Grizzled squirrel safe at Chinnar: Forest dept

The Hindu, October 25 2018
Thiruvananthapuram:

The Kerala Forest Department has clarified that 68 Grizzled Giant Squirrel individuals were directly sighted at the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary during a 2017 survey. The squirrel population was estimated to be 104 individuals in the potential riparian habitat.
No hunting incidents
Referring to a report on the dwindling population of the Grizzled Giant Squirrel species, which appeared in these columns, P.M. Prabhu, Assistant Wildlife Warden, said no hunting incidents of the species had been reported since the sanctuary was established.
He said the sanctuary had a “very healthy and stable population of another flagship species, the Indian Star Tortoise, indicating that habitat disturbance was very negligible”.
Help of tribes
The study was conducted in 50 km of potential habitat of the “sanctuary (riparian forest) which was selected based on the indigenous knowledge of the tribal people inhabiting the sanctuary”, he said.
For the survey, 21 line transects were taken and surveyed repeatedly by 31 participants for six days. “This recent study report is more relevant and authentic,” Mr.Prabu said.

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92 species recorded in bird survey

The Hindu, August 30, 2017  
E.M. Manoj KALPETTA

A three-day monsoon bird survey, organised jointly by the Forest Department, College of Forestry, Thrissur, and the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology (HCEWB), in the North Wayanad Division recently recorded 92 species.
No bird surveys have been conducted in the forest division in the past eight years. The survey found five species of bulbuls, seven species of babblers, five species of pigeons, and three species of raptors. It recorded Bright Headed Cisticola and broad-tailed grassland birds in the higher grasslands of the Brahmagiri hills. “Presence of these birds showed higher conservation significance of the Brahmagiri grasslands,” C.K. Vishnudas and R.L Rathish of the HCEWB, which performed scientific and technical coordination of the survey, told The Hindu.
“Other species include Rufous-Bellied Hawk Eagle, Lesser Coucal, ”Mr. Vishnudas added. As many as 25 birdwatchers from Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu participated in the survey. The survey was conducted during torrential rain braving leeches. “This was one of the toughest expeditions, especially during the monsoon. ,” Hemanth Batroy from Bengaluru, who led a trek to the Banasura mountains for the survey, said. The survey reports will aid in sanctuary management, North Wayanad Divisional Forest Officer K.C. Prasad said. The logistic support for the survey was coordinated by range forest officers M.N. Najmal Ameen, Prem Shamir, Arunesh, and K.J.John, section forest officer of the Mananthavadi forest range.
Birdwatchers Hemanth Batroy (Bengaluru), A. Shwetha (Mysuru), H. Sahana (Mysuru) Arun Chungapally, Muhammad Aslam, Abhijith, C. Anusreedha, and R.L Rathish led various camps.

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Lifeline for rare avian species

Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, June 23, 2015

The Forest Department is joining hands with environmentalists and nature lovers to offer a lifeline for the snakebird, a rare avian species facing threat from habitat destruction.

Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on Monday pledged the support of the government for efforts to save the bird from extinction.

He was inaugurating a function organised by the Snakebird Foundation and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists to declare June 22 as Snake Bird Day. The Minister highlighted the need to protect wetlands that are part of the bird’s habitat.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force B.S. Corrie delivered the keynote address. KUWJ district secretary Suresh Vellimangalam and Snakebird Foundation chairman C. Rahim also spoke.

A near-threatened species, the snakebird figures in the Red Data book of rare and endangered species. The Snakebird Foundation estimates that Kerala is home to about 1,000 birds of the species, with the highest number found in Alappuzha district.

The bird nests have been spotted at Nooranad, Kattanam, and Kuttanad in Alappuzha, Kumarakom in Kottayam, Thekkady in Idukki, the Museum compound in Thiruvananthapuram, and a few in the northern districts.

A survey conducted by the International Waterfowl and Wetland Research Bureau in 1993 reported that there were only 1,526 snakebirds in the whole of Asia, out of which 1,196 were in India and 64 in Kerala. But a subsequent study by volunteers of the Snakebird Foundation found 200 nests in different parts of Kerala. The bird watchers spotted 150 nests on trees in a private property at Aathikattukulangara in Mavelikara taluk.

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River terns at summer rain’s mercy

Giji K. Raman
Kattappana,  
The Hindu, April 26, 2015

This summer is unlikely to add much to the population of Indian river tern ( Stema auratia ), a common bird species on the islet of Vairamani. The islet, a natural habitat of the bird, is strewn with eggs and dead chicks. Heavy summer rain is believed to have caused the damage.

Vairamani is accessible only by boat and is situated deep inside a sanctuary. It is considered the largest breeding place of the bird, which lays eggs on sand and hatches them if undisturbed by human or other intervention.

The breeding season of river tern is from March to May. By March, the birds would arrive there and the islet would soon have hundreds of eggs, each pit having one to four. Ornithologist R. Sugathan says the eggs need a particular temperature for a particular duration to hatch. If there are winds, the brooding birds could fly away, and the eggs would not hatch. Mr. Sugathan says that many factors, including climate change, result in advancing of the breeding season. There are chances of a second brooding by a bird, depending on the availability of food in the area. Forest Department officials are keen on protecting the habitat from outside intervention. Assistant Wildlife Warden G. Jayachandran says the breeding is being monitored.

The death toll of chicks this year is the highest, he says. It could also see a drop in the number of arrivals. Heavy rain could be a reason for the chicks’ death as they lie in the open without any natural protection.

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Survival of the ‘king’ is in question

T. Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, April 13, 2015

Last week, a family travelling from Ponmudi to the Kallar valley near here had to seek the help of the Forest Department to capture a king cobra that had clambered aboard its car. The reptile, measuring almost 19 feet, was prised out of the engine bay of the vehicle and later released into the forest.

Over the last 10 years, king cobra has been sighted at various locations across Kerala, pointing to the possible threat faced by the snake from deforestation and habitat loss. Researchers have called for scientific translocation of snakes straying into human habitations. They feel that releasing them into the wild without proper studies could affect their survival.

Potent poison

The world's longest venomous snake, king cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah ) is found mostly in forested areas and on tea estates. It is capable of delivering up to 600 mg of venom in a single bite, enough to kill 20 to 40 grown men or even an adult elephant. The only snake that builds a nest to lay eggs, king cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah ) is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is placed under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. “King cobras have territorial instincts, with extraordinary memory of burrows in their home range, crucial for regulating body temperature and avoiding predators,” says R. Dileepkumar, researcher at the Centre for Venom Informatics under the University of Kerala. “Translocated snakes find it difficult to find safe places, leading to behavioural disturbances. This may affect their survival and reproductive success.”

A study conducted by the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Karnataka, showed that translocated king cobras travel long distances and fight for territorial domination. “Snake catchers called in to capture king cobra exhibit the snake before the public. Too much handling can cause stress and spinal breakage or injuries,” observes Dr. Dileepkumar.

Forest officials maintain that captured king cobras are relocated to areas conducive for their survival, from where there is little chance of straying into human habitation again. But Dr. Dileepkumar stresses the need for detailed documentation of captured king cobras and a radio telemetry study of translocated snakes. “A better understanding of the snake’s habitat and behaviour in the wild is crucial to its survival.”

Oommen V. Oommen, Chairman, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, said the board would join hands with the Forest Department to formulate a scientific translocation strategy for captured king cobras.

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Bird survey bares issues of concern

Ignatius Pereira
KOLLAM,  
The Hindu, February 1, 2015 

The annual Asian Waterfowl Census (AWC) held in six select wetlands last Saturday in Kollam has revealed matters of concern and elation for birdwatchers.

While the waterbird population was a cause for excitement, questions have been raised about the conservation of the traditional wetland habitats of such birds.

The census was carried out in association with the WWF-India and the Social Forestry Division of the Forest Department.

The wetlands covered are Kandachira - Sakthikulangara harbour, Pallikkodi -Neendakara harbour, Thodiyur - Vattakkayal - Vellanathuruthu, Chittumala - Karali marshes, Polachira, and Kappil beach. The highest count was from Polachira, near Chathannur, from where around 3,500 birds were counted. Among them were five types of wild ducks, namely lesser whistling ducks, pigmy cotton goose, garganey ducks, spot billed ducks, and northern pintails, the latter three being migratory. The Neendakara harbour and Pallikkodi wetlands stood second with a count of around 1,500 birds, of which the majority were little egrets. Migratory birds such as painted stork, greater sand plover, lesser sand plover, grey plover, green shank, green sandpiper, brown headed gulls, and whiskered terns were sighted at Thodiyur - Vattakkayal and on the Vellanathuruthu beach.

Though Kandachira is a habitat for a number of black-tailed godwits, this year only one bird was sighted. But plenty of other migratory birds were observed there. The count of swimming birds preferring deeper waters such as ducks and cormorants was high. But the count at the Karali marshes, once a haven for water birds, was a disappointment. The wetlands, which used to shelter more than 5,000 purple swamphens, is now home to only few. What used to be a shallow wetland is now a deep lake due to sand-mining. The Polachira wetlands seem comparatively less disturbed.

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