Researchers from Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, Savitribai Phule Pune University, MES College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Bengaluru and the Centre for medicinal Plants Research, Kerala have described a new species of pipewort from the Western Ghats. They have named the new species Eriocaulon karaavalense, after the Kannada work karaavali (ಕರಾವಳಿ), which translates to ‘the coast’.
Despite successful bans on the veterinary drug diclofenac in Nepal and parts of India, a decade-long undercover investigation reveals that toxic alternatives like flunixin and nimesulide are rapidly replacing it, posing a renewed existential threat to the region’s critically endangered vulture populations.