Stories
Forests
What are Forests?
A forest is a complex ecological system where trees are the dominant life form, forming layered structures that include the canopy, understory, and forest floor. They support a vast diversity of life—from large mammals to insects, fungi, and microbes—and drive essential processes like photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation.
Types of Forests: Tropical and Temperate
India’s forests fall mainly under tropical and temperate categories, with rich subtypes reflecting the country’s varied geography. Tropical forests thrive in warm, high-rainfall regions, while temperate forests occur in cooler, high-altitude zones.
India hosts tropical and temperate forests across multiple ecosystems. According to the Forest Survey of India’s 2021 report, forests cover about 21.71 per cent of the country’s geographical area, while total tree and forest cover together account for 24.62 per cent.
India’s Richest Forests and its Inhabitants: Tigers, Snakes and Pheasants
Tropical moist forests occur in high-rainfall zones like the Western Ghats, northeastern states, and the Andaman Islands. The rainforests of Agumbe in Karnataka, one of the wettest regions in India, are known for their dense canopy and high humidity. These forests are home to species such as the king cobra, southern flying lizard, and Malabar pit viper.
Tropical dry and deciduous forests are widespread in central India. Forests in Kanha and Panna, both national parks in Madhya Pradesh, are dominated by sal, teak, and bamboo. These landscapes support species like the Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, chital, and sloth bear, and are central to the lives of many forest-dependent communities.
High-altitude Forests
Biodiversity In the Himalayas, temperate forests occur at higher elevations. In places like Munsiyari in Uttarakhand, forests of oak, deodar, and rhododendron thrive. These support species such as the Himalayan monal and yellow-throated marten.
Threats to Forests
India’s forests are vital to biodiversity, climate stability, and human well-being. But they are under increasing pressure from habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change. Their protection is critical to the ecological health of the subcontinent.
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Species
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Ramadevarabetta: A Vulture Sanctuary in Rapidly Urbanising Ramanagara
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The Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque and its Fight for a Home
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Malayan Giant Squirrel: Namdapha's Treetop Acrobat
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Red Giant Gliding Squirrel: The Late-Night Paratrooper of Namdapha
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Namdapha National Park: The Last Frontier of the Northeast
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Intimate Connections: Falling in Love With a Walking Trail
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A Walk across Tiger Country in Search of India’s National Butterfly
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Moods of the Forest in Raimona National Park
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Dang: Wild and Wonderful
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Everything, Everywhere in Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve
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Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary: Where Rare Species Thrive
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The Guide: Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat
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The Guide: Walking Trails in Pawalgarh Conservation Reserve
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The Guide: Kanger Valley National Park, Bastar
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A Rare View: Dhritiman Mukherjee Photographs the Narcondam Hornbill
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The Orchestra of a Forest Island
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The Ultimate Survivor: The Swagger of the Bengal Monitor
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Capped Langurs and their Risky Quest for a Special Treat
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Life Under Monsoon Clouds
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Grey Slender Loris: The Endearing Secret Creature of the Night Forest
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Stump-tailed Macaques: The Forest Walkers of Hollongapar
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The Western Hoolock Gibbon Sings and Swings Along the Forest Canopies
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Mixed media
What Frog Songs Tell Us
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Sultry Sundarbans: The Tide, the Forest, and the Tiger Goddess
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White-naped Tit: Whistler in the Bush
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A People’s Campaign that Rewrote India’s Environmental Narrative
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Myth and Reality in Rajasthan’s Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary
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Periyar Tiger Reserve: Synergy of an Emerald Forest
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The Guide: The Twin Sanctuaries of Kumbhalgarh and Todgarh-Raoli
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How to Savour a Forest: Gratitude for the Abundance of Nagarhole National Park
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Dark Waters: The Disappearing Myristica Swamps
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Sal: The Robust Timber Tree
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Hoolock Gibbons: Return of the Apes of Northeast India
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Lonely Hearts Club: The Hoolock Gibbon Story
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Saving the Hoolock Gibbon’s Song
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Sultans of Swing: Hoolock Gibbons Rule the Canopy
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The Stump-tailed Macaques of Hollongapar
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Zoo in a Stem: The Ant-Plant Exchange
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Collared Falconet: Diminutive Predator of the Aerial World
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Giant Powerhouses: Secrets of the Himalayan Oak Forests
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Growing Older, and Wiser, With a Cherry Tree
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In a Twitter about Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
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Narcondam: Wild Island in the Indian Ocean
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Cornered but not Defeated
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How the Bugun Liocichla is Keeping an Indigenous Culture in the Northeast Alive
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In Gibbon Country, Every Path Tells a Story
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An Appeal to Tourists: Stop Feeding the Nilgiri Tahr
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Airworthy Athletes: Here Fly Dragons
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Problem Elephant or Elephantine Problem?
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Reforesting Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai
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Cherish the Grove: A Foray into the Forests of the Coromandel Coast
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Kharghar’s Hills are Alive with the Sound of Birdsong
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The Guide: Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary
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Jabarkhet Nature Reserve: A Forest Returns Home
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Green-tinted Glasses: The Monsoon Forests of Goa
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Removal of Invasive Prosopis May Affect Livelihoods in Banni Grasslands, Says Study
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Tigress Travels Record Distance in Central India
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The Guide: Bor Tiger Reserve
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Northern Pig-tailed Macaque: Facts, Social Life, Threats
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Tragopans of India: Facts, Habitat, Threats
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Anaimalai Roadblock: On the Trail of a Tusker
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Red Panda: Vanishing Flame of the Himalayas
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Anatomy of a King Cobra Rescue in Agumbe
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Mapping Mysterious Reptiles in Misty Meghamalai
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The Guide: Pench National Park
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The Guide: Kanha National Park
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The Guide: Amboli, an Evergreen Eden
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The Guide: Agumbe, the Exalted Rainforest Paradise
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The Guide: Bandhavgarh National Park
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The Guide: Gir National Park
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The Guide: Wild Wayanad
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The Guide: Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve
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Mangar Bani: Delhi NCR’s Wild and Wonderful Neighbour
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When the Monsoon Awakens Agumbe
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Conflict and Coexistence: Leopards and the Residents of Valparai
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Small Forest, Big Trees, in Hollongapar
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When Birdsong Fills the Tea Estates of Assam
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Jungle Theatrics: Along the Sitanadi at Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
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Save Thano: Dehradun’s Green Lung
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Fathomless Fungi: Monsoon Mysteries on Goa’s Forest Floor
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Cheer Pheasant Clears the Air on Uttarakhand Fires
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Malayan Giant Squirrel: Facts, Size, and Appearance
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Western Tragopan: Facts, Diet, Habitat
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Andaman Day Gecko: Fleet-footed Flecks of Green
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Anatomy of a Rainforest: Life at the Top
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Anatomy of Rainforest: Life on the Floor
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Wild Eye: Shaaz Jung on Photographing Kabini
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Ladies Special: The Matrilineal World of Stump-Tailed Macaques
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How the Bengal Florican Charms Its Mate
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Shared Spaces: The Leopards of Jawai in Rajasthan
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Ranthambore: Majestic Forts, a Deciduous Forest and the Reign of the Tiger
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River Recluse: The White-bellied Heron of Namdapha National Park
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The Tree-Dwellers of Namdapha National Park
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The Last Frontier: Hills, Herons, and the Habitat of Namdapha National Park
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Gowri Shankar: Snake Man Under the Spell of the King Cobra
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The Curious Incident of a Wild Water Buffalo in Panna
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Alliances of Lions: Power and the Politics of Coalitions
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A New Vine Snake Called Proahaetulla Slithers Into View
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The Indian Grey Wolf is in Need of Greater Protection
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Vulture Population in Bundelkhand Increases by 103 Per Cent in a Decade
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New Underground Ant Discovered from Goa
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Wild Buffalo Faces Race Against Extinction in Chhattisgarh
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Leaps and Bounds: The Fascinating Frog World of Agumbe
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Dismantling a Misnomer: Do Fallen Leaves Litter?
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Periyar Tiger Reserve, Trendsetter in Converting Poachers to Protectors
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Fallen Flowers: Restoring Wild Orchids in the Western Ghats
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Avian Windfall at Todgarh-Raoli and Kumbhalgarh
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Fringe Ford and the Scoop on Poop
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The Guide: Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
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The Fellowship of the Grove
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The Story Behind the ‘Hardship Allowance’ for Karnataka’s Frontline Forest Staff
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The Striped Sibling of the Idu Mishmi
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Rethinking Hunting in Northeast India
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Offtrack in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary
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The Women Who Walk with Rhinos
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Global Insect Apocalypse: Why India Must Worry
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Flight of the Magnificent Hornbills
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Secret Serpent: The Life and Times of the Malabar Pit Viper
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With its Habitat in Danger, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel Struggles to Survive
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Buffaloed by the Climate in Kolhapur
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Out of Place: Invasive Species in the Western Ghats
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Restoring the Rainforest around Pakke, One Tree at a Time
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Will Agumbe Remain One of Wettest Places in India?
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Gone Too Soon: A Tale of the Central Himalayan Langurs of Uttarakhand
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Pushed to The Edge: Lion-tailed Macaques and the Case of Disappearing Forests
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How a Colonial Hunter Inspired Conservation Efforts
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Cut that Call: Ethics and Misuse of Artificial Birdcalls
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Crisis in Kodagu: Reports from the Epicentre of Human-Elephant Conflict
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Crisis in Kodagu: Can Humans and Elephants co-exist?
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Stepping Stones to Tiger Security: The Need for Inclusive Conservation Models
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Writing On the Wall: Heed the Message from this Pandemic
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Art for Dehing Patkai: Amazon of the East
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Missed Connections: How Disconnected Forests Threaten the Grizzled Giant Squirrel
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Magical Mollem: The Fight to Save Goa’s Largest Wildlife Sanctuary
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Mount Abu’s Sloth Bears Tread on Thin Line
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Including Local Community in Protecting Forests Costs Less than Excluding them: Report
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Poaching Threatens Asiatic Black Bear in Arunachal Pradesh
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The Varied Ecosystems of Peninsular India
Habitat
Splendid Sojourns in Silent Valley National Park
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The Guide: Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary
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Trees and Toddy: In the Sacred Grove of Ajeevali
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Tall Tales: Trees from Nagarhole
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The Guide: Satpura National Park
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Galathea: A Threatened Paradise at the Edge of the World
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Parambikulam Tiger Reserve: A Sight and Story at Every Bend
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King Cobra: The World’s Longest Venomous Snake
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Malabar Grey Hornbills: Gardeners of the Rainforest
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A Tux and a Dance: A Day in the Life of the Common Coot
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Dark Side: Spotting a Leopard in Panna Tiger Reserve
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The Bengal Slow Loris: Disappearing Gently into That Good Night
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Tall, Dark, and Lonesome: The White-bellied Heron’s Last Call for Help
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Fear and Fascination on the Trail of the Mugger
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Night Flyer: The Red Giant Gliding Squirrel in Namdapha National Park
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Green Munia: The Gullible Beauty of the Scrub Forest
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Hump-nosed Pit Viper: Gem on the Forest Floor
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Bold and Beautiful: Panna’s Glorious Tigers
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Narcondam Hornbills: Gardeners of their Island Eden
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Seeking the Satyr Tragopan Along a Mountain Road
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Stunners of the Feathered Kind in Singalila National Park
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Layers of a Rainforest
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Moth Inventory: Expanding Our Faunal Database
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A Tribute to Collarwalli
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Singalila National Park: A Mountain Forest in the Clouds
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Canopy Bridge Comes to Gibbons’ Rescue
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The Glowing Secret of the Khasi Pitcher Plant
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The Monkey with a Beanie: The Capped Langurs of Hollongapar
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The Guide: Nagarhole National Park
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Masters of Disguise: Blue Oakleaf Butterfly
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