Wildlife beyond boundaries: The clue lies in corridors - The Economic Times

The elephants stood at the stream's edge. As the adults drank in measured trunkfuls, calves gambolled in the water. Just above them, on the slope, a large sambar stag emerged silently from the undergrowth. From a cluster of trees above came the scolding call of a giant squirrel, as a troop of Nilgiri langur foraged in the canopy.

Just as we were slipping into a reverie, imagining ourselves in pristine wilderness, a woman called loudly to her children playing nearby as she washed clothes outside a neat row of houses, a mere hundred metres upslope of the elephants.

This vignette, from the Anamalai Hills of southern India, is not all that unusual. Across large parts of our country, a wide range of species still occur outside the confines of wildlife reserves, and even in the middle of busy, human-dominated landscapes. This is possible because a variety of natural and human-modified habitats - forest fragments, coffee plantations, orchards, paddy fields, marshes and lakes – still exist outside our reserves. These habitats may offer permanent residence for smaller creatures, whereas larger species may use them as passageways to move between wildlife reserves.

But the size, location and status of these habitats that lie outside reserves often belie their importance to the survival of endangered animals. This is so for many reasons.

Firstly, our wildlife reserves, crafted more by circumstance than by design, look like islands when seen on a map. But not long ago, wild animals occupied vast unbroken stretches of habitat – the Western Ghats that run across five states is a good example – and have evolved to move and migrate across such large landscapes.



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Wildlife beyond boundaries: The clue lies in corridors - The Economic Times

America's Great Outdoors IdeaJam - Designate wildlife corridors of national importance

President Obama has launched a national dialogue about conservation in America to learn about some of the smart, creative ways communities are conserving outdoor spaces.

The voting tool is available to encourage interaction among those interested in America's Great Outdoors. All comments submitted will be considered.

What are your ideas on the following topics:

• Challenges - What obstacles exist to achieving your goals for conservation, recreation, or reconnecting people to the outdoors?
• What Works - Please share your thoughts and ideas on effective strategies for conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors.
• Federal Government Role - How can the federal government be a more effective partner in helping to achieve conservation, recreation or reconnecting people to the outdoors?
• Tools - What additional tools and resources would help your efforts be even more successful?

Your ideas and comments from the previous three topics have been archived and will be delivered to the America's Great Outdoors team for inclusion in the report to the President. The four new topics now match those on comment cards provided at AGO Listening Sessions, in order to optimize the organization of ideas and comments.

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America's Great Outdoors IdeaJam - Designate wildlife corridors of national importance

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Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week - Defenders of Wildlife

September 12, 2010- September 18, 2010

Nationwide

Every year Defenders of Wildlife organizes and promotes Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week, a week designated to raise public awareness of the serious obstacles facing the nation's wildlife due to its transportation infrastructure – both by roadway deaths and through habitat fragmentation.

Transportation infrastructure, though vital, cuts through the habitat of wildlife populations and creates the danger of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Each year in the US more than 200 people are killed in collisions with deer, elk and other wildlife; more than 1.5 million animals are estimated to be hit on roads; and the cost of property damage caused by collisions surpasses $1 billion. For some wild populations, roadkill added to other threats such as habitat loss, fragmentation, climate change and invasive species, is severely reducing their viability.

The main goal of Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week is to reduce risks of collision for the benefit of people and wildlife.

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Watch Out for Wildlife Awareness Week - Defenders of Wildlife

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