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Animal News (Except Bigcats)
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@Sanju that is quite absurd, it will be nothing more than a circus, probably they want to lure in tourists coining the term 'mini africa' by adding giraffees and cheetahs. Only animals that i think may be brought to mainland Asia for their chance of survival and service to ecosystem, will be Sumatran rhino, Tapir and Banteng maybe if going far fetched include Orangutan if that have a greater chance of surviving but Giraffe adds whole another level of dimension to the discussion
@Jimmy It's completely wrong to bring animal species which never existed out of their range. IUCN and other organizations may not give permission for this project ...
Reintroducing cheetahs and lions is another thing which are native species to subcontinent if not spp. 
This is what happens when priorities of people in charge is all over the place. How about safeguarding the animals already living in the country than some far fetched exoticised version of what your wildlife should be.
Plus, Hippos lived in India till about 8000BC and could have died out due to anthropogenic factors, but most probably went extinct at the end of the ice age. Ao, even if this farcical plans are in motion, and you want to reintroduce animals from Africa, cheetahs should be first and hippos should be next. (06-04-2020, 04:11 PM)Ashutosh Wrote: Plus, Hippos lived in India till about 8000BC and could have died out due to anthropogenic factors, but most probably went extinct at the end of the ice age. Ao, even if this farcical plans are in motion, and you want to reintroduce animals from Africa, cheetahs should be first and hippos should be next. Hexaprotodon genus species lived in India but present extant Pygmy hippopotamus species of Africa even though both are of same genus shouldn't introduced. Its against IUCN guidelines. Its better if we conserve and relocate our lions and tigers along with cheetahs.
Madhya Pradesh: 'Giraffes won't adapt to Indian ecology'
Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/76192884.cms?fbclid=IwAR3vxnBMEbdjoAeXSMsOqw92q8wUO75kQjDJKiJetV7bmiKKao04kwO6U-s&from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst 
@"OncaAtrox" What do you think about this situation??
@Dark Jaguar it's tricky, on one side the only plausible way of controlling the hippo population is by killing them. At the same time, a recent study made on the ecology of these hippos found out that they were beneficial for the environment because they were fulfilling roles in the ecosystem of animals that had gotten extinct during the Pleistocene, restoring the biome in some areas
This is actually a clear example as to why South America is in a much dire situation compared to other areas in terms of ecosystem imbalance caused by the lack of megafauna. There no longer are proboscideans and ground sloths in the Amazon to spread the seeds that help the jungle grow, the ungulates that fertilize the land have been all but exterminated, and many environments rely on small and medium-sized animals to sustain those ecosystems. My personal take on the matter is that the hippos are more positive than they are negative, and biologists should probably study ways for the hippos to be relocated into different areas further away from human settlements where their contribution to the environment could be positive, and later control the population by culling a number of animals annually. What do you think? On their role in the ecosystem: https://earther.gizmodo.com/pablo-escoba...1842460794
@"OncaAtrox"
I didn't know they were giving benefits, that's cool its one more reason not to kill them. When I first saw this a few years back they encroaching human inhabit vilages I thought humans would retaliate, so far I didn't hear a case of human death in the area and hopefully it continues that way. despite tapirs and monkeys also doing a pretty good job spreading seeds over the forests its interesting Hippos playing a role of the extinct ones, in case they decide to remove them they gotta invest alot and not kill them imo. in order not to kill them they could take them to zoos or something but from the video they're not willing to kill them thats good but the problem will start when they multiply their numbers more and more, there's also the genetic viability so they wouldn't be as healthy as their African brothers. Its a complicated situation and I agree on your opinion on the part they could use them on contribution to the environment.
A couple of men were killed inside Melghat Tiger Reserve by a mama sloth bear after these two poachers had killed her cubs with an axe. Don’t think the cubs were intended to be poached.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/mama-sloth-bear-mauls-2-men-to-death-after-her-cubs-were-killed-with-an-axe Also shows you how dangerous sloth bears are considering the mother killed 2 men armed with axe!
@peter check this out.
This is a brazilian endangered species of bushdog named cachorro-vinagre ("vinegar dog"). (Speothos venaticus). They are native from central and south america and are considered semi-aquatic animals due to being extremely adaptable to the water and being able to dive and swim with ease. They hunt in groups of around 10 individuals on Capybara,Agouti,Pecari,Rhea,Armadillos and live in a hierarchy society and can weight up to 7kg. Its closest relative in South America is the Maned Wolf and can also be found in the drier savannah of Cerrado. Their first register ever was in brazilian caves through fossil research in 1842. This video bellow from 2015 it was the first documented register of this endangered species in Parque Nacional das Emas - Goiás - Cerrado (PNE) since the Park was created in 1961 in Brazil. credits: Marcos Buononato Vinegar Dog family in the den. credits: Projeto Cachorro Vinagre The main reason of them disappearing from nature is deforestation and Today they are considered an almost endangered species. https://aquelemato.org/cachorro-vinagre-cao-do-cerrado/  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author credits: Agência Brasília on Visual Hunt/CC By  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Wild canids and striped hyenas can conserve a diversity of habitats in India, says study
 *This image is copyright of its original author
A recent study reveals that wild canids (such as wild dogs, jackals, wolves and foxes) and striped hyenas can serve as flagship species for increasing the country’s conservation potential. Highlighting the aim of this study, lead author Arjun Srivathsa, affiliated with the University of Florida, U.S. and Wildlife Conservation Society-India, said, “At present, wildlife monitoring in India predominantly involves national estimation of tigers and their prey, Asiatic lion, Asian elephant and one-horned rhinoceros populations. No protocol or framework exists for monitoring other species groups like wild canids, small carnivores, amphibians, riverine fauna, or ungulate herbivores in high-altitude or non-woodland habitats. Our aim is to build a monitoring system with real-time documentation of distribution and threat data on these carnivores, coupled with periodic analyses. This would work in tandem with and complement government-driven monitoring programs with decentralised local efforts, fostering citizens’ involvement in scientific research while also garnering public support for conservation. Citizens can report their sighting records of wild canids and hyenas on our website.” Identifying conservation clusters through prioritisation is common in scientific literature, but not as widely implemented on ground. But Brazil has “Jaguar Conservation Units” that were identified some years ago (2014-2015). Areas critical for conservation of some butterfly species have been demarcated through a similar process in the UK, added Srivathsa. India’s small carnivores as potential flagships for conservation The study has focused on eight species/sub-species of wild canids in India— dhole, golden jackal, Indian wolf, Tibetan wolf, Indian fox, red fox, desert fox and Tibetan fox. The striped hyena, which is not a canid, was also included because it is ecologically very similar to the wild canids, and has similar conservation requirements. Additionally, the species chosen are carnivores that represent multiple unique ecosystems. Dholes inhabit tropical forest habitats; similarly, golden jackals, Indian wolves, Indian foxes and hyenas need grasslands, scrublands, open/barren lands and ravines. Desert foxes dwell in the arid areas of north-western India, and the mountains and plains of Himalayas and trans-Himalayan plains are important for Tibetan wolves and red foxes. “These habitats support unique and important ecosystems and many species of wildlife. Taken together, they can serve as ideal flagships for conserving these habitats, most of which have been overlooked and decimated over time,” said Srivathsa.  *This image is copyright of its original author Striped hyena with pups in grassland habitat. Photo by Kalyan Varma.The planning of this study began in August 2018 and the team collected data in four phases from October 2018 till May 2019. The main objective of this study was to assess where the eight canid species/sub-species and the striped hyena species are distributed in the country and come up with updated maps. “We used this information to identify important zones for their conservation and then to understand how much of these zones are prioritised for conservation already and potential threats to them. We used three sources of knowledge to assign a ‘conservation score’ to each of them, indicating their threat level in India: (i) experts/biologists who study these species (ii) conservation status as assigned by IUCN, CITES and India’s Wild Life Protection Act, and (iii) our results for species distributions. Based on our assessment, golden jackal and red fox had the highest conservation score (relatively the least threatened) and, Indian fox and striped hyena had the lowest conservation score (indicating higher threatened status) in India,” explained study author Iravatee Majgaonkar from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. The team also added that they would like to make this a periodic exercise, where such information is updated every few months or annually. The findings suggest that states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh – which ranked high on the priority scale – should invest efforts towards conserving these carnivores and their habitats. “Dholes are found in the forested areas of Western Ghats, Central India and Northeast India. Golden jackals have widespread presence across the country, and are perhaps the only species that can occur in urban/peri-urban habitats. Indian wolf, Indian fox and striped hyena are found in grasslands, scrublands, open/barren lands, ravines and also in certain agricultural lands across the country. Desert foxes are restricted to the driest areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Tibetan wolf and red fox are found in the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan regions,” said Srivathsa. Identifying the Canid Conservation Units Canid Conservation Units are groups/clusters of taluks that the scientists have identified through their constant study. These are high priority areas for conserving wild canids and hyenas, identified by incorporating their distribution, diversity, their habitats, locations of relatively low human population densities and relatively low human poverty levels. “The CCUs that we have demarcated also include areas that are currently protected as National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries. But these protected areas are mostly in forested areas which are good for dholes. But most other habitats have a lot of human presence. Such areas cannot be safeguarded using the same approach of declaring protected areas. There is a need for modifying our approach in such a manner that these lands are equitably regulated to protect species and their ecosystems without restricting sustainable use of resources by communities. The challenge is to explore logistically, economically, and more importantly, socially feasible management approaches,” said Srivathsa. Elaborating on the challenges of such an approach, Majgaonkar said that the very first challenge is whether the management of a CCU can remain flexible enough to fit local conditions. “Since our suggested CCUs consist of large swathes of human use landscapes, there cannot be one single answer to how these should be managed and sustained. India is extremely diverse in terms of land-use, habitats, legal provisions, people’s customs and there has to be very site specific answers as to how in each CCU, sharing of space between people and canids or hyenas can be facilitated. Secondly, although we have tried to account for human development needs, a large infrastructure project is invariably destructive. Non-forested habitats are more easily diverted to such large projects and it is these habitats that we are highlighting in our paper. A major challenge lies in whether we can ever successfully oppose large projects and landscape modifications where arguments about employment and development are much stronger,” she said.  *This image is copyright of its original author Indian fox with pups. Photo by Anuroop Krishnan.Sumanta Bagchi, Assistant Professor, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru says that overall, the flagship species are useful for conservation planning. “On one hand, the idea is to identify one or a handful of such species as representatives of their landscapes or ecosystems, in order to focus conservation attention which is a commendable approach towards the otherwise complex problem of conserving many forms of organisms. On the other hand, researchers are passionate about certain species and champion their cause. This gives much needed voice to the challenges faced by different species. But, this can lead to a situation where many flagships, keystones and umbrellas end up jostling for attention. Are too many flagships very different from having none at all? I am not saying that canids and hyenas aren’t flagships, or shouldn’t become so. A broader conceptual challenge facing conservation is how to evaluate whether any action, regardless of how they were implemented, is actually effective or not. For instance, one needs to ask whether results from conservation actions are any different from no action at all. These counter-factual scenarios are a nuisance, but they are necessary to evaluate what works and what doesn’t. This broader discussion is outside the scope of this paper. But, I applaud the authors for championing the cause of canids and hyenas in India,” said Bagchi. Need for active engagement to avoid wildlife and human damage Jackals, Indian wolves, Indian foxes and hyenas share space with a relatively higher human population than the other five species. Majgaonkar said, there are direct (example, retaliatory killing) and indirect (example, spread of diseases) negative interactions with humans. “Generating awareness is probably too simplistic a term to use. There has to be active engagement with people who share space with these species and site-specific strategies have to be devised so as to ensure that both wildlife and human experience least damage. This is a matter of years [of engagement] and not just one odd workshop held with local groups. Of course it is going to be very challenging and will require a large amount of resources,” she added. CITATION: Srivathsa, A., Majgaonkar, I., Sharma, S., Punjabi, G.A., Singh, P., Chawla, M.M., Banerjee, A. (2020) Opportunities for prioritizing and expanding conservation enterprise in India using a guild of carnivores as flagships. Environmental Research Letters, 15: 064009. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab7e50 Banner image: A pair of Indian wolves in the Deccan grasslands. Photo by Anup Deodhar. |
true.. good comparison
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