The Latest Breaking News from the Wildlife Institute of India

What India's Cheetah Reintroduction at Kuno National Park Has Taught Science About Rewilding a Predator

The biology that made this harder than anyone admitted publiclyThe African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is not the same animal as the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that once ranged across India. The subspecies diverged genetically tens of thousands of years ago. When the Wildlife Institute of India and the National…

Times Life · Aug 15

Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles Both Choose Indian Shores for Nesting, What Our Coastline Reveals

The Two Turtles, Side by SideAn adult Olive Ridley weighs around 45 kilograms. An adult Leatherback can weigh over 900 kilograms, roughly the mass of a small car. These are not variations on the same animal. They are, in almost every measurable way, opposites that happen to share an order.The…

Times Life · Aug 15

Irrawaddy Dolphins of Chilika Lake: India's Rarest Cetacean in Brackish Waters

A Dolphin That Defies Easy ClassificationRoughly 150 Irrawaddy dolphins live in Chilika Lake, making this the largest known population of the species in any single enclosed water body on earth. They are not the acrobatic, open-ocean dolphins of wildlife documentaries. Orcaella brevirostris, the Irrawaddy dolphin's scientific name, has a blunt,…

Times Life · Aug 14

India's Golden Mahseer Is Critically Endangered: What Is Killing Uttarakhand's Freshwater Giant

The Fish That Ruled India's RiversTor putitora, the golden mahseer, can reach 2.75 metres in length and weigh over 54 kg, making it one of the largest freshwater fish in Asia. It belongs to the cyprinid family, the same broad group as carp, but there is nothing ordinary about it.…

Times Life · Aug 9

India's Fishing Communities and Dolphins: A Coastal Coexistence Passed Down Through Generations

The Dolphins That Follow the NetsIn Chilika Lake, Odisha's vast brackish lagoon, Irrawaddy dolphins and fishermen have developed a working rhythm that marine biologists have studied for decades. The dolphins herd fish toward the shore and toward the nets. The fishermen, reading the dolphins' movement, cast at the right moment.…

Times Life · Jul 30

How Sundarbans Tigers Evolved Swimming, Saltwater Adaptation and Predation Habits No Other Tiger Has

A Tiger That Drinks Salt WaterEvery other tiger population on Earth drinks fresh water. The Sundarbans tigers, living across roughly 10,000 square kilometres of tidal mangrove forest straddling the India-Bangladesh border, regularly drink water with salinity levels that would cause severe dehydration in most large mammals. A 2011 study by…

Times Life · Jul 26

Jim Corbett National Park's Wildlife Goes Far Beyond Tigers: Biodiversity, Birds, and Mammals

The Forest That Existed Before the Tiger Became a SymbolJim Corbett National Park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, making it India's first national park. The tigers came with it, but they were never the only reason the Ramganga river valley mattered. The park sits at the foothills…

Times Life · Jul 25

Why the Indian Pangolin Tops Global Wildlife Trafficking and What Conservation Efforts Are Changing

The Animal That Curls Into a Ball and Cannot RunThe Indian pangolin's primary defence is to roll into a tight armoured ball. Against a leopard, this works. Against a poacher with a sack, it is a gift. The animal does not bite, does not flee at speed, and emits no…

Times Life · Jul 21

Olive Ridley Turtles Return to Odisha's Coast in Millions, and the Arribada Is Fragile

The Night the Beach Disappears Under TurtlesAt Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary on Odisha's northern coast, rangers have counted over 600,000 Olive Ridley turtles nesting in a single arribada, a Spanish word adopted by biologists for this mass synchronised nesting that has no equivalent in any other reptile species. The females arrive…

Times Life · Jul 21

5 Wildlife Experiences in India That Work Exceptionally Well for Families With Teenagers

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, Tiger Safari With a Fortress BackdropRanthambore is the most reliable place in India to see tigers in the open, and that reliability matters when you are travelling with teenagers who will not forgive a blank forest. The park's tigers have been photographed resting on the ruins…

Times Life · Jul 21