Have you ever wondered why elephants enter villages, leopards are spotted in cities, birds crash into buildings, or wild animals are sometimes injured while crossing busy roads? As forests shrink and cities expand, people and wildlife are crossing paths more often than ever before. But can they truly coexist?

A story about deforestation, listening to warnings, and protecting forests before it’s too late

Visually appealing, orchids also play an important ecological role by supporting biodiversity and specialised pollinators

Most people would agree that playing God is unethical but bioengineering DNA could also be used to resurrect extinct species and improve science

How a walk around a colony in South Delhi’s bustling life, gave a student a peek at how many of us make our food choices

A simple, lucid explainer on the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of wildlife corridors.  

Thanks to the real-life bat, the reel-life Batman became a superhero. I have vivid childhood memories of the trees near my school from which more bats hung than leaves. During summery dusks, they’d glide away en masse in a procession. I believe, even then as today, people would’ve been susceptible to the viruses spread by their droppings. But such cases were unheard of. Rather, people fed upon this fascinating creature to cure their ailments— like, rheumatism, asthma, and chest pain; and used bat hair to treat shivering during fever.

Whenever that sweet tinkling sound traverses through my balcony, my entire mood rejuvenates. I crane my neck, investigating its source, and scan my lushy green enclave for a soft jingling song. Tracing the tsee…tseer… notes, I rejoice with delight on spotting the chirpy, cute, bundle of joy—the Indian White-Eye.

“Why didn’t you spot the Tiha today, dear?” That’s what my mother used to remind me on the New Year eves, when I was a little child like you. The Indian Roller bird, or the Tiha in Odia, is a very good omen. Believed to be a harbinger of happiness, sighting it is considered auspicious, especially at the beginning of any major life event. In fact, such is the faith in its sanctity that its feathers are preserved as lucky charms. Do you know Odisha, Telangana, and Karnataka have also declared it as their state bird?