A victory for nature lovers

The Hindu , October 9, 2006  MUNNAR: Environmental activists have won a two-decade-old campaign with the declaration of Kurinjimala Sanctuary in Idukki district. The Gazette notification issued by the Government covers 3200 hectares of Kurinji habitat as originally proposed. Forest Minister Benoy Viswom has seen to it that the original proposal was adhered to despite pressures. The area falls in the Survey...

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Urgent steps needed to save Nilgiri tahrs

The Hindu, September 15, 2006 Munnar: How many Nilgiri tahrs are there in the wild? According to a paper presented at the fourth World Congress on Mountain Ungulates, the present population of the Nilgiri tahr is likely to be much lower than what is generally believed. The paper, presented by R.J. Ranjit, P.S. Easa, K. Ramkumar, Pratheesh C. Mammen and Mohan Alembath, states that the long quoted figures of 2,000-2,500...

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Threatened ungulates in focus

Anand Parthasarathy TheHindu, September 12, 2006 An international conference in Munnar on the Nilgiri tahr and its cousins They are sometimes horned, always hooved and herbivorous. They graze the slippery slopes of the world's hilly, and occasionally snow-covered, grasslands. They form a global family of mammals known as ungulates that is under increasing threat from war, encroachment or human greed. For three days...

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