Discovery of critically endangered pangolin in Shillong's urban forests highlights the importance of conserving suburban ecosystems

Chinese efforts to conserve biodiversity demonstrate how nature can be protected outside officially designated reserves by utilizing cooperation between local communities, researchers, businesses, and government bodies, noted a Chinese environmental specialist at a UN event.

At a thematic event titled 'Strategies and Actions of Multilateral Stakeholders for Biodiversity Conservation,' held at the Chinese Pavilion during the 17th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, a successful example of such efforts was presented—work in the wetland area of Weitou Bay in China.

Yan Baohua, Secretary-General of the Marine Conservation Foundation of China (MCF), reported that over the last three winters, more than 1% of the estimated global population of spoon-billed sandpipers overwintered in the Weitou Bay wetland in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, southeastern China. Notably, this wetland area is not a protected zone.

The spoon-billed sandpiper breeds in the Russian Far East and migrates thousands of kilometers along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, relying on coastal stops and wintering grounds. However, according to Yan's research, only about 15% of the projected suitable tidal habitats for this species are located within protected areas.

MCF and Beijing Forestry University initiated a project to conserve the spoon-billed sandpiper in 2018. Yan noted that surveys conducted in southern China from 2019 to 2026 discovered additional wintering sites, many of which are located outside protected zones, highlighting the need to expand conservation efforts beyond the existing network of protected areas.

In the Weitou Bay wetland, conservation work was long primarily carried out by local volunteers engaged in birdwatching. In March 2025, MCF partnered with local birdwatching groups and government agencies to establish a protection station to better coordinate conservation efforts. Bird enthusiast groups now conduct regular monitoring and patrolling, while local prosecutors contribute to habitat protection through public interest litigation. Local residents are also working to create their own patrol groups.

Another example of public participation is found in Sunnyan Bay in Jinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China, where community fishermen outside the nature reserve help protect sea urchins accidentally caught in fishing nets. With support from this network, local residents established a rescue and release group in 2021 to return accidentally caught sea urchins to the sea.

Song reported that reports of declining sea urchin numbers in local fishermen's nets prompted her team and scientists to survey the area. They found that Sunnyan Bay is a habitat for adult and sub-adult sea urchins, while spawning and juvenile areas are further east, near the mouth of the Dafeng River, indicating a need to extend conservation measures beyond the bay itself.

Biodiversity conservation efforts also extend to urban spaces. At the Hongshan Zoo in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, according to the zoo's Director of Sustainability, Wei Ye, nearly 700 species of local wildlife have been recorded, including about 130 bird species.

An artificial lake, once lined with hardened banks, underwent ecological restoration, creating more natural shorelines and improving the connection between the water surface and the riparian vegetation. Wei stated that the zoo saw the birth of Chinese waterfalls at the restored lake this year.

These examples illustrate China's commitment to exploring other effective nature-based conservation measures (OECM) that complement protected areas. These OECMs contribute to achieving Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 2022—effectively conserving at least 30% of the world's terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine areas by 2030.

Madhu Rao, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, stated that this target cannot be achieved solely through protected areas. She noted: 'One of the major advantages of OECMs is that they allow us to recognize nature management by non-state actors, as well demonstrated by the example from China.'

The thematic event was organized by the All-China Federation of Environmental Protection and the China Environmental Protection Fund.

Two leopards emerged from the open forests of Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh and entered a house in one of the villages, where they killed two calves, causing panic. Furthermore, the couple who were sleeping in the house managed to save their lives by fleeing the predators.

Chaos broke out in the village during the incident. However, a leopard tracking team arrived at the scene and reduced the fear among the residents. The Forest Department promised the affected resident appropriate compensation.

The incident occurred in the village of Bamori, which is part of the Sheopur district, early Sunday morning, around five o'clock. Two leopards burst into the house shed and killed two calves. At the time of the attack, the herdsman Somla Vir Singh was sleeping in the same shed with his wife, and both calves were tied nearby.

According to Somla, the leopards attacked the calves early in the morning, which triggered chaos. Seeing the leopards, the husband and wife panicked, got up from the cot, and fled to save their lives.

After this tragedy, an atmosphere of fear prevails in Bamori and neighboring settlements. Residents living near the settlements are extremely frightened by the movement of leopards. Following the incident, residents expressed dissatisfaction with the administration, demanding that the Forest Department immediately increase patrolling in the village and surrounding fields, as well as pay fair compensation to the affected herdsman Somla Vir Singh for the damage.

Uttam Kumar Sharma, Director of the 'Leopard' project, informed Aaj Tak by phone about the incident in Bamori village. He assured that the leopard tracking team is on site 24/7 and emphasized that leopards do not attack humans. He also confirmed that the herdsman will be paid the stipulated compensation for the death of the calves.

It should be noted that Kuno National Park is home to 53 leopards, 40 of which were born in India. The total number of leopards in the country has reached 59 individuals. Among them, 4 are in the Gandhi Sagar sanctuary and 2 are in the Virangana Durgavati tiger reserve. Currently, 15 leopards roam freely in the open forests of Kuno.

For many decades, rhino conservation in the Dudhwa sanctuary, located in Uttar Pradesh state, relied on protected enclosures. This approach helped the population recover after the species disappeared from the region, but a more complex question has arisen: can these animals live, reproduce, and survive as a truly free-roaming population within the functioning Terai landscape?

This question is now being tested in practice. In March 2026, four Indian one-horned rhinos were moved from the enclosed rehabilitation zone of Dudhwa to suitable grassy habitat within the sanctuary. This increases the number of adult rhinos freely moving in Dudhwa to eight individuals. The state's long-term plan involves studying the possibility of releasing 10 rhinos as an initial step toward a broader conservation strategy.

According to the latest census conducted in June 2026, 53 rhinos were registered in Dudhwa: 17 adult males, 25 adult females, and 11 calves over one year old. Eight of them were released from rehabilitation pens to improve genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding. However, the significance of Dudhwa lies not only in the increase in rhino numbers compared to forty years ago but also in the fact that the sanctuary is becoming a testing ground for solving a much larger problem: what is needed to transition from reintroduction to a self-sustaining rhino population capable of supporting itself in the wider Terai landscape?

From Five Rhinos to a Large-Scale Experiment

The history of rhinos in Dudhwa began in 1984 when five individuals were brought in as part of a reintroduction program. Since then, the population has grown, demonstrating the Terai's ability to support the species again. Nevertheless, the numbers themselves can hide more complex ecological issues.

A population can grow while remaining vulnerable to genetic limitations, habitat pressure, disease, predation, or insufficient connectivity with other populations. For a large herbivore like the Indian one-horned rhino, a viable future depends on much more than just a protected patch of land.

Amit Sharma, National Rhino Conservation Lead at WWF India, views the current stage in Dudhwa as a shift in this direction. He emphasized that this is a major achievement for rhino conservation in Dudhwa, as the rhinos are allowed to move freely outside the fenced area after nearly four decades. Although the initial plan was to release 10 rhinos, the goal must be broader—establishing an ecologically functional, demographically viable, and genetically resilient population of rhinos moving freely in nature.

The current test is whether the landscape can support the next generation and subsequent generations without constant intervention from conservation managers.

What Does the Rhino Need from the Landscape?

The Terai is a landscape consisting of grasslands, wetlands, swamps, rivers, and forests. Rhinos are heavily dependent on productive grasslands and water, and the mosaic of habitats allows them to feed, bathe, and move across the landscape. Dudhwa already possesses many of these elements.

Sharma notes that successful reintroduction experience and a basic ecological foundation already exist in Dudhwa: extensive Terai grasslands, wetlands, swamps, and riparian habitats have been formed. According to a 2022 analysis, about 20% of Dudhwa is covered by grasslands, and another 3% by wetlands, swamps, and marshes, which are critically important habitat types for a thriving rhino population.

However, having these habitats on a map is only the beginning. Natural water flows must be maintained, and constant water sources must be provided to sustain habitat standards. Furthermore, the size and quality of the grasslands must also be managed to support a healthy population of herbivores, especially megaherbivores like the rhino.

This makes habitat management one of Dudhwa's central lessons. The rhino recovery program cannot be separated from the health of the grasslands themselves. If the grasslands degrade or natural water flows are disrupted, simply increasing the number of rhinos will not solve the problem. Thus, the experiment in Dudhwa is also aimed at studying landscape management techniques before attempting to expand the population beyond its boundaries.

The Real Test Begins After Release

There is another difference between rhinos in enclosures and those that roam freely. When animals begin moving across a larger landscape, conservation managers must understand where they are going, what they are eating, how they are reproducing, which calves are surviving, and what is causing mortality. Sharma argues that this requires long-term monitoring, not just periodic population counts.

He says that for long-term population viability with active management, systematic monitoring for individual identification, reproductive success, calf survival, mortality, home range use, food availability, and genetic diversity will be necessary. Non-invasive DNA methods and technological approaches can enhance population monitoring.

In other words, Dudhwa's success will be measured by biological indicators. Are calves being born to females? Are these calves surviving? Are the animals using appropriate habitat? Is the population genetically healthy? Can the rhinos expand their range? And can the population continue to grow without constant human supplementation?

These indicators may determine whether the Dudhwa experience can serve as a basis for future conservation in the Terai.

The Landscape Doesn't End in Dudhwa

The Terai does not adhere to political borders, nor does wildlife. Dudhwa is part of a wider ecosystem connected to other forests and protected areas in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Nepal. The Valmiki Sanctuary in Bihar is another important landscape for rhinos, and rhinos also cross the border between India and Nepal.

A 2025 study by the Wildlife Institute of India on the Western Terai Arc landscape highlighted how roads, development, and other land-use changes can disrupt wildlife corridors, affecting the movement of large mammals and potentially isolating populations. Research and modeling within this project specifically studied the habitat connectivity of rhinos and tigers, as well as areas where linear infrastructure might impede movement.

For rhinos, this connectivity has implications beyond mere movement. Sharma insists: 'A landscape-level approach is necessary for the long-term recovery of rhinos in the Terai. Rhinos do not recognize administrative boundaries, and the Katerniaghat–Bardia and Valmiki–Chitwan systems are ecologically interconnected.'

He points to a pattern already observed on the ground. 'Studies have confirmed rhino movement across the India–Nepal border as a natural process to meet ecological needs. Rhinos from Nepal are regularly observed across the border on the Indian side in Pilibhit, Katerniaghat, and Valmiki.'

This Changes the Conservation Question

Instead of asking how Dudhwa can support one population, planners may eventually start asking how Dudhwa, Valmiki, the Nepali Terai, and other suitable habitats can function as parts of a larger rhino landscape. Sharma concludes: 'Therefore, it is crucial to view the entire area as a single conservation unit and manage the rhino population as a single metapopulation or, rather, as a rhino landscape in the Terai belt.'

However, connectivity is not the only challenge. The same landscape that can support rhinos is also under pressure from infrastructure, human activity, and climate change. Sharma warns: 'The pervasive risk to any rhino population is the threat of poaching arising from the demand for rhino horn and, to some extent, its parts in the international market.'

But he points to another risk that may be harder to control because it affects the habitat itself. 'However, the projected risk is the impact that rapid climate change in the region can have, which could lead to widespread consequences in the fragile Himalayan system; recent floods in Nepal in 2026 are an indicator of potential outcomes.'

Thus, for rhinos, climate change is not an abstract future threat. Changes in precipitation, flooding, and water availability can alter the grasslands and wetlands upon which the species depends. Sharma adds that Terai habitats are already stressed due to degradation, and any deviation from the climatic regime could lead to sharp changes in the composition and condition of habitats, jeopardizing rhino survival.

Furthermore, there is a human landscape around these habitats. Due to multiple developments in border areas and expanding human activity, the threat to connectivity with Nepal, which facilitates safe and active movement of rhinos and wildlife, is increasing. Any blockage of natural connectivity will create a huge problem for rhino conservation across the entire Terai region. This means that expanding rhino populations will require more than just habitat protection; it will also require involving local communities in the conservation landscape.

What Happens When Rhinos Meet Tigers?

Dudhwa offers another, less pleasant lesson. In March 2026, a 30-year-old female rhino named Rajeshwari was found in a sanctuary water body, having died from a tiger attack. The forensic report confirmed that she died from injuries sustained in the attack. Reports indicated that tracks of two pairs of tiger paws were found near the scene.

This incident raised an obvious question: if Dudhwa is trying to create a larger, free-roaming rhino population in the wild, what will happen when these rhinos share the landscape with a strong tiger population? Sharma believes that predation is part of the ecological reality, but predation on adult rhinos remains unusual. He explains that the tiger is the apex predator in the Indian forest, and it is natural for them to hunt even large animals like rhinos or elephants. However, in a park like Kaziranga, where tiger density was not as high ten years ago, but rhinos became victims, it was not uncommon. Nevertheless, tigers attacking a healthy adult rhino are relatively rare, as they were mainly observed attempting to attack calves.

For Dudhwa, however, the demographic consequences are significant. The death of adult female rhino Rajeshwari in Dudhwa shows that active predator-prey interaction is an integral part of managing a recovering rhino population in a high-density tiger landscape.

But there is a limit to how much mortality a small or recovering population can absorb. Sharma notes that the rhino population in Dudhwa is limited and still striving to grow; thus, a high level of predation will negatively affect the demographics and dynamics of the population.

The biggest lesson from Dudhwa: release is only the beginning. Sharma asserts that rhino reintroduction cannot be seen as an endpoint. 'Dudhwa illustrates the story of conservation return, resilience, and the long journey from reintroduction to rewilding,' he says. 'The main lesson of Dudhwa is that reintroduction should be viewed as the start of population recovery; it teaches us to plan holistically to achieve a viable, free-ranging population.'

A population of 50, 100, or 200 rhinos can remain vulnerable if isolated. For Sharma, sustainability means the simultaneous occurrence of several factors: the population's ability to grow without constant human supplementation and natural connectivity with the metapopulation, including the Nepali Terai and local communities, to exist without constant intense conflict.

This is why the 10 rhinos proposed for Dudhwa matter less as a number and more as a starting point. The real test will come later, when rhinos are considered members of the population.