It was around 8.45 in the morning on 6th June 2010 when I got a call that a snake has entered in a hut in Garjia village near Dhikuli. I rushed to the location without any delay with a locally prepared tool PVC pipe with a bag fitted on the other end for such purpose. It was suggested to me by my friend Gowri Shankar whom I met during his last visit to Corbett. Gowri is a snake lover and he is doing research on King Cobra. When I reached the place where the snake was I saw lots of people around the hut and some inside the hut as well. I saw the snake and found that it is a King Cobra. The length...

  Born in Darjeeling, Prasanna had always been surrounded by bountiful nature. A trekker, an amateur mountaineer and a wildlifer, he shifted his base to Delhi after a short stint with Department of Tourism, Darjeeling after his graduation. His profession as a tour operator has given him opportunity to explore many wilderness destinations in the Indian subcontinent. He has volunteered during relocation of yak sheds out of Shingalila National Park and on anti Chireta Sorata (medicinal herb) smuggling drive.  He was actively involved in coordinating Snow Leopard Awareness Project at Hemis National...

‘If Gandhi and the Buddha were crossed to become a young white boy, he’d look like Joel’ – Sumantha Ghosh. Wildlife enthusiast Joel took time out from wandering around India to work with Mahseer Conservancy for 1 month in March 2010. He conducted a pioneering research study looking at the decline of the Golden Mahseer on the Ramganga River in Almora. Braving the sand mining mafia, boys with explosives and illness he collected alarming data showing that the Golden Mahseer populations are being decimated. Indiscriminate fishing methods such as dynamiting, poisoning and electrocution...

All those who know a little about snake they also know something about king cobra. Most of common men who know about snakes mostly have 90 % wrong information about snakes. Well this is not about to tell you all about the snakes and the facts related to them. This article is about a snake which you can say a ghost amongst snake, yes the King Cobra. King Cobra is rightly called King as it is the top predator amongst snakes and not only by this feature they are supreme amongst their species but also because they respect the humans and play a vital role in the balance of ecosystem. Though the habitat...

Courtney is a Kiwi and was here for 5 weeks as an Ecotourism volunteer. She came to India to see the effects of tourism in a fragile environment such as Corbett Reserve and to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing a Tiger in its natural habitat. This came true during a 2 day visit to Dhikala, a beautiful part of the reserve. Visiting India for the first time was fascinating and confusing all rolled into one for her – but it stole her heart and she will forever return and convince others to do the same. The bulk of her time was spent beginning a research project on a complex aspect of tourism...

Coming from New Zealand, my experience of snakes is pretty limited as we have no snakes back home. So, when we got the call to say that someone had found the carcass of a 20 foot long King Cobra (or Hamadryad, Ophiophagus hannah), I jumped at the chance to go and witness this phenomenon.  A snake that has earned a reputation for its aggressiveness and courage, and is the largest venomous snake in the world, is definitely worth a look!   Myself, Sumantha Ghosh, and Frederique Lacraz all piled into the jeep early on the morning of the 1st May 2010 to head towards Kaladhungi, Nainital District,...

  Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) hair analysis from Uttarakhand, by S.K. Gupta, Scientist from Wildlife Institute of India, Wildlife Forensic Lab, Dehradun 2010. A report on similarity test of two hair samples of Tiger (Panthera tigris)     Abstract: Two tiger hair samples were sent by Frederique Lacraz, Society for Mahseer Conservancy, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand to Wildlife Institute of India. Those two tiger hair samples were collected in the same area (Tera village) where there has been two attacks on ladies by tigers. The reason for a DNA analysis was to identify, whether both the sample...

Forester Lalit is the son of a Ranger. He is the new face of technology savvy foresters and has effectively used technology in monitoring the tiger in their natural habitat and mapping his movement patterns. Young, honest and brilliant Lalit has numerous feathers on his hat. A topper in Forest Act at the Forester Training Institute, Haldwani in 2004. A 2007 Topper of Champion Trophy of Corbett in Wildlife training at Kalagargh, 2007 Best Forester awarded by Assistant Forest Employee Union. Lalit has assisted researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India for estimating tigers and ungulate population...

  A sporting event under the banner of “Sports for Conservation” is being organized by Society for Mahseer Conservancy from the 22nd to 26th January, 2010 in the lovely Baluli village, on the banks of the lifeline of Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR)–the river Ramganga. Sport is a very effective tool in the cause of wildlife conservation, particularly for the youth since it promises thrilling action while sermons and speeches take a backseat! The first day of the event is dedicated to the girls, with games like kho-kho, kabbadi and rope pulling testing their mettle. A cricket tournament...

Deciding on a trip to India was not an easy one with long haul flights and ‘all those injections’. However reading up about the country was exhilarating, the culture was nothing which I had ever experienced, the food was going to be different and no doubt take some getting used to and the wildlife, which was what I was most excited about, was vast. After landing and a bumpy but not too long drive to Tiger Camp at Corbett National Park, I was met by the most amazingly smiley faces, welcoming me at the reception with warmth and friendliness. As previously mentioned the wildlife I knew was going...