Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Snow Leopards are natives to the cold climatic regions where human population is very scarce. They live in harsh conditions on earth. Their white-grey coat perfectly blends in with the snow-clapped mountains of Asia and protects them from the adverse climatic change. Basically these wild cats are from carnivorous family and breed on sheep, ibex, hares, and marmots. They’re usually found at high, rugged mountain landscapes at heights of over 3,500 meters. With the increasing number of days, months, and years, the numbers of snow leopards is diminishing and very soon they will soon become extinct. If proper measures are not taken to save snow leopards by the responsible citizens of the countries and government authorities, very soon our ecosystem will experience a shift that will cause discord. 

According to a recent study, there are only 7,500–4,500 snow leopards left and they are too under attack for various reasons. These snow leopards are found high in the mountains of the Himalayas and in Central Asia. They are sporadically distributed across the globe in countries such as Central Asia, China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal.

Saving snow leopards is the need of the hour. These snow leopards are everyday under attack and their number is depleting rampantly for various reasons. One of the major concerns for their loss is climatic conditions. With global warming scenario all over the world, it will first affect the high snow and mountainous regions. Unfortunately, these places happen to be the habitat of these snow leopards. If their habitat is destroyed or changed, they move towards other nearby areas for survival. Again, these nearby areas are densely populated with humans. Humans feel a threat with the snow leopards and start attacking them. 

The human-animal conflict is the second important issue that needs to be tackled. The snow leopard preys on mountain sheep and goats. With less or no snow leopards, these herbivores will feed on all the grasslands and vegetation, thereby leaving no food for other wildlife. The same landscape makes available food and other important resources for the inhabitants; including medicine, heat, wood for shelter, and fuel. So by saving the snow leopard, we’re benefiting the whole natural ecosystem in these areas and the people who rely on them.

Third and the saddest reason behind the decreasing number of snow leopards is poaching or illegal wildlife trade. As their natural prey becomes difficult to find, snow leopards are forced to kill livestock such as horses, sheep, goats, and calves for survival. The farmers in turn hunt these snow leopards and put them down. 

Saving snow leopard and its natural habitat is critical in protecting the environment and the ecosystem as a whole. There are many wildlife conservation groups that are working with local communities to monitor snow leopards and reduce their killing. There are reports of the government bodies working in close connection with Kanchenjunga conservation area in Nepal and their inhabitants to protect the snow leopards and reduce the conflict between the animal and the local residents.

Story:  How can a small species be defensive....here as everyone can see a bee eating bird is trapped in the web of a giant wood spider.... bee eater is a bird which feed on insects so the predator is a prey struggling for life.  Mother nature always surprises you;  it is never predictable ..!

Every day is a new lesson for every animal in the wild....and this is how they learn..never ignore common species they are the base for us to learn and understand wild nature.

Birds often feed on spiders to gain protein and use web material to line their nests. However, "birds in these situations are likely to be aware of the web and do not become entangled.   In most cases, spiders do not dine on small birds caught in their webs and may even cut the web to drop the load a web-encased bird imposes on their intricate, gossamer-threaded insect traps.

Also, a bird is normally too big a morsel for the mouth parts of a spider.

BHAUTIK R. DESAI

Naturalist at Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve                              

Dogs are man’s best friend. It is a said fact that humans have 5 million scent receptors in their noses, but dogs have up to 220 million. These millions of sensory scent receptors is what makes them so special. A dog’s brain is an expert for identifying scents. They even have an additional olfactory organ that is devoted just for detecting pheromones. The percentage of the dog’s brain that is dedicated to scrutinizing these scents is actually 40 times larger than that of a human! It’s been estimated that dogs can identify smells 10,000 times better than nasally challenged humans. Sniffer dogs, also known as detection dogs, are trained for using its senses to their utmost capacity. They are employed to detect illegal wildlife poaching products, explosives, illegal drugs, currency, or blood. Some sniffer dogs are used in drug raids to locate narcotics and individuals hiding from the police. These sniffer dogs are very useful even after their retirement. Their extraordinary abilities can be put to better use. These sniffer dogs can be of help to find and locate wildlife poaching activities.

In the last ten years, Indian aurochs, the Indian cheetah, and the pink-headed duck have gone extinct. Animals such as the Ganges river dolphins, purple frog, the Himalayan quail, one-horn rhinoceros, and the Indian hornbill are listed in the critically endangered category. Many of the tiger reserves in India are depleting and that too due to tigers been poached for their skin. Tiger poaching is carried out in large numbers in India. Rhino horns are smuggled outside India in exchange for a huge sum of money. Elephants are killed in large numbers; leopard skin is highly valued and is hunted to make fancy leather wallets, handbags, fur coats, and jackets. Mongooses are poached and killed for hair, snake for their skin, tigers, leopards for their bones, claws, skin, and whiskers, rhinos for their horns, elephants for their tusks, the list is endless. 

Sniffer dogs are used to sniff out ivory and rhino horns as well as other illegal animal trade products. Illegal wildlife poaching in India is prevalent because of many causes. These sniffer dogs work in association with other NGO’s, government authorities and other agencies at various places such as wildlife reserves, airports, sanctuaries, nature parks, mountainous regions, forests, and wetlands. Unlike humans, they can withstand harsh climatic conditions and work round the clock. They can work with the same capabilities in rain, snow, heat, and other temperature fluctuations. However, in the dogs’ species as well, there are different breeds of dogs for different geographical locations. Breeds such as beagle, German shepherds, and bloodhounds have more scent receptors compared to dachshund and fox terrier. The climatic conditions in which they work also do matter. For example: German shepherds are used in locations that exhibit more heat. Also, these German shepherds have much more stamina to sustain that heat. In South Africa, dogs are trained for skydiving to catch poachers. The advantage that these dogs possess over police officials or other trainers is that these dogs can catch the criminals even after they have fled. All thanks to their olfactory lobes!

Here is a report published on 13 December, 2016
U.S. EPA Releases Final Report on Impacts from Hydraulic Fracturing Activities on Drinking Water Resources 
EPA’s report concludes that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources under some circumstances and identifies factors that influence these impacts

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing its scientific report on the impacts from hydraulic fracturing activities on drinking water resources, which provides states and others the scientific foundation to better protect drinking water resources in areas where hydraulic fracturing is occurring or being considered. The report, done at the request of Congress, provides scientific evidence that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources in the United States under some circumstances. As part of the report, EPA identified conditions under which impacts from hydraulic fracturing activities can be more frequent or severe. The report also identifies uncertainties and data gaps. These uncertainties and data gaps limited EPA’s ability to fully assess impacts to drinking water resources both locally and nationally. These final conclusions are based upon review of over 1,200 cited scientific sources; feedback from an independent peer review conducted by EPA’s Science Advisory Board; input from engaged stakeholders; and new research conducted as part of the study. 

"The value of high quality science has never been more important in helping to guide decisions around our nation’s fragile water resources. EPA's assessment provides the scientific foundation for local decision makers, industry, and communities that are looking to protect public health and drinking water resources and make more informed decisions about hydraulic fracturing activities,” said Dr. Thomas A. Burke, EPA's Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Research and Development. "This assessment is the most complete compilation to date of national scientific data on the relationship of drinking water resources and hydraulic fracturing."

The report is organized around activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle and their potential to impact drinking water resources. The stages include: (1) acquiring water to be used for hydraulic fracturing (Water Acquisition), (2) mixing the water with chemical additives to make hydraulic fracturing fluids (Chemical Mixing), (3) injecting hydraulic fracturing fluids into the production well to create and grow fractures in the targeted production zone (Well Injection), (4) collecting the wastewater that returns through the well after injection (Produced Water Handling), and (5) managing the wastewater through disposal or reuse methods (Wastewater Disposal and Reuse). 

EPA identified cases of impacts on drinking water at each stage in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle. Impacts cited in the report generally occurred near hydraulically fractured oil and gas production wells and ranged in severity, from temporary changes in water quality, to contamination that made private drinking water wells unusable.

As part of the report, EPA identified certain conditions under which impacts from hydraulic fracturing activities can be more frequent or severe, including:

• Water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing in times or areas of low water availability, particularly in areas with limited or declining groundwater resources;
• Spills during the management of hydraulic fracturing fluids and chemicals or produced water that result in large volumes or high concentrations of chemicals reaching groundwater resources;
• Injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into wells with inadequate mechanical integrity, allowing gases or liquids to move to groundwater resources;
• Injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids directly into groundwater resources;
• Discharge of inadequately treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater to surface water resources; and
• Disposal or storage of hydraulic fracturing wastewater in unlined pits, resulting in contamination of groundwater resources.

The report provides valuable information about potential vulnerabilities to drinking water resources, but was not designed to be a list of documented impacts.

Data gaps and uncertainties limited EPA’s ability to fully assess the potential impacts on drinking water resources both locally and nationally. Generally, comprehensive information on the location of activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle is lacking, either because it is not collected, not publicly available, or prohibitively difficult to aggregate. In places where we know activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle have occurred, data that could be used to characterize hydraulic fracturing-related chemicals in the environment before, during, and after hydraulic fracturing were scarce. Because of these data gaps and uncertainties, as well as others described in the assessment, it was not possible to fully characterize the severity of impacts, nor was it possible to calculate or estimate the national frequency of impacts on drinking water resources from activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle. 

EPA's final assessment benefited from extensive stakeholder engagement with states, tribes, industry, non-governmental organizations, the scientific community, and the public. This broad engagement helped to ensure that the final assessment report reflects current practices in hydraulic fracturing and uses all data and information available to the agency. This report advances the science. The understanding of the potential impacts from hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources will continue to improve over time as new information becomes available. 

For a copy of the study, visit www.epa.gov/hfstudy.