Asia nature
Articles in ‘Asia nature’
July 29th, 2009
The sight of a snake charmer is part of picturesque India. But behind the mysticism the reality is toothless snakes with sewn up mouths. The saperas (the charmers) are especially active around the Hindu snake festival of Nagpanchami, when traditionally thousands of snakes have been trapped, mutilated and brought into the cities for veneration, the operation rounded off by the trading of snake skins. But awareness campaigns mean that traditions are changing. Read the rest of this entry
Asia nature, India nature | Tags: Nagpanchami snake festival, snake charmers in India, snake conservation in India, snake rescue in India, snake worship in India, snakes in Indian culture, snakes in religion, snakes India, worship of snakes|
July 27th, 2009
The latest census on tigers and snow leopards in Nepal shows a fall in the numbers of both species. The tiger population has declined, albeit slightly, from 123 in 2003 to 121. Snow leopards have fallen to between 300 and 400, while previously their number was estimated at between 400 and 500.
Snow leopard network
Update: See also Science Daily (better analysis of story)
121 Breeding Tigers Estimated To Be Found In Nepal
“The first ever overall nation-wide estimate of the tiger population brought a positive ray of hope among conservationists. The figures… show the presence of 121 (100 – 194) breeding tigers in the wild within the four protected areas of Nepal.”
“”Tiger numbers have increased in Chitwan but decreased in Bardia and Shuklaphanta,” said Mr. Anil Manandhar, Country Representative, WWF Nepal. “In spite of the decade long insurgency, encroachment, poaching and illegal trade, the present numbers is a positive sign, but we can’t remain unworried. The declining numbers in western Nepal has posed more challenges, needing a concerted effort to save this charismatic endangered species focusing on anti-poaching and illegal wildlife trade.”
See also: Snow leopard holidays
Asia nature, Nepal nature | Tags: How tigers are in Nepal, Nepal tigers, Numbers of tigers in Nepal, Snow leopard, Snow leopards in Nepal, Tigers in Bardia, Tigers in Chitwan, Tigers in Nepal|
July 26th, 2009
As few as six freshwater Ganges dolphins remain in the Karnali River in Nepal. Just 30 years ago, the river was home to approximately one hundred. The reason lies in water development projects, hunting dolphins, pollution and overfishing.
Ecoworldly
Asia nature, Nepal nature | Tags: freshwater dolphins, Freshwater dolphins in Nepal, Ganges dolphins, Karnali River|
July 24th, 2009
Biologists have discovered a new species of lizard in the lush forests of the Western Ghats mountain range in Maharashtra, India. The small reptile is a sepcies of gecko and was found by taxonomist Varad Giri. It has been named
Cnemasspis kolhapurensis.
BBC
Asia nature, India nature | Tags: Cnemasspis kolhapurensis, Lizards in India, New species of lizards, Reptiles in the Western Ghats, Wildlife in the Western Ghats, Wildlife of Maharashtra|
July 22nd, 2009
The World Bank says experimenting with tiger farming is too risky and could drive wild tigers further toward extinction. “Extinction is irreversible, so prudence and precaution suggest that the risks of legalized farming are too great a gamble for the world to take,” said World Bank Director Keshav Varma.
The tiger trade is prohibited internationally and banned in all countries where it is present, including China which has historically been the largest market for tiger products. But, owners of privately run tiger farms and rich business people in China have been pressuring the Chinese government to permit legal trade in tiger parts inside China by lifting the domestic tiger trade ban, introduced in 1993.
WWF
Asia nature, China nature | Tags: Is Tiger farming legal?, Tiger farming in China, Tiger trade ban in China, Tigers in China|
July 22nd, 2009
- Everest has several other names: Sagarmatha (Nepali), Chomolungma or Qomolangma (Tibetan) or Zhumulangma (Chinese)
- In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society. The mountain was named after George Everest. He thought a Tibetan or Nepalese name would have been more appropriate.
- In 1852, Radhanath Sikdar, an Indian mathematician and surveyor, was the first to identify Everest as the world’s highest peak.
- The first attempt to climb Everest was in 1922 by the British Mount Everest Expedition
- As of the end of the 2008 climbing season, there had been 4,102 ascents to the summit by about 2,700 individuals in the history of the mountain.
- As of the end of the 2008 climbing season, Everest has claimed 210 lives, including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Because of the severe conditions on the mountain, most corpses have been left where they fell.
- Climbing Everest is a significant source of revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$25,000 per person
- A tiny black jumping spider, (Euophrys omnisuperstes) has been found at elevations as high as 6,700 metres (22,000 ft), possibly making it the highest confirmed non-microscopic permanent resident on Earth. These spiders live in crevices and probably feed on frozen insects that have been blown there by the wind.
- Birds on Everest are few. Bar-headed geese fly at the higher altitudes of the mountain as they migrate (see How do they survive in such conditions?) while others such as the chough have been spotted as high as the South Col (7,920 m) scavenging on food, or even the corpses of mountaineers from climbing expeditions.
- Everest is growing by about 4 millimeters a year. It became the highest mountain in the world some 200,000 years ago.
- A white plume of clouds is often seen blowing off the top of Everest. It is the jet stream, a wind current reaching speeds up to 250 mph.
- The Everest View Hotel is at 12,779 feet the highest hotel in the world. Each room affords a panoramic view of Everest, weather permitting. Guests are flown to an airstrip and are then transported by yak to the hotel. The sudden high altitude is a shock to the unacclimatised guests, and so the hotel pumps a constant fresh supply of oxygen into each room.
More sources
Asia nature, Nepal nature, The best landforms in the world | Tags: Amazing facts about Everest, Animals living on Everest, Birds on Everest, facts about Everest, How many people have climbed Everest, How many people have died on Everest, Interesting facts about Everest, Mount Everest, The highest hotel in the world, The highest living animal in the world|
July 22nd, 2009
Interesting account of tracking successfully a snow leopard by
Aishwarya Maheshwari of the WWF
“I was on the frontier of India’s remotest wildness, where few humans have treaded before and fewer to study wildlife. Kargil, among largest districts of India, is best known in recent history for the major military conflict that occurred here in 1999. This unfortunately overshadowed the region’s rich wildlife. For, it is here that one of world’s most elusive creature.”
Read
Asia nature, India nature | Tags: Acoounts of snow leopards, Aishwarya Maheshwari, Kargil, Snow leopard, Snow leopards in India, Wildlife of Kargil|
July 20th, 2009
More than three miles of stream which flows through the South Korean capital of Seoul has been uncovered and restored after half a century of being channeled through an underground tunnel. The Cheonggyecheon was part of what inspired the king of the Chosen Dynasty to select Seoul as its new capital 600 years ago. But the stream was covered in concrete as the city industrialised in the 20th century. Earth News.
Now, a $384 million recovery project ahs liberated the Cheonggyecheon.
The New York Times notes on this story” The restoration of the Cheonggyecheon is part of an expanding environmental effort in cities around the world to “daylight” rivers and streams by peeling back pavement that was built to bolster commerce and serve automobile traffic decades ago.”
A number of other the world’s urban waterways have been similarly restored, or there are plans afoot to do so.
Cities from Singapore to San Antonio have been resuscitating rivers and turning storm drains into streams. In Los Angeles, residents’ groups and some elected officials are looking anew at buried or concrete-lined creeks as assets instead of inconveniences, inspired partly by Seoul’s example. By building green corridors around the exposed waters, cities hope to attract affluent and educated workers and residents who appreciate the feel of a natural environment in an urban setting.
Asia nature, South Korea nature | Tags: Cheonggyecheon stream, River Cheonggyecheon, River recovery in South Korea, urban waterway restoration|
July 19th, 2009
The Tree of Life, a 400-year-old mesquite tree that stands alone in the Sakhir Desert in Bahrain. The tree is a popular attraction. Nobody knows where it gets its water from. The Guardian
Mesquites yield yellowish gums used in making mucilage, sweets and dyes. The tree stands alone in the desert about 2 kilometres from the Jebel Dukhan, the highest point in Bahrain.
Asia nature, Bahrain nature | Tags: Highest mountain in Bahrein, mesquite trees, Sakhir Desert, Trees in Bahrain|
July 17th, 2009
Turkmenistan has begun ambitious attempt to create a vast lake in the centre of the country’s Karakum desert. Experts have expressed dismay at the quixotic Soviet-style project, though the Turkmenistan authorities insist the lake will attract migratory birds, stimulate biodiversity and make flowers and plants bloom in a country that is 80% desert.
The Guardian
Asia nature, Turkmenistan nature | Tags: Karakum desert, Turkmenistan environmental issues, Turkmenistan lakes|