The undisputed lord of Himalayan rivers is the handsome golden-scaled highlander. Undeniably, the mahseer is one of the fiercest fighting freshwater game fish that exists. Pound for pound it had unparalleled strength and endurance. Mahseer does have a transitory likeness to the carp and the barbell of the English waters, but as they say, the similarity soon ends in the turbid waters of the Himalayan foothills. The mahseer shows more sport for its size then a salmon and therefore considered the best sportfish in the world….this is what snobs (??) of the Raj era had to say. Mahseer have overjoyed...

Ringora Khatta is located on the right bank of Kosi River, 5 km from Ramnagar. It is surrounded by the forest of Ramnagar Forest Division and Corbett Tiger Reserve Khatta in the past were used by people from the mountains who would camp here during their barter trips locally called Dhakar to the Ramnagar bazaar. Similarly many herdsmen from mountains would camp in these Khattas as their winter dwellings with there cattle. Khatta’s are forest land and therefore the present day village of Ringora does not have revenue village status and treated like Forest village. Being located in the vicinity...

Neema In the village of Ringora, dist. Nainital, a girl named Neema is making artefact using local raw material, the “saan”. Her products are the only local creation that can be found in and around Corbett, making it priceless. But Neema is not only a brand, it represents a whole history of Kumaoni women who work incredibly hard every day. Their daily life starts early morning, where they go inside the jungle to collect firewood and grass, to cook and heat the houses, to feed the cattle but also to collect this particular grass that is much needed to repair the roofs and that can be sold at...

Whilst Field Director of Corbett National Park Mr Bhartari turned it into one of the Finest Parks in the world and one that India can be very proud of today. It’s a great pleasure to see people getting acknowledged for their hard work and achievements and we would like to wish Mr Bhartari all he best for future success in his endeavours.

In the many attempts made by men to get rid of the unwanted weed Lantana camara, one technique was often chosen: the fire control. The idea of this method is first to uproot the plant, then to put the roots up in the air (to avoid them to go towards the ground and grow back again) and finally to let it dry for several days. When the plant is dry enough, it is burnt. Fire is one of the major factors for such species, which is not only depleting undergrowth but also facilitating the germination of the weed. The fire has an impact on its frequency, abundance, density and basal cover. After fire incidences...

It was a small village of some 16 ploughs differing in no respect from hundreds of similar villages, scattered throughout the length of the tract along the Bhahar. Originally the village had been surrounded by tree jungle intercepted with grass, and in this virgin jungle lived all the numerous denizens of the wild. To protect their crops the villagers erected thorn fences round their fields. As an additional safeguard a member of the depressed class was encouraged to settle in the village whose duty it was to watch the crops at night and see they were not damaged by stray cattle or wild animals....

Lantana camara, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, also known as “Terror of Kumaon”, is native to tropical regions in Central and South America. After being brought to India as an ornamental garden plant in about 1809 in Culcutta Botanic Garden, the weed quickly escaped cultivation and within 20 years was established in the wild. Lantana was first declared noxious around 1920, and by the 1950s it had spread over more than 1600 km of the eastern Australian coastline. The species will grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) high and may spread to 8 ft (2.4 m) in width with some varieties able to clamber vinelike...

Among the Society for Mahseer Conservancy, a new project was launched few months ago, under the name “WELFARE”, which stands for Women Empowerment through Lantana Furniture, Artefacts and Restoration of the Environment”. The reason for this project emerged after an obvious result from the firewood survey: the villagers will not reduce their wood collection unless some alternatives are provided to them. Unfortunately, the government is almost absent in such help. Our actions may be at small scale, but at least they are actions. The women are the protagonists of this project since they are...

Comon Tiger Corbett Corbett is popularly called the land of roar, trumpet and song – means it is known for tigers, elephants and birds. This is right as it has the highest density of wild tigers in the world with one of the best male female ratio of the Asian elephant (1:3) and an amazing diversity of avifauna with 625+ species of bird. It is rarely understood as a good area for butterflies. Corbett region is a paradise for butterflies and for those who love butterflies. People usually visit Corbett to watch ‘wildlife’ and from most of them understand ‘wildlife’ means tiger, leopard,...

Jilling Our trip to Jilling, near Nainital, was a welcome respite from the August heat. After a short hour’s walk assisted by a guide with a horse carrying our bags, we arrived at the main house, situated just below a long ridge, from which the view of the himalayas- when free from cloud cover- is said to be fantastic. There are other houses on the mountainside, but not many, and the overall feeling is one of a peaceful haven. After the hustle and bustle of the previous days, we were suddenly filled with the desire to just relax- to sit back and read, watch the birds, and take short walks through...