The Hindu DFO 2, 3 A star tortoise rescued by the villagers of Tripuraram lying in the safe custody of the forest officials in Nalgonda. Photo: Singam Venkata Ramana

DNA sequence will be checked to establish their original habitat

In a bid to repatriate 800 Indian Star tortoises, which were seized while being reportedly smuggled out of the country, the Tamil Nadu forest officials have sought the help of molecular biologists to identify their place of origin.With two species of Star tortoises present in the country – one set is found in the western parts in Gujarat and also in Rajasthan. The other type is found in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and also in the neighbouring island country, Sri Lanka. They are smuggled out of the country for use as exotic pets and are eaten as delicacies. Scientists from the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), a facility of the Centre for Cellular and Biology (CCMB) here, have earlier enabled successful repatriation of around 1,500 Star tortoises, which were confiscated after they were smuggled out of the country. They compared the DNA sequence of animals from known location and found they belonged to the southern part in the country. Later they were released in the wild in Andhra Pradesh. Ajay Gaur, scientist from LaCONES told The Hindu that they generally collect either a drop of blood or a small piece of tissue to do DNA analysis and determine their geographical location. He said the rescued animals would face problem of survival if relocated in the wrong habitat. If an animal from western part was released in southern part, it would lead to mixing of races and loss of genetic purity. He said either scientists from LaCONES would visit Tamil Nadu to collect the samples or the forest officials would make arrangements to send them. Since the number of confiscated animals was large, it might take two months to conclude the analysis.Dr. Gaur said that normally 10-15 per cent of samples of the total number of seized animals would be required to get an overall idea.Based on the earlier experience, the team at LaCONES was quite confident that they would be able to identify place of origin and repatriate them to their habitat, said Dr. S.Shivaji, Director Grade Scientist at CCMB and in-charge of LaCONES.He said the population, which was repatriated earlier had now more than doubled. “This was probably the first successful repatriation of wild animals,” he added.

Apr 2 2012

Where darkness throws light on a global issue – The Hindu

THE HINDU Top) Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi with full lights and (below) after the lights were switched off to mark Earth Hour on Saturday. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Many opt to put out lights for an hour at 8.30 p.m.

Many Delhiites opted to switch off their lights for an hour at 8-30 p.m. on Saturday as part of Earth Hour-2012 and became part of the world’s largest voluntary action for contributing towards a sustainable environment.

Various businesses establishments and communities joined in this voluntary act to spread the message of hope and action to protect the one thing that unites us all — the planet.

Rashtrapati Bhavan too switched off all lights in the building’s exterior. Other popular landmarks, including India Gate, Qutub Minar and the Red Fort, national defence establishments, universities, several hotels, cinema complexes and few shopping malls across the city also participated in the event.

Social networking sites burst into action minutes before the ‘switch-off’ time, with environment action groups urging the people to contribute towards joining in this voluntary initiative.

WWF initiative

The Earth Hour is an initiative of WWF and is listed amongst the largest mass movement for awareness on reducing carbon footprints. “Last year, a total of 5,251 cities were part of Earth Hour and 1.8 billion people participated in the campaign. This hour-long campaign is organised annually on the last Saturday of March. This year, we hope to reach out and include more people in our movement,” said an official of WWF-Delhi.

Said Rashmi Pal, an employee at the Capital Le Meridien: “We had switched off all major lights in the hotel and in areas where this wasn’t possible we dimmed the lights by 40 to 60 per cent. The guests were informed earlier about the hotel’s participation in Earth Hour celebrations and we got a very good response from them. The central lawn of the hotel was lit up with candles and the guests were invited to participate in the celebrations here.”

Celestial view

The Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) set up telescopes at India Gate between 7.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. for the public to view celestial objects.

“Very often too much light pollution in metropolitan cities allows those living in the urban areas to see only the Moon and few other celestial objects even in clear skies, and the Earth Hour, we thought, would be a good opportunity to help members of the general public take a look at the views of the night sky through telescopes to become more aware of how much more you can see when ambient lights are lower,” said an official with SPACE.

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