Science And Technology

Protecting the unprotected in the Bhagirathi basin Vinod Kumar kushwaha Protecting India’s rich biodiversity has usually taken the form of designating protected areas like national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Several of these are contiguous with larger landscapes that lack such protection status and that form continuous habitat ranges for many animals. In a recent study, a team of Indian researchers have highlighted the need for more focused conservation strategies in the Bhagirathi basin in Uttarakhand. Uttarkashi Landscape, Bhagirathi basin (Photo: Ranjana Pal, WII) Delineating protected areas is essential to the conservation of species and landscapes. In a country as populous as India, wildlife and humans often have to scramble for space and resources. Sometimes, wild animals occupy habitats that either exist outside of a protected area or are embedded in the human settlements. It is important to recognize such non-protected areas and implement effective conservation strategies.

Orangutans and otters strike up darling friendship at Belgium zoo A family of orangutans and a romp of river otters are the furriest of friends, according to zookeepers in Belgium who purposefully arranged for the primates' and mustelids' habitats to intersect. Photos of these curious bedfellows went viral after Pairi Daiza, a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Belgium's province of Hainaut, recently "The presence of a family of Asian small-clawed otters in [the orangutans'] territories is not a coincidence," Mathieu Goedefroy, Pairi Daiza spokesperson, told Live Science in an email. Orangutans (genus Pongo) share 97% of their DNA with humans, and like their Homo sapiens' cousins, orangutans "must be entertained, occupied, challenged and kept busy mentally, emotionally and physically at all times ,"  Goedefroy said.The zoo has five orangutans: a male and female couple named Gempa and Sinta, as well as a famil