Over 519 developmental projects cleared over 4-yrs threaten last wild areas

The proposal to widen the 176-km Akola-to-Khandawa railway, 39 km of which passes through the Melghat reserve threaten more accidents, wildlife mortality and fragmentation of habitat

In the middle of the railway tracks that cut through the core of Maharashtra’s Melghat Tiger Reserve in the forested heart of India, lay a blob of carnivore scat--two or three days old, blackish, bristling with sambar hair, enough to fill a quarter plate.

Tiger!

It could be leopard--a DNA test could tell--but was more likely to have come from a tiger, given their consistent presence in the Wan Wildlife Sanctuary that forms part of Melghat. Foresters in the nearby range office spoke of regular sightings of at least one male and two female tigers. One