“A forest research centre will be established at Vandalur Arignar Anna Zoological Park”

Sathyamangalam will be the State's fourth tiger reserve with the government promising to create a new reserve for the big cats spread over 1.40 lakh hectares from the present sanctuary limits. Replying to the discussion on the demands for grants for the Forest Department, Minister K.T. Pachamal said that the government notified 1,41,161 hectares of reserve forests in Sathyamangalam as a wildlife sanctuary in August 2011.

KOCHI: A rich tiger population and proximity to other national wildlife sanctuaries like Nagarhole, Bandipur and Mudumalai are proving to be highly advantageous for Wayanad in its race for a tiger reserve.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has expressed its willingness to consider a tiger reserve in Wayanad, provided a proposal comes from the Kerala government. However, the state government is yet to take a final decision.

Dry conditions cause concern

With dry conditions becoming a source of concern at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) near Udhagamandlam, a proposal has been sent to the government to close it. Deputy Director, MTR, Ameer Haja, told the The Hindu on Wednesday that a detailed report with inputs from Range Officers had been submitted to the Field Director, MTR Raghuram Singh. It had been sent by the Field Director to the Chief Wildlife Warden along with a recommendation to close the reserve.

The fourth phase of the intensive ‘Tiger Monitoring Programme,' envisaged by the Tiger Task Force of the Union Government, began at the Kalakkad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tirunelveli on Friday.

Giving details about the programme H. Malleshappa, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director, KMTR told The Hindu that the work on three phases had been completed. In the fourth phase, the setting up of 100 cameras in every four sq.km. area had begun.

An ailing tiger found by passerby under a tree at Kurumbar Pallam near Bokkapuram adjoining the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) was provided medical help at forest veterinary centre on Friday.

Though the area is part of the tiger habitat, spotting the animal early in the morning was unusual.

Young Ecologists Talk and Interact (YETI), the largest student-organised academic conference on ecology and conservation, brought together over 300 students and researchers of ecology on a single platform at IIT-Guwahati here on Tuesday for a three-day-long deliberations on latest biodiversity and conservation issues.

Conservation measures in the Nilgiris are satisfactory, observed the Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, V.T. Kandasamy here on Wednesday.

He was inaugurating a workshop on “Conservation Strategies for Vultures in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve”, organised by the Forest Department, the Nilgiris North Division and the Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association (NWLEA).

It is viewed as a big step before declaring it as a tiger reserve

In a significant step towards protecting the varied wildlife and as the next big step to declare it a tiger reserve, the State Government has expanded the Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary to 1.41 lakh hectares.

The spores survived and germinated after being exposed to 115 degree C for two hours

Can the mesophilic fungal spores that normally grow at 20 degree C to 35 degree C survive higher temperatures and still be able to germinate when the conditions are right? Believe it or not, laboratory studies have shown that some species of mesophilic spores can indeed survive even when exposed to 115 degree C for two hours! The duration of survival was longer at lower temperatures.