Wildlife Conservation Trust

We are inviting applications for our WCT-Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Endangered Species Grants Programme (WCT-BEES Grants) for 2024-25! WCT has reinstituted its small grants programme to provide opportunities to wildlife conservationists and researchers in India to pursue their passion of conserving endangered species and threatened habitats. Log on to https://lnkd.in/f9ue29J to learn more about WCT-BEES Grants. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] in case of any queries. Last date to apply is August 10, 2024. Link In Bio: https://lnkd.in/dw8pZRmt #SmallGrants #WCTBEESGrants #WildlifeConservationTrust #wctindia

WCT President Dr. Anish Andheria shares his thoughts on why we decided to launch our Hindi website, and what we aim to achieve from it. All of us at WCT are excited about this launch, and we hope you are too! Do visit us at https://lnkd.in/d9ctyRfE ____________ डब्ल्यूसीटी के अध्यक्ष, डॉ. अनीश अंधेरिया ने,अपने विचार साझा किए हैं, कि हमने अपनी हिंदी वेबसाइट लॉन्च करने का निर्णय, क्यों लिया, और हम इससे, कौनसा लक्ष्य हासिल करना चाहते हैं! डब्ल्यूसीटी में हम सभी इस लॉन्च को लेकर उत्साहित हैं, और हमें उम्मीद है की आप भी हैं! #Hindi #ConservationInHindi #HindiContent #wctindia #wildlifeconservationtrust #conservationcommunication

India is already ahead of the curve on this trend. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 enshrines protection for wildlife against illegal hunting, ownership, trade, and transport. Any person violating this protection afforded to wild animals listed in two schedules is liable for punishment with imprisonment of 3-7 years and a fine of minimum Rs. 25,000. If the offence occurs within the core area of a tiger reserve - a sacrosanct space for tiger protection, the fines range from Rs. 50,000 to two lakhs. Unfortunately, the evidence that forest officers present to support these cases do not withstand judicial scrutiny. This is exactly why we at Wildlife Conservation Trust run comprehensive training programmes for forest officers that are aimed at reducing dependency on (highly unreliable and scarce) eyewitness testimony and train them to increasingly prosecution these offences with scientific evidence. We also support such learning with evidence collection kits, illustrated crime scene investigation manuals, and a judgements app - all of which are designed to help frontline forest staff improve their abilities to investigate wildlife offences.

Our paper, published in International Whaling Commission's Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, describes a visual detection system we developed to detect illegal use of Ganges river dolphin oil as fishing bait. The system integrates fishers' observational knowledge with independent colour assessments and visual tests to determine differences in appearance of Clupisoma fish catches obtained with the use of this oil-bait, versus those captured in nets. This novel method can indicate the occurrence of this illegal practice based on just fish catch observations. The full paper is available here: https://lnkd.in/g_j58ZSd

Wondering what the WCT-BEES Grants Programme is? What types of grants are on offer? How to apply? We answer some of these questions here. If you have more questions, simply visit our website to learn more and apply. We are now inviting applications to our WCT-Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Endangered Species Grants Programme (WCT-BEES Grants) for 2024-25. Application deadline: August 10, 2024. Log on to https://lnkd.in/f9ue29J to learn more. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] in case of any queries. Link: https://lnkd.in/dw8pZRmt #SmallGrants #WCTBEESGrants #WildlifeConservationTrust #wctindia

WCT is back with its small grants programme. Since 2017, WCT has backed 20 important conservation and research projects impacting 14 threatened species as well as endangered habitats. We are now inviting applications to our WCT-Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Endangered Species Grants Programme (WCT-BEES Grants) for 2024-25. Apply for the: • Wildlife Research Small Grant • Grassroots Conservation Small Grant Application deadline: August 10, 2024. Log on to https://lnkd.in/f9ue29J to learn more. https://lnkd.in/dw8pZRmt Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] in case of any queries. #SmallGrants #WCT-BEESGrants

A glimmer of hope: that is what these leading climate warriors are providing India by leading the crusade against climate change and paving the way towards a sustainable future! #IndiaClimateSummit

Urgent action is needed to tackle the threat of invasive alien species across the world, according to a team of 88 experts from 47 countries. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) Invasive Alien Species Assessment Report, published in February 2024, drew on more than 13,000 scientific publications and reports in 15 languages, as well as indigenous and local knowledge on species, ecosystems and regions across the world. Now, the authors have published a paper outlining their main findings, and highlighting the urgency to act on curbing the growing threat of invasive alien species. Here are some of the key messages from the paper: ▫️ Every year, approximately two hundred new alien species are now being introduced by human activities into regions they had not been recorded in earlier. ▫️ Established alien species continue to expand their geographic ranges. ▫️ Simple extrapolations from the impacts of invasive alien species observed today are likely to underestimate the magnitude of future impacts. ▫️ Climate change is a major driver facilitating the spread of invasive alien species into new areas. ▫️ In some mountainous regions, climate change, combined with other threats to biodiversity, is helping invasive species to extend their ranges into higher elevations twice as fast as native species. ▫️ The threat of invasive species can be mitigated with urgent, cross-sectorial, cooperative and collaborative action. ▫️ Collaborative action by governments, private sector stakeholders, and indigenous communities is critical to curb the spread of invasives. ▫️ Public awareness and citizen science initiatives can play an important role in early detection of invasive species. Image: The red-eared slider turtle is among the world’s 100 most invasive species, thanks to the pet trade. ( Photo by Rizwan Mithawala ) #InvasiveSpecies #BiodiversityLoss #wctindia #wildlifeconservationtrust #redeareslider #wildlife #conservation

#WorldCrocodileDay | Gharial Swipe through the slides to know what’s threatening the survival of gharials, and how WCT plans to mitigate those threats. Insights by Tarun Nair, Lead, Programme Makara, WCT Illustration by Akshaya Elizabeth Zachariah The project is supported by the KCT Group https://lnkd.in/dRF_JEEG #SandMining #Dams #Habitat #HabitatDegradation #indianwildlife #india #wildlifeconservation #wildlifeconservationtrust #wctindia

Sloth bears have a sharp sense of smell. They can detect their favourite food, insect grubs, up to three feet under the ground. It is no wonder then, that this curious individual, who came up to the camera to inspect it, could smell the humans who had installed it 90 minutes ago. The bear getting spooked by human smell and running away also indicates that some bears in some landscapes may prefer to avoid interactions with humans, and that the species doesn’t deserve a bad reputation. ………………….. स्लोथ बेयर्स(भालू), इनके पास सूंघने की विशिष्ट और विलक्षण शक्ति होती है। इनकी सूंघने की शक्ति इतनी ताकतवर होती है, की यह, ३ फीट ज़मीन के नीचे, अपने पसंदीदा भोजन, कीट गृब्स(कीट भोजन)को सूंघ सकते हैं। इसमे कोई आश्चर्य नहीं की यह जिज्ञासु प्राणी,जो कैमरे तक आ पहुँचा, उसकी जांच करने के लिए, उसने उस मनुष्य को भी सूंघ लिया, जिसने वह कैमरा, वहाँ, ९० मिनट पहले लगाया था। मनुष्य की गंध से डरकर, और उसका उस जगह से भाग जाना, पलायन कर जाना, यह भी बताता है की, कुछ भालू, चुनिन्दा परिदृश्यों में, इन्सानों के साथ परस्पर भेंट नहीं करना चाहते। #CameraTrap #SlothBear #Wildlife #WCT #WildlifeConservationTrust #wctindia #animalvideos