Civil Service Bytes

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has said the Centre will extend all help to protect the brow antlered deer whose numbers in the entire world is just 204, according to a 2013 census. Wildlife enthusiasts feel there is an encouraging ray of hope for the survival of the rare deer on the brink of imminent extinction. The union minister for forest, environment and climate change made the announcement as he visited the 40 sq. km Keibul Lamjao National Park, the natural habitat of the brow antlered deer, locally known as Sangai, on Saturday shortly before leaving for Mizoram after a two-day visit to Manipur. Javadekar said: “As per official information, there are now 90 stags, 86 hinds and 28 fawns. All assistance will be extended for the protection of this endangered species.” There is a slight increase in the deer numbers. There were 180 deer in 2000. Asked if the Centre is thinking in terms of a project on the lines of Project Elephant or Project Rhino, Javedkar said: “Once we get...

The snow leopard, an endangered animal, has been found in north Sikkim. It was found in a pilot project by WWF India. (World Wide Fund for Nature) Efforts made by WWF India for the conservation : Addressing retaliatory killing of snow leopards due to livestock depredation, managing the population of free ranging dogs and securing livelihoods of local communities, especially by targeting community resilience towards climate-induced changes . The camera trap study will be implemented across the entire potential distribution range in Sikkim in multiple phases. The project is the first attempt to fill gaps in conservationists’ knowledge of snow leopards in this important habitat. The complete intensive camera trap study, expected to be completed by 2017. Snow leopard Facts: The  snow leopard   is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ...