Communicating Science for Conservation
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Communicating Science for Conservation Vol. XXXV, No. 1, January 2020 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Magazine of Zoo Outreach Organization www.zoosprint.zooreach.org Communicating science for conservation Vol. XXXV, No. 1, January 2020 ISSN 0971-6378 (Print); 0973-2543 (Online) Contents Tidbit A day with the pikas of Ladakh -- Kamakshi Lekshmanan, Pp. 1-3 Posters presented at the first meeting of the Association of Indian Primatologists, Pp. 4–5 Bugs R All Record of Giant Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in Krishna River, southern India -- Suresh M. Kumbar, Gautam R. Kulkarni & Jyoti A. Kumbar, Pp. 6–8 ExPlantasia situ conservation of threatened plant species of the Western Ghats -- K. Arun Kumar, K.R. Chandrashekar, N. Bhagya, M.R. Vivek & Sukesh, Pp. 9–15 Bird-o-soar Sighting of an aberrant coloured Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava at Chandlai Dam, Jaipur -- Devendra Kumar Bhardwaj, Pp. 16–18 Occurrence of the Malabar Lark on Kulang Fort in Maharashtra, India -- Rohan Bhagat, Pp. 19–20 Mammal Tales Record of Gaur Bos gaurus from the isolated coastal forests of Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary of the northern Western Ghats, India -- Kunal N. Salunkhe, Pranav P. Kulkarni, Nagesh N. Shinde, Titiksha S. Shevade & Abhijit V. Gharat, Pp. 21–23 Ve t Br ie f An anecdote on combating Babesiosis in Tata Steel Zoological Park, Jamshedpur in the year 2018 -- Bipul Chakrabarty & Manik Palit, Pp. 24–29 Report The UN decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 programme on Pollinators -- Janet Ragupathy & Jessie Jeyakaran, Pp. 30-31 Announcement Call for donations Cover photo: Pika in Ladakh by Kamakshi Lekshmanan TidTidBITSBITS A day with the pikas of Ladakh The summer of 2019 at Ladakh was silent. It was drier, and I would say, warmer than all my visits. From capturing landscapes and visiting monasteries, I was pulled towards wildlife in the land of high passes. I got hooked to the depth of these valleys, its people, the traversing scenes, the azure skies, and raining stars, setting me free, time and again. A summer month at the valley filled with sand dunes, by the Shyok River, threw Zoo’s Print Vol.Vol. 35 |34 No. | No. 1 5 1 TidBITS TidBITS the Ochotonidae. Found in the some surprise showers. Nubra Valley higher altitudes of Pakistan, India, turned silver as the clouds poured, and Nepal, and China, this pika lives in the swirl of winds blanketed the valley. rocky caves. Nubra Pikas feed on shrubs and plants found around The pika, a fluffy mammal their homes. They are incredibly of the hare/rabbit family active during the day and slow of this region, pulled down during the twilight. me towards the music of Unlike marmots (land squirrels in melting glaciers. the Himalaya), the pikas do not hibernate and are seen through The rocky patches by the the summer and winter months in stream is where we find one of Ladakh. the two pika species of this region, the Nubra Pika. The cute ashy one popped The Ladakh Pika or Ochotona out of a huge rock and disappeared ladacensis is another pika species almost instantaneously. Then came the found at a similar altitude. The wait for the next three hours, and then the Ladakh Pika was again a pleasure pika and I played hide and seek around to watch around the Tso Kar lake. the rocks. Well, I burnt a few calories The burrows dug beneath the carpet running around them. of green grass, a secret tunnel, is where the Ladakh Pikas maneuver. Ochotona nubrica Nubra Pika or in scientific terms, belongs to the Pika family of by Kamakshi Lekshmanan, Coimbatore [email protected] Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 1 2 Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 1 3 Posters presented at the first meeting of the Association of Indian Primatologists A study of activity budge and diet of a group of Nilgiri Langurs in Nalmukh, a slighty disturbed habitat within Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Tamil Nadu Abstract Anthropogenic factors have a serious impact on a species’ habitat affecting the abundance and distribution of the species food resources. In this study the behaviour and the diet of Nilgiri Langurs located within a slightly disturbed habitat of KMTR, Tamil Nadu was studied. The habitat was subjected belonging to 21 families. as 5 metres or below from to disturbances in the form Of these, 8 plant species the ground to consume the of felling for fuelwood and belonging to Lauraceae leaves of Lantana camara, other products and constant was consumed the most Maesa indica and Solanum human interference. The accounting for 23.5% of the erianthum. The adaptability to study was carried out in the families. feed on such food items could post monsoon season from possibly have an impact on February to March on the The diet mainly comprised their metabolism and overall activity budget of a single of Cullenia exarillata flowers growth. group of Nilgiri Langurs. (47.1%), Erythrina variegata The findings of the study leaves (9.8%) and Litsea indicate that the group spent wightiana leaves (5.9%). The B. Nagarathna1, N. 43.75% of their time resting, group also fed on the leaves Parthasarathy2 & T. Ganesh3 1&2 28.31% feeding, 11.71% on Department of Ecology of Lantana camara (1.16%), and Environmental Sciences, locomotion and the rest on Alnus nepalensis (0.5%) Pondicherry University, social interactions (16.23%). Puducherry 605014. and the bark of Eucalyptus 3Ashoka Trust for Research in (0.27%). Nilgiri Langurs that Ecology and The Environment Feeding records showed that (ATREE), Srirampur, Bengaluru. are primarily arboreal in nature Email: 1 [email protected] they fed on 34 plant species would descend to as low (Corresponding author) Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 1 4 Spatial occurrence and distribution of Himalayan Gray Langur in Kashmir Himalaya Abstract Himalayan Gray Langur, Semnopithecus ajax, is little- known endangered primate, endemic to Himalayas. It was initially reported to be present in Chamba, Kistawar and Dachigam National park. Its distribution in Kashmir Himalaya is poorly known. In Kashmir and adjoining regions, it is likely at risk of extinction due to land use change and conflict with humans. In this study, we aim to ascertain the current distribution in Kashmir region, and identify sites which face human-langur conflict. Using well-structured questionnaire and on-ground surveys we have attempted to determine the spatial distribution in the region. This study shows that Himalayan gray langur are distributed in the protected as a base-map for various coniferous forests of Kashmir, mountainous forest areas of management policies towards it becomes important to Kashmir. They are largely the conservation of this high- preserve and protect these forest dwelling in habit and altitude primate. Moreover, habitats for its survival. prefer an elevation within insights about the conflict will 1600-3000 m. The results help managers in developing suggest a wider range of ideas to reduce and prevent Keywords: High altitude Himalayan Gray Langur in conflict. Due to the presence primates, Semnopithecus Kashmir which was previously of this species in the ajax, distribution, conflict, thought to be restricted broadleaved deciduous and Kashmir Himalayas. in a small range. Conflict in the form of crop raiding was found in the villages Mehreen Khaleel1, Sumanta Bagchi2 & Rohini Balakrishnan3 around protected areas. The Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. current distribution serves Email: 1 [email protected] (Corresponding author) Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 1 5 ISSN 2230-7052 #179 ISSN 2230-7052 21 January 2020 No. 23, Feb 2017 No. 23, Feb 2017 XX XXXXXXX XXXX xxxxxxx 21 February 2017 XX XXXXXXX XXXX xxxxxxx 21 February 2017 Newsletter of the Newsletter of the Invertebrate Conservation & Information Network of South Asia (ICINSA) Invertebrate Conservation & Information Network of South Asia (ICINSA) Record of Giant Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) in Krishna River, southern India Adult giant freshwater prawn M. rosenbergii collected from the Krishna River at Nagarale village. Macrobrachium rosenbergii is commonly range it is extensively fished for, as well known as Giant River prawn or giant as being the main focus for freshwater freshwater prawn, it is nocturnal, bottom shrimp aquaculture. Commercial dwelling and sluggish in nature and highly development of prawn farming has now territorial. Macrobrachium rosenbergii become widespread, especially in South- is distributed in Bangladesh, Brunei Asian countries. M. rosenbergii, is a Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, commercially important species in India Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, due to its fast growth rate, large size and Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and good demand with premium price. The Thailand (New 2002). This species is species lives in large rivers and stream with widely cultured both within its natural a connection to the sea. The maximum range and far beyond. Throughout its recorded size for females and males are 29 Zoo’s Print Vol. 35 | No. 1 6 ISSN 2230-7052 ISSN 2230-7052 #179 21 January 2020 No. 23, Feb 2017 No. 23, Feb 2017 XX XXXXXXX XXXX xxxxxxx 21 February 2017 XX XXXXXXX XXXX xxxxxxx 21 February 2017 Newsletter of the Newsletter of the Invertebrate Conservation & Information Network of South Asia (ICINSA) Invertebrate Conservation & Information Network of South Asia (ICINSA) cm and 33 cm respectively. The spawning season of M. rosenbergii is varies in different regions in its distributional range in the Indo West Pacific region. In temperate regions, the breeding season coincides with the summer; while in tropical regions it is generally restricted to the onset of the rainy season (Valenti 1984) successful mating occurs between soft shelled females and hard shelled males. Gravid females migrate downstream into estuaries, where the eggs hatch as free swimming larvae.