calf could not survive. According to experts, the blue whale calf had remained out of water for too long […]
The Heartfelt Story Of Rajasthan’s Godawan Smarak: A Tribute To A Female Great Indian Bustard Who Tragically Lost Her Life
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), which used to thrive across the Indian subcontinent, now faces severe challenges due to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation stemming from the relentless increase in anthropogenic disturbance across its range. The population of this critically endangered species (Ardeotis nigriceps) is now primarily confined to the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India. […]