A rare tree rediscovered from Kerala 14 years ago is still categorised as Extinct on the Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The latest version of the list released early this week has described Cynometra beddomeii , “a large tree, which has only ever been recorded from Tambacherry Ghat” as regionally extinct in Kerala. It had also stated that the plant has “not been found since 1870, despite intensive explorations.”

Researchers have discovered a new species of badid fish ‘Dario urops' from the Barapole tributary of the Valapattanam river in the Western Ghats.

A research team consisting of Ralf Britz from the Natural History Museum, London; Anvar Ali from the Conservation Research Group at St. Albert's College, Kochi; and Siby Philip from the University of Porto, Portugal; found the species from an unnamed steam which connects the Barapole tributary in southern Karnataka.

The Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti, an environmental organisation, has urged the government to expedite steps to provide land to the landless tribal people in the wake of the ongoing land agitation by various tribal organisations in the district by encroaching upon forest land.

Speaking to media persons here, organisation president N. Badusha and secretary Thomas Ambalavayal said that the demand of the tribal organisations to provide land to the landless tribes people was quite reasonable and that the organisation supported their demand.

The ongoing agitation for land by tribespeople in Wayanad got an impetus with the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS) joining the fray on Tuesday.

Close to 150 tribal families erected huts on vested forest areas at Nagamana, Aranappara, and Kagajadi in the Tirunelli grama panchayat, under the North Wayanad forest division to claim their rights on the land.

With 80 big cats, the sanctuary has the largest number of tigers in South India after Bandipur

The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, known as the habitat of the Asiatic elephant, has become a safe haven for tigers. A recently concluded tiger monitoring conducted by the Forest Department and the WWF-India in the sanctuary has revealed that it may house the largest population of tigers in South India, after Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve, a sanctuary adjacent to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

There is a pertinent need to protect the birds of the Nilgiris by installing nest boxes, feeding and providing them with water, said P.J. Vasanthan, Deputy Director of Medical Services of The Nilgiris. He was speaking on the subject ‘Birds of Nilgiris' at the Enviro Meet organised by Osai.

Mr. Vasanthan said that the total species of the Nilgiris are 279 of 62 families. Of these 279 bird species, 52 are migrants, nine are local migrants, 18 are endemic to Western Ghats, eight are nearly threatened species, five are vulnerable species, three are endangered species and three critically endangered species.

Says educated youth can be attracted to create skilled jobs

Introducing modern technology and bringing in educated youth in the primary agriculture sector will help Kerala produce its annual requirement of four million tonnes of rice from the one million hectares of land under paddy in the State, M.S. Swaminathan, visionary agriculture scientist, said here on Sunday.

The personnel of Forest Department and the police on Monday evicted a group of tribespeople, owing allegiance to the pro-CPI(M) Adivasi Kshema Samiti (AKS), who had encroached upon 17.65 hectares of vested forest at Thumbassery, near Makkiyad, under the North Wayanad Forest Division in the district.

In the peaceful action, the police arrested 60 people, including 42 men, 14 women, and four children. The eviction team destroyed the 40 huts put up by the tribespeople. (The eviction team had held discussions with AKS leaders and members before the eviction, sources said.).

KOZHIKODE: The latest series of land agitations started by the tribal people in Wayanad district on May 7 has intensified with more vested forest lands being encroached on Monday.