Hunting

Assam: Kaziranga faces crisis as 17 rhinos killed in 4 months

Assam: Despite all government assurances and efforts, India's best known national park still remains vulnerable to poaching. Around 17 rhinos have been killed in the last four months in Kaziranga.

"The increased number of poaching is definitely a concern particularly last year two years after floods. The reason is the organised poaching groups, the demand in the international market and some local issues here and there" Kaziranga National Park Director NK Vasu said.

The lure to kill is magnetic, sources confirmed that currently a horn fetches Rs 1 crore in the international market. Increasingly sharp shooters are being employed and sophisticated weapons are used regularly for killing rhinos. There are 2,329 rhinos inside the 430 square kilometer area in UNESCO World Heritage site. However, all the conservation success takes a backseat in the face of rhino killings.

Apurba Deka a forest guard for the last 27 years in the park said, "We try our best to protect the animal. Earlier we didn't have proper weapons. They have given some rifles but we need more powerful weapons. Importantly we need more people on the ground."...more    

Assam: Rhino found killed by poachers in Kaziranga

A bullet ridden body of a rhinoceros with its horn removed has been found at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Forest officials recovered shells of bullets and rifles used to kill the animal. ...  

Pune: Four arrested for hunting inside NDA campus

At least four hunters who had intruded the high-security thickly-forested campus of the National Defence Academy for killing wild animals were apprehended with their dogs on Sunday, an official said. ...  

Two rhinos killed in Kaziranga by poachers

Suspected poachers have yet again killed two rhinos in Assam, including one near the high-security Kaziranga National Park within less than 24 hours, and decamped with their horns, forest officials said Tuesday. While the forest officials recovered a rhino carcass Sunday night at Burhapahar range of the national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, the other was recovered Tuesday morning at Silimkhowa in Karbi Anglong district. ...  

Blackbuck hunting case: SC relief to Salman Khan

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'Bird hunting creates friction between India, Pakistan'

The hunting of endangered houbara bustards by members of Arab royal families in Pakistan has led to friction along the Indo-Pak frontier, with the BSF complaining about the firing, a media report said on Wednesday. The hunting in border regions has "caused friction with neighbouring India", The Express Tribune reported. ...  

Thousands of Amur falcon birds poached in Nagaland

New Delhi: CNN-IBN has accessed visuals of shocking massacre of tens of thousands of migratory Amur falcons in Nagaland. The NGO, Conservation India, has documented the slaughter. The NGO has estimated that 12,000 to 14,000 birds are being hunted for consumption and commercial sale every day. The captured birds are kept in mosquito nets or cane baskets, so they can be sold alive. This is probably the single largest congregation...  

Sneak Peek: Matt Damon starrer 'Promised Land'

After the Oscar-winning screenplay of 'Good Will Hunting', Matt Damon is back to writing a script, this time with a different actor John Krasinski. The stars will also be acting in the small-town drama 'Promised Land'. Here is a first look at the movie that is slated for a December release. ...

Almost 50 tigers dead in six months in India

New Delhi: Close to 50 tigers have died in the past six months in India, 19 of which were killed in poaching incidents. It's a shocking figure, specially when compared to the 56 tiger deaths reported in all in 2011. The National Tiger Conservation Authority has sounded an alert in all tiger reserves with an order that all the big cat deaths must be treated as poaching cases unless proven...  

Endangered animals, birds sold openly in Puducherry

Puducherry: Migratory birds and endangered animals protected by the Indian wildlife laws are being sold openly in a market in Puducherry. CNN-IBN has accessed images that expose the thriving lucrative business. At a roadside food stall, in the city of Puducherry the selling of protected birds and animals is a common sight. The images show ibis and purple moorhens, open billed storks being sold openly at roadside stalls. These birds...  

Rare birds, animals sold in Puducherry

Puducherry: Migratory birds and endangered animals protected by the Indian wildlife laws are being sold openly in a market in Puducherry. CNN-IBN has accessed images that expose the thriving lucrative business. The images show ibis and purple moorhens, open billed storks being sold openly at roadside stalls. These birds visit the Oussudu Wildlife Sanctuary in the winters for breeding where they are allegedly hunted. Jungle cats, palm civets, porcupine, monitor...  

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck welcome son

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I was an Ugly Betty: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

London: Model-actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who is considered as one of the sexiest women in the world, has revealed she was an 'Ugly Betty' as a teenager. The 24-year-old admits she resembled the spectacle-and-brace wearing character Betty Suarez from the comedy-drama television series 'Ugly Betty', reports femalefirst.co.uk. "I was a bit of an Ugly Betty when I was 15," Huntington-Whiteley told America's Harper's Bazaar magazine. ...  

Matt Damon wanted a lead in 'Argo'

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The film strengthened Rosie-Jason's relationship

London: Actress Rosie Huntington Whiteley says her role in the new Transformers movie has strengthened her relationship with boyfriend Jason Statham because of his immense support during the filming. The 24-year-old replaced Megan Fox in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and says that her debut Hollywood role was the ultimate test of her romance with Statham, reported Dailystar. "He's 20 years older than me. He'll kill me for saying it......  

Write your review: 'Transformers: Dark of the moon'

Rajeev Masand says, Transformers: Dark of the moon' is exhausting. What do you think? Write your review and win prizes? 

Masand: 'Transformers: Dark of...' is exhausting

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Dogs bred for meals 10,000 years ago

London: Man's best friend - the dog - was surprisingly bred for meals some 10,000 years ago. While this may not shock people in Korea where dog meat is a delicacy, scientists found a bone fragment from what they are calling the earliest confirmed domesticated canine in the Americas. From this, they have concluded that the animals were bred to be eaten as well as to serve as hunting dogs...