Rare Sri Lanka primate caught on camera

Agence France-Press reports on the sighting and photograph of an extremely rare and thought-to-be extinct Sri Lankan primate.

The nocturnal loris, a 6 inch primate with small ears and large eyes, was last sighted on the island-nation in 2002 and scientists thought it had since died out. Its interior Sri Lanka jungle habitat is being razed in favor of tea plantations. This has created divisions of the shy mammals territory making it difficult for them to seek out mates and breed.

[Field] researchers, working with the Zoological Society of London, managed to track down the mysterious creature in the forests of central Sri Lanka.

In a world first, they were able to take pictures of an adult male slender loris sitting on a tree branch.

The field team was able to capture one of the creatures and give it a physical examination, the first time that has ever been done, before releasing it back into the wild.

Read the full story: Wide-eyed primate caught on camera for first time

Photo from France 24

Gardens and parks in Mumbai

The New York Times In Transit blog reports on escaping the crowds of Mumbai, India to visit some of the green spaces.

Luckily, the ever-popular Marine Drive promenade and the Hanging Gardens are not the only green spots in town. For a short morning stroll, check out the leafy neighborhood of Five Gardens, just a five-minute drive from the teeming Dadar train station.

At sunset, head to Bandra’s seaside promenade, which runs from the 17th-century Bandra Fort up to the fishing village of Khar.

For a real escape, head to the northern suburb of Borivali to Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a 40-square-mile expanse of rugged green hills where leopards still roam.

Read more here: Going green in Mumbai

Photo by Ally Reeves

Bangladesh rare leopard captured and released

There have been many news reports about a rare clouded leopard cub captured in Bangladesh last month.

The species was thought to be extinct in the wild with the last known sighting in 1992 and 2005 according to Agence France-Press.

The cub, along with its mother and another cub, was sighted eating a monkey by villagers in the Chittagong hill tracks region of Bangladesh near the Myanmar border. They captured the cub after the others ran away.

This news gives conservationists hopes for the survival of the clouded leopard of which only 100,000 remain.

The cub was released back into the wild after it was deemed that it could survive on its own.

Read more:
Bangladesh leopard renews hopes for species survival
Bangladesh rare leopard cub freed

Bangladesh river runs black

Reuters reports on the polluted Buriganga river of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

What was once called the lifeline of the capital, now flows in a black gel filled with industrial and human waste.

The river flows by the capital Dhaka, a city of 12 million people, which largely depends on the Buriganga's water for drinking, fishing and carrying merchandise.

"The pollutants have eaten up all oxygen in the Buriganga and we call it biologically dead. It is like a septic tank," said Khawaja Minnatullah, a World Bank specialist on environment and water management.

Read the full story: Bangladesh river pollution threatens millions

and watch the video report below: