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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
As the monsoon rains drench one of the last remaining grasslands in Rajasthan, the male of one of India’s fastest-disappearing bird species makes its move to woo the female. It folds its legs and shoots vertically upwards to about 2 to 3 metres above the grass, with its partly open wings fluttering and producing a […]
It was a bright, sunny summer morning. I was waiting, all excited, at the Moharli Safari Gate of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). I was there to meet the reserve’s new residents—ten gorgeous white-rumped vultures and the BNHS vulture conservation research team stationed there. The vultures had been transported from the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Center […]
They symbolise eternal, unconditional love and inspire timeless tales of devotion, passion, poetry, art, and architecture. They are believed to be harbingers of good fortune whose presence indicates the sound health of wetland ecosystems. They are the sarus cranes, the world’s tallest flying birds. However, these birds we associate with all things positive are no […]
The temperature was freezing, but the view was spectacular. The snow-clad lofty peaks of Mount Kanchenjungha spread across the horizon in the distance. However, neither the cold nor the jaw-dropping views distracted the team of researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). They had gathered in a small shack at the Thambi View Point […]
In nature, everything has a meaning, including the colours adorned by various species. For example, the stripes of tigers act as camouflage to help them hunt prey. The stick insects’ colour and appearance, blending them with the surrounding vegetation, make them less noticeable to predators. The vibrant colours of resplendent peacocks help them attract females […]
It was a beautiful, calm spring morning in February. Lush tea gardens carpeted the landscape on either side of the road through which the car was passing. I was travelling from Jorhat town towards the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in the Jorhat District of Assam to set my eyes on a highly threatened species – the […]
