Assam
83 Results
The Flooding of Kaziranga
Observing and living through the annual flooding of Kaziranga over ten youthful years has brought many insights about the nature of the flood and its part in the ecosystem and livelihoods of local people
Conservation
Arboreal Actors: Tree Dwellers of Dehing Patkai
Uncovering the park’s secret residents, from magnificent hornbills to India’s only non-human ape, the hoolock gibbon
Photo Story
The First Flight: the Pallas' Fish Eagle
High in a tall tree in Kaziranga National Park, a pair of Pallas' fish eagles have built their nest. While the mother lovingly feeds the chicks, the father stands guard. As time passes, the question looms: Will the chick's first flight be successful? Watch to find out.
Video
Brown Hornbills: Seven Sisters of the High Canopy
The many joys of watching a brown hornbill hunting party feeding a breeding female ensconced in her nest cavity in Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam
Photo Story
Spirited Away: In Search of the Deo Haanh
The white-winged wood duck is so rarely seen that it has inspired several folktales in Assam’s swamp forests. Locals, who hear its ghostly call after dark, call it deo haanh or spirit duck. When filmmaker Jayshree Borgohain went looking for it, her search turned part-exploratory, part-spiritual.
Will the forest spirits guide her quest?
Video
Mahi Miri: The Forgotten Hero Behind Kaziranga
In the 1930s, Mahi Chandra Miri of the Mising community started some of the earliest measures to stop elephant and rhino poaching. His early conservation initiatives paved the way for the success story that is today’s Kaziranga National Park
Hero
A Golden Dawn: Raimona National Park
Raimona would not be what it is today without its dedicated forest guards. The park, home to the endangered and charismatic golden langur, was extensively logged for years. However, in 2021, thanks to guards' tireless efforts and documentation, it was finally declared a national park.
Video
The Manas Story: From Hunters to Protectors
In the 1980s, political unrest ravaged Assam's Manas National Park. But in the 2000s, local youth, the forest department, and the new government united to restore it. Today, Manas is a UNESCO World Heritage site and biodiversity hotspot.
Video
Children of the Big River
The Brahmaputra River defines the stories of the origin, emergence, conflicts, and regeneration of the Dimasa community of Assam. Storytelling and mythmaking help them connect with the natural and spiritual worlds around them
Wild Vault
Moods of the Forest in Raimona National Park
In western Assam, on the border of India and Bhutan, is a tropical jungle with giants like gaurs and elephants and endemics like the golden langur
Habitat
White-winged Wood Duck: An Icon of Forest Pools
Unlike most ducks that inhabit open wetlands and marshes, the white-winged wood duck favours small shallow pools in thick tropical lowland forests. As their favoured habitat disappears around the world, these birds have become “Endangered”
Species
Crop Raids by Wildlife on the Rise in Kaziranga
Crop raids by wild boars and elephants coupled with land erosion near the sixth addition of Kaziranga National Park are altering cultivation patterns among farmers
Conservation
The True Tree World of Golden Langurs
Living in the canopy their whole lives and rarely coming down to the ground, this species of Old-World monkey find pockets of peace in the arboreal world of their small geographical range in Assam
Species
Endangered White-winged Wood Duck's Habitat Threatened by Climate Change
Study on the impacts of climate change on Assam’s state bird revealed that 436.61 sq. km. of highly potential habitat would be lost by 2070
Conservation
Untreated Legacy Waste is Harming Deepor Beel Wetland
Research shows substantial contamination of the lake in Assam due to unscientific dumping of municipal solid waste next to it
Conservation
Gangetic River Dolphin Numbers Decline in Assam
The mammals are threatened by construction of dams and mechanised sand mining along rivers
Conservation
Gee's Golden Langur: Facts, Habitat, Threats
All you need to know about this endangered primate
Infographic
A Lemon a Day Keeps the Elephant Away
Lemon tree fences help farmers in Assam safeguard their crops and homes from elephants
Conservation
In Assam, Pesticide Poisoning Targeting Stray Dogs Kills Over 100 Vultures
On March 17, carcasses of 100 Himalayan griffon vultures and one steppe eagle were found in Chaygaon, Assam
Conservation
The Endangered Bengal Florican and Koklabari's Fields of Hope
Every monsoon, the critically endangered Bengal florican leaves the protected grasslands of Manas National Park to move into the adjacent human-dominated agricultural farms of Koklabari. Why does it make this unlikely move?
Video
Canopy Bridge Comes to Gibbons’ Rescue
Tree-planting efforts initiated in 2006 to reunite the apes separated by a railway line in Hoollongapar bear fruit
Conservation
Phoenix of the Northeast: Once Hunted, Amur Falcons are Now Welcomed and Celebrated
In 2012, thousands of migratory Amur falcons were hunted in the Pangti village of Nagaland in a single day. But the acute crisis gave birth to one of India's most inspiring bird conservation stories, turning former hunters into guardians and inspiring several villages across the region to celebrate the arrival of these winter guests
Video
Future in Jeopardy: The Wild Water Buffalo in Assam
According to conservationists, it is habitat loss and not the practice of interbreeding with domestic buffaloes that has affected the population of the Asiatic buffalo
Conservation
Delightful Ducks: From the Flamboyant to the Austere
Of all the species of wildfowl recorded in India, just a handful are resident birds. The rest are winter migrants, mostly flying in from their breeding grounds in Central Asia and Siberia. Here’s a look at some of these charming birds
Photo Story
Brahmaputra’s River Islands Threatened by Burning and Clearing of Grasslands
Experts suggest these grassland habitats for many endangered birds need legal protection
Conservation
Fragile and Fantastic: The Bird Paradise of Dibru-Saikhowa
Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is home to some of the rarest and most threatened birds, but the unique landscape needs immediate attention
Photo Story
Pygmy Hog: Facts, Habitat, and How it Builds a Nest
All you need to know about the rarest pig in the world
Infographic
Golden Jackals Find Shelter at Airports
Grasslands in and around airports in Kolkata and Guwahati offer refuge to these canids
News
A River that Carves a World: Brahmaputra’s Journey through Assam
As the river Brahmaputra flows through Assam, it forms an indispensable relationship with all that it touches and sustains
Photo Story
The Bengal Slow Loris: Disappearing Gently into That Good Night
Endangered by habitat loss, hunting and illegal pet trade, this nocturnal primate found in India's northeast needs urgent attention
Species
As Kaziranga Floods, Rescue Teams Get to Work
Cartoons and illustrations on wildlife, environment, and conservation
Green Humour
A Flood and a Forest: When Brahma’s Son Engulfs Kaziranga
As Kaziranga National Park goes through another cycle of its annual floods, here’s a look at what it means for those on the frontlines
Conservation
Art for Dehing Patkai: Amazon of the East
In April 2O2O, the National Board for Wildlife permitted coal mining in parts of Assam’s Dehing-Patkai Elephant Reserve, sparking off a student-led online campaign to save the forest
Conservation
The Orchestra of a Forest Island
Assam's Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is home to many creatures small and large, including the hoolock gibbon whose melodious song leads this forest's enchanting orchestra. However, steady destruction of the habitat is threatening to drown out the music
Video
Capped Langurs and their Risky Quest for a Special Treat
In Assam’s Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, tree-dwelling capped langurs rarely set foot on ground, except when a special treat beckons
Video
The Guide: Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary
Discover one of the country’s last lowland evergreen forests, teeming with birds and mammals
Travel
Big Five: The Stars and Stripes of Kaziranga National Park
These are the celebrities everyone wants to see when they visit Kaziranga — tiger, rhino, elephant, swamp deer, and wild water buffalo
Photo Story
Graze Anatomy: The Elegant Swamp Deer and its Grassland Home
From roaming the length and breadth of the Gangetic plains of India just a few decades ago, the three subspecies of barasingha now live only in a few pockets
Photo Story
Man and Wild: The Complicated Coexistence of Humans and Hoolock Gibbons in Assam
Once upon a time, in the Tinsukhia region of Assam, an ape named Kaliya became a regular visitor to the village of Ketetong
Photo Story
Living With Elephants
In the last few decades, Assam has turned into the epicentre of human-elephant conflict, with deaths and severe damages on both sides. But not all hope is lost
Video
Trash is on the Menu for the Critically Endangered Greater Adjutant
Guwahati needs to address the larger issue of waste management if this carrion-feeding bird species is to have a future
Conservation
In a Tight Corner: The Dwindling Elephant Herds of Assam
Massive habitat loss has pushed the elephants of Assam into fierce competition with humans over ever-shrinking resources
Conservation
Wild Water Buffalo: Facts, Threats, Diet
Everything you need to know about one of the oldest species of buffalo in the world
Infographic
Grazing, Lazing, Wallowing: The Good Life of the Wild Water Buffalo
Young wild water buffaloes form jaunty bachelor clans. They spend much of the dry season together, lazing around, grazing leisurely, and wading and wallowing in swamps, often submerged neck deep for very long periods.
Video
The Smallest Pigs In the World Have the Best Homemaking Tips
Pygmy hogs make sophisticated nests in the ground, amidst tall, thick grasses. Nest building is a carefully engineered group effort that shelters them and protects them from predators
Video
Eastern Swamp Deer: Facts, Habitat
Everything you need to know about this graceful deer that lives in a swamp
Infographic
Stag Party: The Eastern Swamp Deer’s Bachelor Life
As the eastern swamp deer grow older, they form bachelor groups of about 1O to 15 individuals. The stag code is simple — hang out and graze to your heart's content
Video
The Grotesque Elegance of the Greater Adjutant
The cleaners at the Boragaon garbage dump near Guwahati, get some help from an unlikely crew member, the greater adjutant
Video
The Greater One-Horned Rhino Has its Own Scent Code
Rhinos use their sharp sense of smell to keep in touch with the clan. They spray urine to mark territory, and poop in the same spot for several months to let others know their status and to check if any females in the vicinity are ready to mate. Think of it as a smelly social network
Video
The Return of Kaziranga’s Greater One-horned Rhinoceros
Rhino dung is a source of great knowledge. Scientists are creating a database of rhinoceros DNA, extracted from their massive dungheaps, to track populations, and use it as forensic evidence to catch poachers
Video
How Kaziranga National Park is Reborn, Every Year
The Brahmaputra river forms the northern boundary of Kaziranga National Park. Every monsoon, the river surges and floods nearly two-thirds of the forest, restoring and destroying all at once
Video
Bowled Over by the Beautiful Pallas’s Squirrel
Fleet-footed and super-active, the Pallas’s squirrel is an extremely adaptable species found in Northeast India
Species
Saving the Hoolock Gibbon’s Song
In several gibbon habitats, resident communities are leading conservation efforts that are informed by local circumstances and practices
Conservation
Stump-tailed Macaques: The Forest Walkers of Hollongapar
The stump-tailed macaques spend most of their day walking across the dense rainforest floors of Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary. They only return to trees to search for food, or sleep. But foraging the forest floor makes them vulnerable to leopards and other predators. To save themselves, they hurriedly, stuff food in their expandable cheek pouches. If danger approaches, they quickly escape with the loot.
Video
Lonely Hearts Club: The Hoolock Gibbon Story
How the handsome primate got stuck on the wrong side of the tracks
Photo Story
The Monkey with a Beanie: The Capped Langurs of Hollongapar
Destruction of forests is putting this primate’s future at risk. In the last three decades, their population has seen a 3O per cent decline
Species
Hoolock Gibbons: Return of the Apes of Northeast India
Multilevel action plans that closely involve and benefit local communities are the only way forward to save the endangered gibbons of India
Conservation
The Western Hoolock Gibbon Sings and Swings Along the Forest Canopies
The western hoolock gibbon is most commonly recognised by its song. From the heights of the forest canopy, the western hoolock gibbon produces a loud, elaborate song, that often ends in a spectacular crescendo
Video
The Greater Adjutant’s All-Woman Army
The greater adjutant has been called many things — ugly, filthy, a bone-swallowing bad omen — until Purnima Devi Barman, and her army of 2OO women, decided to adopt the endangered bird
Hero
Greater One-horned Rhino: Facts, Habitat, Threats
All you need to know about India's giant unicorn
Infographic
Pygmy hog: Back from the Brink
Conservation efforts have elevated numbers of the elusive and rare pygmy hog, a tiny, shy wild pig from Northeast India
Conservation
Where Wildlife gets a Second Chance
Located on a critical elephant corridor near Kaziranga National Park, the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation has rescued over 3,OOO animals, including 22 endangered species
Conservation
Malahari and Onti: Squirrels in a Dwindling Forest
Tracking the black or Malayan giant squirrel in the canopy, from its favourite fruit trees to its drey
Species
The Women Who Walk with Rhinos
Most national parks block access to protected forests, affecting the lives of those who depend on it for resources and livelihood. But in Manas and Orang, authorities allow local women to collect fallen twigs and branches in buffer zones, securing their livelihoods, and building empathy for the wild
Conservation
Life in Lakhipur, on the Fringe of the Forest
Animals know no borders. When you live on the edge of the forest, the animals will sometimes come a visiting
Wild Vault
Sultans of Swing: Hoolock Gibbons Rule the Canopy
This tiny graceful ape, hangs on to one of the last protected bastions of its native habitat
Species
The Woodcarvers of Kaziranga Cut Through Stereotypes
Local artisans near Assam’s Kaziranga National Park say their wildlife-inspired woodcraft is an expression of their love for the forests’ creatures, and counters stereotypes of tribal people as antagonistic to conservation
Wild Vault
The Teeming Wildlife of a Garbage Dump
In The Wild Heart of India, biologist and writer TR Shankar Raman points out that what we consider wild is not just found in faraway forests, but also in our backyards, or even in a stinking dumping ground on the fringes of a city
Book
When Birdsong Fills the Tea Estates of Assam
Areas surrounding the Hollongapar forest act as a secondary habitat and play host to several animal and bird species
Habitat
Small Forest, Big Trees, in Hollongapar
The diverse trees and plants of Assam’s Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary can leave as you as spellbound as the park’s famous primate residents
Habitat
The Stump-tailed Macaques of Hollongapar
On the scent of elusive primates in the forests of Assam’s Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
Species
Wings of Wonder: Butterflies of Hollongapar
A rainy night, followed by a sunny morning is sure to bring out a huge number of the 2OO species of butterflies and moths that thrive in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
Species
Ladies Special: The Matrilineal World of Stump-Tailed Macaques
Things are remarkably different in this primate troop without an alpha male heading it
Photo Story
Offtrack in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
The colonial-era Meleng Railway line cuts through this sanctuary in Assam, threatening the wildlife within
Conservation
When the Big Flood Came to Kaziranga
In 2017, a particularly devastating flood inundated Kaziranga National Park, testing the survival skills of its many animals, and causing much death and destruction. This is a rare, close encounter with that flooding event
Photo Story
In Gibbon Country, Every Path Tells a Story
Small in size, but rich in biodiversity, the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is teeming with life, on the ground and in the canopy
Habitat
Rhinos Without Borders
The conservation story of the rhino has been a happy one. However, collective action by rhino-range countries is critical to the future growth and survival of the one-horned giant
Conservation
Wildlife Warriors: The Guardians of Kaziranga Brave On
Under conditions of extreme hardship, the protectors of Kaziranga battle numerous challenges to ensure the safety and security of the animals and the park
Wild Vault
A Year in the Life of Kaziranga’s Rhinos
From tolerating human gawkers to migrating to higher ground, Kaziranga’s rhinos endure and adapt to the changing seasons. With a little help from their friends
Photo Story
In Search of One Hundred Rhinos in Kaziranga National Park
Wet, swampy grasslands cover two-thirds of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park providing refuge to many vulnerable species, including the planet’s largest population of greater one-horned rhinos
Habitat
India’s Prehistoric Unicorns: The Rhinos of Kaziranga
Despite the fact that the greater one-horned rhino is testament to India’s most successful conservation, this fierce, fragile pachyderm and its habitat are under constant threat
Species
Grasslands are the Eastern Swamp Deer’s Only Domain
Selective about feeding and breeding exclusively in swamp-ridden, riverside grasslands, this subspecies of barasingha needs this habitat for survival
Species
Manoj Gogoi: Kaziranga’s Guardian Angel
This naturalist and conservationist rescues and rehabilitates orphaned and injured wild animals in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park
Hero