Mangroves
56 Results
Rhizophora Mangroves: Sentinels of our coast
Mangrove forests guard India’s coastline, but there’s one species that steals the show — rhizophora. Its bright, broad lush leaves store water, while its gnarly stilt-like roots are a sanctuary for many creatures. Today, we introduce you to one of India’s most resilient coastguards.
Video
Mangrove Pitta: Facts, Diet, Threats
All you need to know about this shy beautiful bird with a huge crab-smashing bill
Infographic
Fringe Ecosystems: The Rhizophora Mangals
At the water’s edge, Rhizophora mangroves hold steady and strong in unpredictable tidal habitats. These mangals, present in every coastal state of India, shelter the shoreline and help create a vibrant and thriving ecosystem that benefits us all
Photo Story
Safeguarding Mangrove Plantations in the Sundarbans
According to local residents and scientists, growing salt-tolerant grasses prior to planting propagules, having a layer of protection from the waves, and maintenance of fences are key to better survival rate of mangroves planted in erosion-prone areas
Conservation
Back from the Brink: Saltwater Crocodiles in Bhitarkanika
In the 1970s, the saltwater crocodiles of Bhitarkanika were on the edge of extinction, until a focused conservation effort revived their population in the mangroves
Species
Why the Sundarbans is Hit by Cyclones So Frequently: Part I
Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, has braved cyclones for hundreds of years, but over the last decade they have become faster, deadlier and more frequent. Is climate change to blame?
In our two-part series, we talk about why the delta faces constant calamities. Watch to know how a rising sea is adding to the crisis.
Video
An Owlsome Night Amidst the Dense Mangroves of Bhitarkanika
Screech, hoot, shriek — the diverse calls and sounds of owls are everywhere in the mangroves of Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha
Wild Vault
Little File Snake: The Silent Predator
Harmless to humans but often mistaken for a venomous sea snake, the little file snake lives mostly in brackish mangrove swamps though it sometimes wanders out to open sea as well
Species
Wildlife Puzzle: Green Pit Viper
Put together this jigsaw to see a fascinating pit viper in the Sundarbans
Interactive
Galathea: A Threatened Paradise at the Edge of the World
Far away from all civilisation, at the southernmost tip of Indian territory, leatherback turtles have a huge nesting site. Will plans for a new port transform this pristine landscape forever?
Habitat
Nicobar Long-tailed Macaque: Facts, Habitat, Diet, Threats
Everything you need to know about this endemic primate from the Nicobar islands
Infographic
A Dog-Faced Water Snake’s Murky Life
Is it a dog? Is it a snake? Meet the dog-faced water snake. This unique snake gets its name from its compressed snout, which helps it survive in slush and salt. Watch this film of the nocturnal wanderer of the mangroves
Video
Migrating Mangroves: Why Sundarbans’ Coast Guards Are Moving
Certain species of mangroves have started growing as far as over 180 kilometres away from the Sundarbans forest — some have even been spotted near Kolkata
Conservation
Coast Guards: How Women are Protecting Sindhudurg’s Mangroves
A ten-member, all-female group has been raising awareness about mangroves through boat safaris in Mandavi creek since 2017
Hero
Feared, Loved, Worshipped: The Enigma of the Sundarbans Tiger
The Sundarbans is the single largest habitat of the tiger in Asia and the only mangrove forest in the world to shelter it. Watch how it rules the tidal forests, and the lives of the 4.5 million people who share its habitat
Video
Lost and Found: A Quest to Revive the Rare Batagur Baska
How a breeding programme in the Sundarbans is bringing the critically endangered batagur baska back from the brink of extinction
Video
The Mud Pack: Love, Life, and Strife in the Sundarbans
The Sundarbans mudflats are rife with tiny evolutionary curiosities that come alive with the waning tide — watch a battle in the muck, and the fine seduction of a fiddler crab
Video
Crawl, Burrow, Swim: Little Champions of the Sundarbans Ecosystem
The largest mangrove delta in the world may be more famous for its apex predators but its small creatures are also important for the ecosystem
Photo Story
Risk, Ritual, and Survival: The Honey Gatherers of the Sundarbans
Moulis, the local honey gatherers, wade through marsh and murky water to gather honey from the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, but not before they have sought the blessings of the jungle deity
Photo Story
Saltwater Crocodile: Dragons of the Sundarbans Swamps
Basking in the sun, the saltwater crocodile is a study in stillness but once it enters the brackish waters of the Sundarbans, it is the top aquatic predator
Species
The Guide: Sundarbans Tiger Reserve
The world’s largest mangrove forest is a serene landscape that syncs its moods with the changing tide twice every day. The tiger may be its biggest attraction, but the shifting tide is its real protagonist
Travel
Northern River Terrapin: Habitat, Conservation, Lifespan
All you need to know about this four-toed terrapin
Infographic
Tidal Tales: The Undercover World of Coringa
Hidden beneath the deceptively still and silent mangrove cover is a universe shaped by tides — once the waters recede, a whole new world unfurls
Video
Spot-tailed Pit Viper: The Covert Operator of Coringa
Behind the opaque mangrove curtain of Coringa, a covert operator waits, silently for days on end, for unsuspecting prey to show up. Meet the mangrove forest's ambush predator — the spot-tailed pit viper
Video
Fishing Cat: Secret Keeper of the Mangrove Forest
Hidden deep in the mangrove thickets of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, is the elusive, nocturnal fishing cat — one that knows the secrets of land and water
Video
Fishing Cat: Elusive Hunter of the Wetland Forest
This stealthy wild cat is not easy to spot even though it inhabits a variety of wetland ecosystems around India
Photo Story
Mangrove Coast: The Emerald Forests of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
The Godavari estuary is a rare and wonderful ecosystem that hosts a staggering wealth of biodiversity
Photo Story
Mangroves: Forests, Coast Guards, Threats
Everything you need to know about these guardians of the coast
Explainer
The Guide: Bhitarkanika National Park
The creeks and mudflats of coastal Odisha are a haven for a variety of birds and reptiles like the saltwater crocodile
Habitat
The Mangrove Pitta: A Blue Streak in the Mud
Found only in mangrove habitats, the striking mangrove pitta is one India’s most beautiful and underappreciated birds
Species
Amphan Aftermath: A Resilient Mangrove Forest Struggles to Survive
The deadly cyclone is a reminder that the Sundarbans is at great risk, and needs conservation efforts that go beyond political borders
Conservation
Sundarbans: Nature’s Wall of Defence
The mangrove forest of the Sundarbans is an invaluable ecosystem — it shelters diverse creatures, provides livelihood to millions, and protects an entire civilisation from the deadliest cyclones. Watch the film in English and Bengali
Video
A Forest of Folklore: Myths, Gods, and the Many Faces of the Tiger
How culture, traditions and gods of the Sundarbans are inseparable and intertwined with the forest and its most charismatic creature the swamp tiger
Wild Vault
The Sundarbans Inheritance: Protecting a People’s Legacy
One of India’s leading wildlife voices speaks of his love affair with the Sundarbans, in an excerpt from 'Wild Treasures' — a collection of stories from Asia’s most incredible natural UNESCO World Heritage sites
Book
Dog-faced Water Snake: Sludge and Salt in the Intertidal Zone
With their home in coastal mangroves, South Asian bokadams have adapted to sidewinding their way through the murk and slush of their watery habitat
Species
The Mangroves of Andaman Islands and Tamil Nadu
In times of rapid climate change, protecting the mangroves of India is more crucial than ever before
Habitat
Roots of a Salt Forest: Mangroves as Coast Guards of the Sundarbans
An incredible, resilient network of roots supports one of the world’s largest mangrove forests and protects its islands from disastrous waves, tides, cyclones, and storms
Habitat
Hunter Among the Mangroves: The Fishing Cat of Coringa
Relatively unknown, elusive, and utterly beautiful, the fishing cat is among the mangroves’ most spectacular animals
Species
The Guide: Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary
Though it is a small sanctuary, spread over only 21.5 square kilometres, Point Calimere has mangroves, tropical evergreen forests, and grassland ecosystems. Here’s how to explore this potpourri landscape
Habitat
The Flamboyance of Maximum City at Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary
A short hop from Mumbai this sanctuary is a mix of grassland, scrub, woodland, and mangroves with a wide variety of resident and migratory birds
Habitat
The Fantastic Creatures of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
Beyond the famous fishing cat, the Coringa mangroves provide a protective habitat to a variety of other animals, most of them hard to spot
Habitat
The Guide: Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
This mangrove forest in the Godavari estuary is both ecologically diverse and very important, not least because of its abundant wildlife
Habitat
Sultry Sundarbans: The Tide, the Forest, and the Tiger Goddess
The Sundarbans is a vast mesh of crisscrossing rivers and tributaries lined with mangrove forests. It harbours hundreds of species of flora and fauna, and an intriguing story at every bend
Habitat
Guardians of the Sundari: Reviving the Mangroves in the Sundarbans
A group of women lead the way in efforts to bring the endangered Sundari tree back from the brink in their villages
Conservation
Turning the Tide: The Batagur Baska and the Race Against Extinction
How a conservationist and his team in the Sundarbans brought the batagur, one of the most endangered turtle species in the world, back from the brink
Conservation
Anant Shankar: Saving the Mangroves of the Godavari Delta
Once Anant Shankar understood the dangers the mangrove forests of Andhra Pradesh face he started a slew of measures to remedy the situation
Hero
In the Sundarbans, the Bengal Tiger is Always Watching You
Encounters with the tiger in the riverine, mangrove forests of the Sundarbans highlights its many roles — as flagship species, apex predator, photographer’s muse, fisherman’s nightmare, ghost, fictive kin, and god
Species
Anil Mistry: The Ex-Poacher Who Rescues Tigers
How a poacher turned conservationist, and became one of the leading voices fighting for the survival of the maligned Sundarbans tiger
Hero
Mangroves: The Coastal Superheroes
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary’s mangroves, among the healthiest in the country, are powerhouses. But they are under threat of destruction from the expansion of agriculture and aquaculture farms
Habitat
Birds of Many Feathers in the Mangroves of Coringa
In the birdwatcher’s paradise of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, the avifauna enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the mangroves and surrounding communities
Habitat
Life and Livelihoods along Coringa’s Mangrove Forest
How Coringa and its mangroves are the lifeline of over 4O villages that thrive on its banks
Hero
The Fishing Cat in Laxmi’s Backyard
A study of the biodiversity of the Godavari delta offers a glimpse into the conservation status of the wetland dependant fishing cat that lives in the mangroves and swamps of this coastal region of Andhra Pradesh
Conservation
Living Dragons: Weapons, Defences and the Water Monitor Lizard
Though this predator is the second-largest lizard in the world, and very well adapted to the tropical environment it lives in, it is not at the top of the food chain
Species
The swimming camels of Kutch
The magnificent Kharai camels get vital elements of their diet from marine mangroves on islands –and get there by swimming – yes swimming! – several kilometres off the coast of Kachchh (or Kutch) in Gujarat
News
Smooth-Coated Otter: The Unexpected Visitor in Goa’s Mangroves
Otters living in the highly modified mangroves and reclaimed lands on the coast of Goa offer new insights otter behaviour and inform future conservation efforts
Conservation
Mumbai’s Mangroves: Forests of Breathing Roots
Not all shores are the same; Mumbai’s mangroves are the city’s green guards and they host an entire civilisation in their midst
Urban Jungle