We recently visited two research foundations during our travels in the Western Ghats of India, SACON and MSSRF CAbC. SACON is the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History and MSSRF CAbC is the MS Swaminathan Community Agrobiodiversity Centre. Salim Ali was known as the father of Indian Ornithology. He took steps before his death to establish a national ...
BIO 265: Conservation of India’s Biodiversity
Ghost Towns Of The Sea
John Williams See video on bottom of post. Ghost Towns Of The Sea The Andaman Islands are known for complex and beautiful coral reef ecosystems. These ecosystems are important for the islands’ eco-tourism and fishing industry. Red Skin Island, in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, is a beautiful recreational park with snorkeling and hiking. I got the ...
Sightings in Bandipur Tiger Reserve
Here's a partial list of all the animal life we spotted on two 3-hour jeep safaris in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, with a few comments. BTR is open savannah/dry deciduous forest habitat in the Western Ghats, just north of Ooty and south/southwest of Mysore. Altitude is about 1,000 m. This list is from a late afternoon and early morning safari. Mammals: Elephants - multiple ...
Andaman Islands: Environment and Conservation
We spent the first two days of our Andaman Islands trip working and learning with ANET (Andaman Nicobar Environment Team). The days were long, beginning early in the morning and ending well after a late dinner, plus a long drive back to our hotel. Which didn't have wifi or any other internet. In fact, the entire island was without cellular data (we could make phone calls but ...
Preservation of monuments and biodiversity
When we recently toured Golconda Fort I observed a diversity of species amid the immensity of the fort. Some individual species were very abundant. There was a robust yellow-bodied dragonfly that was swarming; I didn't get a chance to for a close-up picture or identification, but they were quite abundant (you might be able to see one or two flying in the picture below). Yet, at ...
