Current Affairs - Ecology & Environment

An ultra-rare carnivorous plant Utricularia Furcellata has been found in Uttarakhand (in the western Himalayan region) for first time.

• It was found in Uttarakhand's Mandal valley, Chamoli district, at an altitude of 4,800 feet.

Scientists have discovered the world's largest bacterium in a Caribbean mangrove swamp.

• The bacterium is named Thiomargarita magnifica, or “magnificent sulfur pearl”.

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered four species of azooxanthellate Corals in the waters of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• These corals have been found for the first time from Indian waters.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June 2022) declared Blue Duke the state butterfly.

• The Blue Duke represents Sikkim with its two unique colours blue representing the sky and white depicting the snow clad mountains of the Himalayas.

Scientists have discovered the world's largest plant off the Australia coast—a seagrass meadow that has grown by repeatedly cloning itself.

• The single plant of Posidonia australis was discovered in the shallow waters of the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay in Western Australia.

The world’s first population estimation of the fishing cat outside the protected area network of Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon was conducted in Chilika.

• According to the census, Chilika Lake in Odisha is home to 176 fishing cats.

On 17th May 2022, the Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan was notified as India’s 52nd tiger reserve.

• This is Rajasthan’s fourth tiger reserve after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.

Scientists have discovered the fossil of a Madtsoiidae snake in the Himalayan mountains in Ladakh, which sheds fresh light on the prevalence and existence of this rare serpent species in the Indian subcontinent.

• Madtsoiidae is an extinct group of medium-sized to gigantic snakes, firstly appeared during the later part of the Cretaceous period, that began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago. They are thought to grow up to 30 feet in length.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that Verkhoyansk, a Siberian town, experienced a temperature of 380C, the highest ever recorded in the Arctic region.

• It indicates the gradual warming of the Arctic region due to climate change.

On 5th October 2021, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.