India welcomed the second lot of Cheetahs as the South African big cats landed in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior on February 18. With the arrival of 12 more Cheetahs under ‘Project Cheetah’, Kuno National Park has become home to 20 fastest land animals.
The spotted beauties flew from Africa on February 17 and were transferred on Indian Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster Cargo. 12 Cheetahs were released in Sheopur’s Kuno National Park by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Calling it a Mahashivratri gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM expressed his gratitude
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With aim to provide more time to the new members of the Cheetah family for their acclimatisation, the big cats will be quarantined for 30 days as per the international protocol. The move will not only effect the habitat but has already started showing a much-needed change among the people on wildlife.
India’s first batch of 8 Cheetahs that were welcomed in September last year and were released by PM Modi. India is aiming to get a total of 100 Cheetahs from Africa as part of its Cheetah Project.
According to USFWS, Wisdom’s longtime mate named Akeakamai has not been seen at the wildlife refuge this year.
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Wisdom, the world’s oldest known bird, has returned to the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced on Thursday. Taking to Twitter, the wildlife officials said that the Laysan albatross is at least 71 years old. The large seabird, who was spotted on Thanksgiving day, has reappeared at the same nest site in the North Pacific for decades.
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“Wisdom, the world’s oldest known wild bird, recently returned to Midway Atoll! The beloved Laysan albatross, or moli, is at least 71 years old. Biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg, and the large seabirds aren’t known to breed before age 5,” USFWS wrote on Twitter.
In the following tweet, the agency said biologists first identified and banded Wisdom in 1956 after she laid an egg. Over the course of her life, she has produced 50-60 eggs and raised around 30 chicks. As per Huffpost, last year scientists also learned that she had become a grandmother after one of her offspring was observed helping raise a chick of its own.
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However, USFWS said that Wisdom’s longtime mate named Akeakamai has not been seen at the wildlife refuge this year. The pair’s most recent chick hatched in early 2021 when Wisdom was believed to be at least 70.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, the news of Wisdom’s return this year was met with celebration and appreciation for her resilience. “Wisdom may be the single most impressive organism on Earth,” wrote one user. “This specific individual bird is older than my parents, and approximately 4% of my happiness is tied up in whether or not this specific individual bird mates every year,” said another.
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In 2002, biologist Chandler Robbins of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was working on the Midway Atoll. He recaptured a bird that needed a tattered ankle band to be replaced. He found the bird in question was 51 years old.
Wisdom was immediately secured into spot as the oldest bird ever recorded. To his disbelief, Robbins found that it was him who had banded Wisdom in 1956. He died in 2017 aged 98. Wisdom’s extraordinary longevity and remarkable late-life chick-rearing has won her internet fame.
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Wisdom may be twice or thrice the expected lifespan of a Laysan albatross. For this reason, biologists are actively gathering data and learning about the species.
Beth Flint, a biologist with the Marine National Monuments of the Pacific, said, “We don’t know exactly how many chicks she’s raised, but certainly at least 35 based on what we know about her recent years’ performance.”
Feb. 2, World Wetlands Day, is an apt time to highlight the Bradford Bypass’ impacts on the Lake Simcoe watershed’s wetlands, and why that matters.
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World Wetland Day is celebrated annually on February 2 with the aim to create awareness of the vital role wetlands play for people and the planet. The proposal for the convention on wetlands was first made on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
Wetlands are the parts of the earth where the soil is covered with water. They support both terrestrial and aquatic species. There are five major types of wetlands. They are marine, estuarine, lacustrine, riverine, and palustrine. It is essential to conserve wetlands as they are among the most productive environments.
WORLD WETLAND DAY 2023: HISTORY
WSON Team
The awareness of World Wetland Day started off in 1997. However, it was on August 30, 2021, that the United Nations General Assembly approved resolution 75/317 for World Wetlands Day to be celebrated on February 2.
The secretariat of the convention on wetlands tried to share materials like factsheets, documents, posters, and logos to educate individuals on the importance of wetlands on our planet.
WORLD WETLAND DAY 2023: SIGNIFICANCE
WSON Team
A significant part of our ecosystem comprises wetlands. They are considered biodiversity hotspots that are the habitat for a large variety of aquatic flora and fauna.
They are also home to numerous migratory birds and species. Destruction of wetlands would have a massive impact on the ecosystem directly or indirectly.
WORLD WETLAND DAY 2023: THEME
WSON Team
The theme for this year’s World Wetlands Day is ‘It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration,’ which focuses on the urgent need to prioritize wetland restoration.
We make a point of celebrating wetlands because they clean our air and water, support flood management, and host huge numbers of wildlife, insects and fish. On World Wetlands Day, please stop to consider how leaving wetlands behind makes our world a happier place for fish and fishermen, and a healthier place for everyone.
Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks took to Twitter to share a post about a bear. Since being tweeted, their share has left people both amazed and amused. They tweeted how a bear ended up ‘taking’ 400 selfies of itself on a wildlife camera. The interesting post may leave you smiling too.
“Recently, a bear discovered a wildlifecamera that we use to monitor wildlife across #Boulder open space. Of the 580 photos captured, about 400 were bear selfies,” they tweeted. Along with the post, they also shared a few images that show the bear looking into the camera. They also shared a blog link that explains the incident and the working of the cameras in detail.
“The motion-detecting cameras provide us a unique opportunity to learn more about how local species use the landscape around us while minimizing our presence in sensitive habitats,” said Will Keeley, senior wildlife ecologist for Open Space and Mountain Parks. “These cameras play an important role in helping OSMP staff identify important wildlife areas. The information we collect from them is used to recommend habitat-protective measures to help protect sensitive natural areas,” Keeley added.
The post was shared a few days ago. Since being posted, it has received close to six lakh views and the numbers are only increasing. Additionally, the tweet has accumulated more than 6,900 likes. People posted various comments while reacting to the share.
“Oh I do need to ask what “recently” means. Are not all bears sleeping right now?” asked a Twitter user. To which, the organisation replied, “This came from last year. ” Another person added, “Bears can make art too.” A third commented, “Give this bear an Instagram profile.” A fourth Instagram user wrote, “This is the best thing I have seen all day.”
The Indian Wolf has been listed as a Schedule I species in the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972 due to its extremely low numbers.
A rare species of Orange Bat was spotted at Kanger Ghati National Park in the forest area of Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-affected Bastar district, news agency ANI reported. An endangered species of Indian Wolf was also seen in the area, and pictures of the rare animals have gone viral on the internet.
Notably, the Indian Wolf has been listed as a Schedule I species in the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972 due to its extremely low numbers. The wolf-spotting in the area is being seen as a good sign, as forest authorities are amping up their efforts to conserve wildlife. Meanwhile, the orange bat is also exceedingly rare and is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Director of Kanger Ghati National Park, Ganveer Dharamsheel told ANI that the forest management has installed cameras in the interior regions of the forest, in order to keep track and record pictures and videos of unique species of wildlife.
“The forest departmental access has now increased in Kanger Ghati National Park and Indravati Tiger Reserve situated in Naxal-Prone areas of Bastar district,” Mr Dharamsheel was quoted as saying to ANI.
Expressing happiness, he added, “It is very good to find Indian wolves in the forests here and a plan is being prepared for their conservation and promotion. Villagers are being informed of it. We are in touch with them to help us in the conservation of wildlife. Although a large area of the forest is Naxal affected and in such a situation the officers of the forest department do not go to those areas. But the department is still making every possible effort to save the wild animals.”
Previously, Blind fish, Common hill myna, crocodile, long-moustache cave crickets, and rare species of Otter were also found in the Kanger Ghati National Park.
Talking of rare species, a white vulture was recently captured by locals in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. The rare Himalayan Griffon Vulture was captured in Eidgah cemetery of Kanpur’s Colonelganj and was handed over to the forest department.
