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...

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,...

Women collecting wood In India, a high density of people is dependant on forest products in order to cook, to heat the houses and to feed the cattle. This has been a tradition for decades if not centuries among Indian villagers. Wood is indeed a privileged energy source since it is free of cost and is, for now on, still available. But this wood collection is step by step destroying the ecosystems of the forests. The forest products collected which are bark, dead and green wood and grass all participate in the balance to keep forests in good health. The barks are protecting the trees from any aggression;...

Dehradun, July 18 As a part of Vulture Study Programme, the research scholars from France have kick-started their study from today. The scholars will be here for three months. These researchers of France University are undergoing National Diploma in Environment and have created special study sites at Ringora village, to study vultures who have their nests in the region in big numbers. While dwindling number of vultures in the country have been a cause of concern, Uttarakhand has somehow recorded these vultures in good numbers. Jacob, a scholar said that studying vultures in Corbett would certainly...

The Pionner, October 5, 2009 In a major boost for environmentalists, vultures were sighted in Uttarakhand after the recent discovery of the near-extinct birds in Himachal Pradesh. Over 150 vultures of five species can be found nesting and feeding at three locations around Ramnagar in Uttarakhand — Van Gujjar village of Tumeria, Ringora and Hatidagar. The three sites fall under two categories: Regular nesting sites (Ringora and Tumeria): Vultures are consistently seen roosting and occupying nests throughout the year and these are likely to be important breeding sites; Regular feeding sites (Hatidagar):...

September 29th, 2009 RAMNAGAR – With the vulture population declining alarmingly in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar area, which adjoins the Corbett Wildlife Sanctuary, a group of pro-wildlife activists and forest rangers are engaged in spreading public awareness about their conservation in the region. Under the banner of the Corbett Vulture Conservation Committee, the NGO activists recently used the annual Ramlilas, held during the Dussehra festival, to promote awareness about vultures. Jatayu Bhagwan, a Demi god in form of a vulture, who finds mention in they mythological epic Ramayana, was used...

He is however known more as Jolly Uncle. Jolly joined the Forest Department in Garwal as a dakwallah or postman in 1956 when he was just 16. Also known as The Tiger Man of Corbett Jolly has witnessed when India’s finest national park Hailey National Park was renamed as the Ramganga National Park and then in 1956 as the Corbett National Park and finally he saw Project Tiger being launched from the  Corbett Tiger Reserve in 1973. Jolly has never known fear and never will. While serving with the forest department he has caught several poachers and has caught hunting army soldiers, a member of legislative...

Veteran naturalist, fisherman and author is always more than eager to advice on issues related to conservation and nature travels. Prosenjit Das Gupta was born in August 1944 in Calcutta and educated at St. Xavier’s School and Presidency College. An avid nature traveller he has been to numerous sanctuaries and wilderness areas in India since 1968, when places like Kanha, Manas, Kaziranga, Corbett, Palamau, Nameri were hardly visited by any one. An avid birder since 1972, he is one of the first of the Calcutta bird-watchers to see and photograph White-winged wood-duck in Nameri in 1992. Prosenjit...

Laurie is a French student and was based at Ringora to study the wildlife corridor between Corbett Tiger Reserve and the adjoining forest of Ramnagar Forest Division with us during three months, focusing on tigers’ movement. She went every morning walking on the road to notice any animal been killed by vehicles and also walked in the main nulla (seasonal stream) in Ringora used by wildlife, including tigers, to go from the Corbett Tiger Reserve to the Kosi River and beyond. In this nulla, she was looking for any signs of tiger or elephant and when there was, she took pictures of the pugmarks....

When Vulture programme in the Corbett area was taking off Kostubh Sharma was the first to come forward with help. Koustubh had a keen interest in wildlife since school days and the city of Bhopal, where he grew, provided ample opportunities to nurture his interests in bird watching and wildlife. Academically inclined towards mathematical sciences, he did his Masters in Physics from the University of Bhopal. It was during this period that he also conducted a small study on the avian fauna of Bhopal, and developed his first stand-alone software to help identify birds. This led to his association...