The Latest Breaking News from Nilgiris

How Canals, Walls and Fences Split Animal Populations Without Killing One

A tiger can survive a bullet wound. What it cannot always survive is a canal it will not cross. Linear infrastructure, canals, highway medians, border fences, railway embankments, irrigation channels, does not kill animals in the way a snare or a speeding truck does. It works more slowly, and the…

Times Life · Oct 23

Why the Same Railway Tracks Keep Killing Elephants in India

India has roughly 30,000 wild Asian elephants, the largest population outside Africa, and each year trains kill between 20 and 30 of them. The deaths are not spread evenly across the 68,000-kilometre rail network. A handful of track sections, some no longer than a few kilometres, account for a disproportionate…

Times Life · Oct 22

Radio Collar Tracking in Wildlife: What the Device Weighs, Records and Costs the Animal

The 3% Rule and What It Means for a TigerWildlife biologists work with a standard: a tracking device should not exceed 3% of the animal's body weight. For a 180-kilogram Bengal tiger, that ceiling is 5.4 kilograms. Most modern GPS collars for large cats weigh between 400 and 700 grams,…

Times Life · Sep 29

Silent Valley National Park in Kerala: The Endemic Species and Biodiversity Found Nowhere Else in India

The canopy that was never cutMost of India's forests have been cleared at least once, for timber, agriculture, or infrastructure, and then allowed to regrow. Silent Valley was not. The Kunthipuzha river valley in the Nilgiri hills of Kerala contains one of the last remaining stretches of primary tropical rainforest…

Times Life · Jul 26

The Hidden Cost of Fast Fashion: What India's Textile Workers Pay So You Don't Have To

The city that makes your wardrobeTiruppur does not look like a place that clothes the world. It looks like heat and exhaust and the sound of cutting machines that start before dawn. The Tamil Nadu town produces roughly 90 percent of India's cotton knitwear exports and supplies garments to brands…

Times Life · Jul 21

Why Getting to Tawang in Arunachal Is Harder Than Almost Any Other Destination in India

The paperwork comes before the road doesTawang is one of the few places in India where you cannot simply buy a ticket and go. Arunachal Pradesh requires an Inner Line Permit for every Indian citizen who is not from the state. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit on top…

Times Life · Jul 19

Supriya Sahu IAS is fascinated by this rare Nilgris plant: Even in harsh summer, its unique leaves can trap and store water to survive

IAS officer Supriya Sahu has brought attention to Hedyotis verticillaris, a rare plant found in the high-altitude grasslands of the Nilgiris. The plant forms leaf rosettes that naturally collect and store water, providing a source of hydration for gaurs and other wildlife.

The Economic Times · Jun 1

In southern India's tea country, small but mighty efforts are brewing to bring back native forests

Forests of native trees and plants once blanketed the Western Ghats mountains in southern India, but nearly 200 years ago, British colonists installed rows upon rows of tea plantations there

The Independent UK · Nov 19, 2024

Here are the big stories from Tamil Nadu today

Tragic flash flood death of 17-year-old boy at Old Courtallam waterfalls, Nilgiris District issues warning for heavy rain.

The Hindu · May 17, 2024

World Species Congress held in Ooty

Join the World Species Congress at Cairn Hill Eco-Awareness Centre to explore, educate, and restore Nilgiris' ecological significance.

The Hindu · May 16, 2024