Western Ghats – आवारा मुसाफिर

Five new species of shrub frogs found in Western Ghats

March 3, 20211594 Views

Researchers from India and the US have discovered five new species of shrub frogs from the Western Ghats, one of the globally recognised biodiversity hotspots. The frogs, belonging to the the Old World tree frog family Rhacophoridae, were discovered by researchers from University of Delhi and Kerala Forest Research Institute and University of Minnesota as part of a long comprehensive study on the Shrub frogs (genus Raorchestes) of the Western Ghats, carried out over a period of nearly 10 years. Study was carried out in Western Ghats including Siruvani in Palakkad district of Kerala Researchers said the new species were identified and found to be distinct based on multiple criteria, such as their external morphology, DNA, calling pattern, behaviour, and other natural history obser...

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Conservation outlook of Western Ghats grim, says report

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 6, 20201001 Views

India's iconic Western Ghats, inscribed by UNESCO in 2012 as a natural world heritage site, is threatened by population pressure, urbanisation and climate change, according to a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN World Heritage Outlook 3, published last week, builds on previous reports from 2014 and 2017 to track whether the conservation of the world’s 252 natural world heritage sites is sufficient to protect them in the long term. According to the 2020 report, the conservation outlook of the mountain chain of the Western Ghats, one of the worlds eight hottest hot spots of biological diversity, is of significant concern. If a sites conservation outlook is of significant concern, its values are considered to be threatened by a num...

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“Mahabali frog” may be Kerala’s official amphibian

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 8, 2020941 Views

The purple frog, one of the rarest frog species endemic to the Western Ghats, would soon be declared as Kerala's official amphibian. A senior forest officer said a proposal for declaring the purple frog, also known as pignose frog, as state's amphibian, is in the active consideration of the state government. "The proposal is in the active consideration of the government and soon it will be declared as the state's amphibian, "Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar said. The matter will be discussed in the next meeting of the state wildlife board. Official sources said the move to declare it as the state's amphibian as it was mostly endemic to Kerala region of Western Ghats. According to Delhi University professor S D B...