Every time the three irrigation canals of Prakasam Barrage, which pass through the city, are closed for the summer, the endangered species of pig-nosed turtles become easy prey. Though they are well-camouflaged in the slush and mud of the canal bed, Poachers know where to look for them. Armed with a stick or rod, they keep poking until they hit the turtle's hard shell. Gaddam Yesu, who is still in his teens,...

Deforestation, Poachers, illicit liquor-brewers forcing them to migrate Large-scale deforestation and the disturbances caused by Poachers and illicit liquor-brewers could be forcing king cobras to migrate from their natural habitat in bamboo-rich dense evergreen forests to villages nearby. A study conducted by the researchers of the Department of Zoology, University of Kerala, and the Reptile Study Group, Thiruvananthapuram, has revealed that the king cobra, the world's longest venomous snake, is under...

In the first reported incident of its kind since the lion poaching incidents of May 2007, a gang of suspected Poachers comprising about 25 tribals from Karnataka, was busted in Kodinar, Gir (west), late on Monday night. The tribals were caught with five bags full of different lion body parts, Rs60,000 in cash and some sharp weapons. No carcass of lion has been discovered yet, but foresters believe these tribals to...

The Kaziranga National Park in Assam lost two pregnant cow elephants after they strayed into a nearby tea estate and consumed grass sprinkled with pesticides. According to the officials from the reserve, one of the elephants died at Panbari, the elephant corridor across NH-37, and the other died 13 km away at Lengerapahar, under Dolamari range of the park, on Monday, they said. The two elephants had ventured out of the park....

About three kilometers from this village, across dirt tracks and open scrubland, there is a settlement of seven mud huts bordered by millet and lentil fields. No electricity or telephone poles run to these huts. There’s not a satellite dish to be seen. In the dry, open land that surrounds the settlement — part of the great Thar Desert that dominates the western part of the state of Rajasthan — black...