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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Dwindling Grizzled Giant Squirrel species

K.S. Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, October 03, 2018  

Grizzled Giant Squirrel is living on the edge in the Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary, one of its habitats in Western Ghats.
Researchers could count only 24 squirrels (Ratufa macroura) there, giving rise to fears that its population might have depleted by 85% in the sanctuary over a decade.
A recent study pointed out that the “current population estimation is about 78% to 85% lesser than the previous population estimation carried out in 1993 and 2007 respectively, which is quite alarming.” It was after gap of a decade that the status of the species was estimated.
The findings of the study, carried out by Kiran Thomas and P. O. Nameer of Kerala Agricultural University, was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa recently.
The animal, which got its common name from the white flecks of hair over its greyish body, is seen in pairs or as a family party of three individuals only during the breeding season.
The species is endemic to the southern States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The only known population of the squirrel in Kerala is in the sanctuary. The population of the species in the country is estimated to be less than 500 mature individuals.
Earlier studies had indicated that the squirrel population was declining by over 30% during the last quarter century, thanks to the hunters and habitat loss.
The current population density of the species is estimated to be 15.26 squirrels per sq km against the density of 18 to 23 squirrels/sq km of 1993 and 64 squirrels/sq km of 2007, the study noted.
The Chinnar population is troubled by the increased predator pressure and the extremely low regeneration of its preferred food plant species due to heavy grazing by cattle.
During the study, the researchers chanced upon several suspected hybrid squirrels.

 

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Climate change threatens the Nilgiri tahr

Aathira Perinchery Kochi

The Hindu,  July 11, 2018  

The antics of the sure-footed Nilgiri tahr are a treat to watch, but these endangered wild mountain goats – found only in high altitudes in India’s Western Ghats — could be losing their footing with increasing climate change. Even under moderate scenarios of future climate change, tahrs could lose approximately 60% of their habitats from the 2030s on, predict scientists in their study in Ecological Engineering, an international journal that emphasises the need for ecological restoration.
Scientists tried to predict how climate change can affect tahr habitat in the Ghats by mapping tahr distribution (using existing information and field surveys) and then using climatic factors of these locations to see where tahrs would be able to survive, given current and future climate change scenarios.
They found that tahr strongholds such as Chinnar, Eravikulam and Parambikulam in Kerala will still be stable habitats under different climate change scenarios.
However, other regions, including parts of Tamil Nadu’s Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and the wildlife sanctuaries of Peppara, Neyyar, Schenduruny and Srivilliputhur, could experience severe habitat loss in future; in total, approx. 60% of tahr habitat could be lost across the Ghats from 2030s onwards. There are only around 2,500 tahrs left in the wild and their population — “small and isolated, making them vulnerable to local extinction” — shows a “decreasing” trend, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Local threat

According to senior author Jayahari K. M. of Delhi-based World Resource Institute India, the study has to be seen in the context of this identified vulnerability; the impacts of climate change may further increase the chances of local extinction, he said. The study’s findings demand a comprehensive species management plan, said co-authors Sony R.K. and Sandeep Sen of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.
Scientists, including P. S. Easa, member of the National Board for Wildlife (who also co-authored the latest report on Kerala’s tahr populations), had drafted a tahr recovery plan in 2010. According to the report, only the Eravikulam and Mukurthi National Parks stress on tahr-centered conservation activities in their management plans. Though the recovery plan identified “conservation units” and made site-specific recommendations, how much of it has been implemented is unclear, said Dr. Easa.
“It is important that we focus our efforts on these conservation units and monitor isolated populations,” he said.

 

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Wayanad sanctuary plays host to Chousingha

E.M. Manoj KALPETTA
The Hindu  July 11, 2018  

Apart from providing refuge to various species of vultures and other wildlife, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary has also proved to be a safe haven for the four-horned antelope or Chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis).
The images of the antelope (Ula man in local parlance) were captured by camera traps installed in the Ottipara section of the forest under the sanctuary recently.
This is the first time the animal was photographed in the forest area of the State, though its sighting was reported in the sanctuary a few years ago, N.T. Sajan, warden, told The Hindu.
“We have been closely monitoring the Varalam and Kavanahalla forest areas in the Sulthan Bathery forest range of the sanctuary, adjoining the Rampur reserved forest in Karnataka, for confirming the presence of the animal for the past 10 months,” Mr. Sajan said adding that they had set up 15 camera traps in these areas for the purpose. The photographs of a female and a male sub-adult were captured.
“When the male antelope attains maturity it will have four horns and this speciality distinguished the animal from other bovines,” O. Vishnu, conservation biologist of the sanctuary, said. The animal is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act and also in the vulnerable category of the IUCN .
“The antelope is diurnal (active mainly during the day) and usually found in dry deciduous forests. Though solitary in nature, it may form loose groups of three to five, with one or more adults, sometimes accompanied by juveniles,” Mr. Vishnu said.
The four-horned antelope was threatened by the loss of its natural habitat, he said. Moreover, the unusual four-horned skull and the horns had been a popular target for trophy hunters, he added. There are nearly 10,000 of them in the country according to the latest census.
“We are planning a comprehensive project for conservation of the species,” Mr. Sajan 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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Burrowing frogs add to diversity of Western Ghats

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu , June 19, 2017 

Opening another window into the fascinating world of amphibian diversity in the Western Ghats, a research student at the Delhi University has reported the discovery of four new species of burrowing frogs.
The finding, published in the international journal Zootaxa, is the result of five years of extensive explorations in the Western Ghats forests. The four new species belong to the genus Fejervarya, but unlike other members of the family, they possess the ability to burrow.
“Two of the new species could be facing serious threats from human activities,” says Sonali Garg, who conducted this study as part of her PhD research.
“Like most amphibians, they are highly sensitive to changes in the climate, and hence can be studied as environmental indicator species,” says Ms.Garg.
“We need to be concerned about the threats to these frogs and do more studies to re-assess their conservation status,” says Prof. S.D. Biju, who led the study.
The first of the new species, Manoharan’s Burrowing Frog (Fejervarya manoharani), was discovered from the Agasthyamala hills in South Kerala and is named after T.M. Manoharan, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, in recognition of his conservation efforts. The Kadar Burrowing Frog (Fejervarya kadar) was collected from the Vazhachal forests and named after the Kadar tribe that was in the forefront of the agitation against the Athiripilly hydel project. The CEPF Burrowing Frog (Fejervarya cepfi) was found in Amboli, a popular hill station in Maharashtra and is named after the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund which had contributed to the preservation of biodiversity in the Western Ghats.
Discovered in the Parambikulam tiger reserve, the Neil Cox’s Burrowing Frog (Fejervarya neilcoxi) was named after Dr. Neil Cox of the International Union for Conservation of Nature who was instrumental in preparing the Red List of global amphibian species.

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A new cast of crabs in Western Ghats

T.Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram 
The Hindu, June 08, 2017

The Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot is in the spotlight once again, as scientists have discovered a new genus and six new species of freshwater crabs in these mountainous forests.
With the recent finding in Kerala, freshwater crab diversity in the State has risen to 34 species, the highest in the country. Nearly 50% of crabs in the Western Ghats (27 of 47 species) occur here.
All six species were discovered on the Kerala side. The researchers including S.K. Pati and P.M. Sureshan from Zoological Survey of India, L. Rajesh, Smrithy Raj and A. Biju Kumar of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala and V.U. Sheeja, Holy Cross College, Nagercoil published the find in Journal of Natural History.
Karkata, which stands for crab in Sanskrit, has been given a separate genus, indicating a higher order of distinctive features. It is endemic to the Western Ghats.
One of its species, Karkata ghanarakta, was collected from the Thattekad bird sanctuary in Ernakulam district while the second, Karkata kusumbha was reported from Mankulam in Idukki district. The species name ghanarakta is derived from the Sanskrit for maroon, reflecting the colour of the crab. The word kusumbha (Sanskrit for safflower) refers to the orange-red colours of the creature that resemble the floral hues.
The researchers found two new species in the genus Pilarta. While Pilarta aroma inhabits cold water mountain streams in the Agasthyamala Reserve in Thiruvananthapuram, Pilarta punctatissima was collected from Ovumkal in the Thattekad sanctuary.

Paddy embankments

One new species, Cylindrotelphusa longiphallus, came from deep burrows along paddy fields at Kuzhikattusseri, Thrissur. The name is derived from the Latin ‘longi’ for long and the Greek ‘phallus’, a reference to long male gonopods of the animal. Another new discovery, Cylindrotelphusa breviphallus, is from Ponmudi in Thiruvananthapuram.

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