The Supreme Court on January 22, 2016 lifted a ban on the hunting of houbara bustard, a rare desert bird whose meat is prized among Arab sheikhs as an aphrodisiac. A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar announced the verdict on the review petitions filed by the federal […]
As Lahore’s green cover slowly gives way to concrete structures and urban development, the city’s birds must find a place to go. And though there have been no surveys on the migration pattern or population of birds in Lahore, Dr Uzma Khan of the WWF-Pakistan, says it doesn’t take much to notice that Lahore’s ecosystem […]
Roadside signs may warn us of wildlife crossing these stretches of road, but if drivers rarely encounter animals, they can become habituated to the warnings. Flashing lights augmenting these signs can slow drivers, but they are most effective if used only during the riskiest periods. Drivers are less likely to ignore animal crossing warnings that are […]
Between 2000 and 2001, the towns of Taunsa and Toawala and the Changa Manga forest in Punjab were home to large colonies of vultures. An estimated 758 pairs of white-backed vultures flocked to Changa Manga, one of the world’s largest manmade forests. A study conducted by the Peregrine Fund and Ornithological Society of Pakistan found […]
Two ostriches were crushed as a protocol squad for President Mamnoon Hussain drove into the state guesthouse in Karachi in July 2014. While one died on the spot, the other ostrich has been left on the premises of the guesthouse without medical care even though its wings are broken. An official from the guesthouse said […]
by Saher Baloch As he was going about his daily chore of cutting grass for his livestock, 25-year-old Ghulam Nabi discovered “hundreds of dead fish” floating on the left side of the Manchhar lake near a wide patch of wild plants. Soon afterwards, he picked up 440 kilograms of the dead fish called daya in […]
In May 2010, the Sindh Wildlife Minister, Dr Essrani, told the Sindh Assembly that it was not true that the Sindh Wildlife Department carried out census of animals in the Khirthar National Park (KNP) on an annual basis. “Annual surveys of animals are conducted only in game reserve areas of Surjan, Sumbak, Eir and Hothiano […]
by Faiza Ilyas Illegal hunting and trade of scorpions is thriving in the country, particularly in Sindh. Though no case relating to the illegal catch of scorpions has been officially reported from Sindh, at least two have been reported from Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in recent days and confirmed by AJK […]
On April 14, 2014, the Sindh Parliamentary Secretary for Wildlife Nasir Hussain Shah, told the Sindh Assembly that the Indus River Delta was in a state of deterioration.Riverine forests of the province are depleting because of a decrease in freshwater from the Indus River Delta and kacha areas. Shah said the riverine forests required 600,000 cusecs water […]
Two accidents in south Punjab claimed the lives of nine camels and caused severe injuries to a dozen more on June 11, 2014. In the first incident, four camels were killed and 12 injured when a passenger train slammed into them near Adam Sahaba train station in Rahim Yar Khan. Witnesses said a herd of […]