Rivers
44 Results
Riparian Zone: Facts, Threats, Flora and Fauna
Everything you need to know about these rich, riverside ecosystems
Explainer
Dying River: Declining Water Quality and Fish Stocks on the Cauvery
From pollution to global warming, many factors adversely impact the Cauvery’s water quality. As a result, native fish populations are impacted, affecting on the entire ecosystem that depends on this river
Conservation
Fishers’ Quandary: Strain and Survival on the Cauvery
With the Cauvery’s depleting fish stocks, the lives of fishers who depend on this river for their livelihoods have become increasingly uncertain, forcing them to adapt to different methods of fishing
Conservation
Gangetic River Dolphin Numbers Decline in Assam
The mammals are threatened by construction of dams and mechanised sand mining along rivers
Conservation
Let the River Run: Smooth-coated Otters on the Cauvery
The largest of the otter species in India have adapted to drastic changes to river habitats but are being taken to the edge as they face continuous threats to their survival
Photo Story
190 Dolphins Recorded in Mahananda Face Survival Challenges
Fishing, unregulated sand mining, pollution, solid waste dumping and construction of embankments for flood control have negatively impacted Mahananda ecology and the survival of dolphins and other riverine species
Conservation
Indian Skimmer: Fish-Loving River Hunter
Though they are successful fishers, there are less than 3,000 of the orange-billed birds left in the wild; and the banks of the Chambal River are the foremost breeding habitat for the species
Photo Story
Big Herons: Those Grouchy old Fishermen
Armed with a S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, these herons are accomplished fishers
Species
Fishy Quandary: A Nexus of Livelihoods and Native Fish
Without healthy freshwater ecosystems, there is neither hope for indigenous fish species nor humankind
Conservation
Community Efforts Guide Mahseer Protection in Meghalaya
Locals manage 79 fish sanctuaries in the state that support a wide variety of fish
News
Protecting the Sacred Fish of the Cauvery
Religious lore, temples, and the impact of inadvertent conservation in the Cauvery basin
Species
Gutsy Gulls: Trick or Treating on the Water
Seagulls employ various strategies to secure a meal. From intelligent fishing to scavenging and outright theft, their schemes succeed at times and fail comically at other points
Photo Story
Hump-backed Mahseer: Facts, Habitat, Threats
All you need to know about this critically endangered freshwater fish
Infographic
Gharials Lose Nesting Sites at Katerniaghat
Growth of vegetation along the banks of the Girwa River has adversely affected the nesting of gharials
Conservation
Not Just Desert: The Wild, Varied Habitats of Rajasthan
A mosaic of habitats rich in diversity make up India’s largest state. While the Thar is the more familiar part of its landscape, it also has grasslands, wetlands, and hills
Photo Story
Alien Fish Proliferate as Extreme Climate Events Rise
According to a study, floods trigger escape of exotic and invasive species that harm local ecosystems
Conservation
Golden Mahseer: Facts, Threats, Habitat
Learn everything you need to know about the endangered golden mahseer
Infographic
Vanishing Act: The Slow Decline of Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle
The turtle has been shrouded in mystery for too long — it is rarely spotted, we know little about its ecology, except that its numbers are declining across its range
Species
The Nitty-gritty of Releasing a Leopard
When a leopard is captured near Chalamasandra village, a team assembles to release it in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary
Book
Sharavathi: Lament of a River
Tropical evergreen forests and Myristica swamps once cloaked this river’s landscape on its westward journey to the sea. The river’s rhythm, once decided by tides, is now interrupted by dams and a port built to serve people elsewhere
Photo Story
Humpback Mahseer: Big Fish in a Small World
The once abundant “tiger of the Cauvery” has now shrunk to a few small pockets in the Cauvery basin. Protecting this fish is not just about the mahseer, it’s linked to the conservation of the larger riverine ecosystem
Species
Ganges River Dolphin: Facts, Population, and Protection Status
All you need to know about India's national aquatic animal
Infographic
Gharials Make a Comeback in Punjab
Forty five gharials brought from a captive breeding centre in Madhya Pradesh have been rehabilitated into the Beas river
News
Living Waters: The Resistance and Resilience of the Cauvery
For a large part of its course, the Cauvery River is exploited and abused. However, a few pockets of wilderness, including a 110-km stretch that runs through the protected Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, provide a sliver of hope
Photo Story
In Deep Waters: The Conservation Saga of the Ganges River Dolphin
Conservation of the Ganges river dolphin will not just protect the species, but secure the future of our largest river systems
Conservation
Growing With the Flow: The River Pamba and I
How childhood swimming lessons in Thalavady’s Pamba river revealed secrets of Kerala’s backwaters, and introduced the writer to wonders of the wild
Wild Vault
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 Guide: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
Little islets on the River Kaveri make up this all-season haven for birds and birdwatchers
Habitat
Proposed Hydropower Project Threatens the Bodh Fish
The ‘shark of Bastar' found in the Indravati river in Chhattisgarh, faces a perilous future due to the proposed Bodhghat Pariyojana project and indiscriminate hunting
News
Going with the Flow: Tale of the Golden Mahseer
These large, energetic fish live in deep stretches of rivers and mountain pools in the Himalayas, but twice a year they swim upstream to breed at higher altitudes
Photo Story
Croc Creche: Why Crocodilian Males Make Great Babysitters
Breaking gender stereotypes, tough bull crocs often pitch in to take care of hatchlings. Scientists believe they could be showing off their potential as future mating partners
Column
Ganges Shark: The One True River Shark of India
Under-researched and critically endangered, the Ganges shark is extremely susceptible to extinction
Conservation
Death Knell for the Sharavathi?
Environmentalists fear a new hydropower project in the heart of the Sharavathi valley that demands diversion of 360 acres of pristine forest land would spell doom to the valley
Conservation
Nest Protectors Hope to Secure the Indian Skimmer’s Future
In an upcoming initiative, researchers, forest departments and locals have come together to implement a community conservation programme to protect the vulnerable Indian skimmer
Conservation
The Story Behind the ‘Hardship Allowance’ for Karnataka’s Frontline Forest Staff
An account of the behind-the-scenes struggle to give forest guards and watchers protecting some of India’s best tiger landscapes their due
Book
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
Underwater Disturbance: The Gangetic Dolphin Struggles to Communicate
India’s Ganga River is getting noisier with increased ship traffic and dredging, and that’s stressing the river’s iconic dolphins and changing how they communicate, a new study has found
News
Going with the Flow: Exploring India’s River Systems, One Step at a Time
Siddharth Agarwal has walked the entire length of the Ganga and Ken rivers collecting local stories—and this is just the beginning of his drive to build a repository of knowledge
Hero
How a Colonial Hunter Inspired Conservation Efforts
Though India-born British hunter Kenneth Anderson’s books are about his hunting exploits, they also discuss the importance of conservation and upholding the rights of the forest dwelling communities
Conservation
High and Dry: The Cauvery’s Otters Need Their River Back
A polluted vestige of its former self, the over-exploited Cauvery River has left otters, fishermen, and other many river residents bereft
Conservation
Gharials of Gandak: A Population Back from the Brink Faces Development Pressures
The population of gharials, a species endemic to the Indian subcontinent, has gone up in the recent years in the Gandak river in Bihar. However, the thriving gharials are facing threats from barrage and fishing nets
News
Black-necked Stork: Facts, Threats, Habitat
All you need to know about this handsome, long-legged resident of freshwater marshes
Infographic
With its Habitat in Danger, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel Struggles to Survive
A survey in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary reveals that the population of grizzled giant squirrel, a species endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka, has fallen by 78-85 per cent
Conservation
Tiny Tentacles in the Mighty Kaveri
Hovering like surreal little spaceships, diaphanous freshwater jellyfish are the secretive, benign inhabitants of the sacred river of southern India
Photo Story