Researchers explore how the two predators coexist by preferring different habitats in Gir

While the readers picked their choice of stories published on the website for 2017, here are the editors’ pick. Hope you enjoy them!

Whose cup of tea is it – ours or leopards’?

The conversion of lush green forests into plantation for the profit of the East India Company still have lasting effects on the Indian wildlife today. Researchers from the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, study the conflict between leopards and humans due to this altered landscape. They find that from tea plantations to protected areas, leopard inflict non fatal attacks on humans, which are most likely the big cats attempt to defend itself.

India is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world and home to a vast expanse of natural habitats from evergreen forests to grasslands. These natural havens have over the past years faced many threats from humans, but the largest threat that Indian wildlife faces is poaching. How can these vast expanses be constantly monitored in order to protect our unique wildlife? Researchers and forest officials have come up with many ingenious methods using the latest technology to take action against this threat. From realtime videos accessible on smartphones to DNA analysis - read more about how our wildlife is being protected from poachers.

Captivity and confinement has had devastating effects on humans and the same can be true in the case of wild animals, especially the big cats. In this new study, scientists observe the hormones produced by captive big cats, like the Bengal Tiger or Leopard, to measure the amount of stress they endure during captivity. The study also throws light on stereotypy -  a coping mechanism developed by captive animals, and its relation to the amount of stress they experience.