The top drug regulator of Sindh, accepting the request of Pakistan Vulture Restoration Project (PVRP) has slapped restrictions on the use of veterinary drugs that have long term adverse effects on scavengers that eat the carcases of the dead cattle. Vulture populations in South Asia have collapsed by over 95% since the mid-1990s. The primary […]
David Hu was changing his infant son’s diaper when he got the idea for a study that eventually won him the Ig Nobel prize. No, not the Nobel Prize — the Ig Nobel prize, which bills itself as a reward for “achievements that make people laugh, then think.” As male infants will do, his son […]
Canine can sniff out the socks worn by children carrying the mosquito-borne parasites, a study finds. By Donald G. McNeil Jr. Nov. 5, 2018/ NYT Dogs have such exquisitely sensitive noses that they can detect bombs, drugs, citrus and other contraband in luggage or pockets. Is it possible that they can sniff out even malaria? And when might […]
by Zofeen T. Ebrahim Marine turtles, a resilient group of creatures that have been around for over 200 million years and survived mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaur, are today facing their gravest challenge yet. Nearly all species are classified as endangered – under threat from overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and rising temperatures. Members […]
In October 2016, PM Nawaz Sharif approved creation of an endowment fund for migratory birds including the MacQueen’s bustard – also known as the Asian houbara. The fund will initially be capitalised by the finance division with a Rs 250 million allocation, and will be augmented through additional resources in the future. “The endowment fund […]
By Maneka Sanjay Gandhi How weird human beings are. Ask a normal person to touch a snail and they recoil in horror. The body of the snail is long, moist and slimy. The slime that snails secrete is seen as disgusting. In the Christian religious texts, Psalms 58:8 uses snail slime as a metaphorical punishment. And […]
by Jenny Holt The natural biodiversity that the earth can offer us is under significant threat from human development, and the range of amazing species that are indigenous to Pakistan are no exception. With each inch of destruction of creatures’ natural habitat, we are reducing the legacy of future generations to enjoy a world that […]
by Maneka Gandhi I have a vegetable garden. The monkeys take my brinjals, the parakeets take the chillies, the moles take the cauliflower, leaf curl gets my tomatoes, and squirrels come for some seeds. I get the mint, dhaniya and the different saags. But over the last one year I have been dealing with different […]
Scant attention is paid in Pakistan to subjects like environmental protection, water pricing, minority rights and wildlife conservation and even less to furthering literacy and planned parenthood. Wildlife in Pakistan is being decimated because of two reasons. First, there is insufficient state regulation, leading to a near failure to punish those who violate the law […]
Juan F. Masello never intended to study wild parrots. Twenty years ago, as a graduate student visiting the northernmost province of Patagonia in Argentina, he planned to write his dissertation on colony formation among seabirds. But when he asked around for flocks of, say, cormorants or storm petrels, a park warden told him he was out […]