By Monica Verma | Project Leader
Greetings from Wildlife Trust of India!
We hope this email finds you in good health and high spirits.
With this email, we share with you the updates on our project ‘Help Rescue Wild Animals and Birds in India’. We would also like to express our heartfelt appreciation for your generous donation to the project. Your support means the world to us and will make a significant impact in our efforts to protect wildlife and its habitat across India.
Your support for us goes beyond the financial contribution – it is a powerful statement of your trust in the work we do and a testament to your compassion and dedication to making a difference in wildlife conservation. Thank you for understanding the importance of WTI's work so we can continue to make a positive impact
The updates from the project are as follows –
Horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus gigas) are one of the most ancient-living species on earth, which have been around for over 450 million years. Despite their name, they are not true crabs, and rather belong to a separate class known as ‘Merostomata’. Their hard exoskeleton, unique horseshoe-shaped carapace, and long, pointed tail are distinguishing features. Horseshoe crabs inhabit shallow coastal waters playing a vital ecological role to support ecosystem health as scavengers and laying eggs which are an important food source for migratory birds. They are known for their remarkable blue blood which is exceptionally sensitive to toxic bacteria and is thus used by the medical industry to test equipment for bacterial contamination. Despite their endurance through geological time, horseshoe crab population faces threats such as habitat loss, overharvesting, and pollution in various parts of the world.
In India, horseshoe crabs are found along the eastern coast – particularly Odisha and West Bengal. In Balasore, a local conservationist, Viswajeet*, was informed about the illegal capture of hundreds of horseshoe crabs as bycatch or for illegal biomedical sale. The crabs are especially vulnerable in the monsoon season as they move to beaches for breeding. Further development activities such as sand excavation and jetty construction on beaches lead to changes in sediment composition affecting the crabs' breeding habitat. Disposal of plastic waste is another cause of habitat degradation. There is a need to ensure safer breeding habitats for the crabs and involve forest department officials which can help improve protection of the beaches and thus the crabs.
Viswajeet* started a Rapid Action Project in June to address this issue. He rescued 188 horseshoe crabs caught in nets and translocated them to ‘No Fishing Zones’ to allow them to breed safely. He is also working to build rapport with the fisher-folk and encouraging them to release horseshoe crabs accidentally caught in their nets. Cleaning drives are being carried out with the local residents to improve habitat quality. 94 fisher-folk and students have been reached through the project so far. A capacity building program for forest staff is being planned on reducing illegal trade of horseshoe crabs. By actively engaging multiple stakeholders, the project hopes to safeguard breeding horseshoe crab populations along the Balasore coast.
All this could have been possible through your generous support to our project for which we thank you so much. We will be back with more updates from the project. Until then, take care!
Wishing you continued success and happiness!
Warm regards,
Team WTI
*Name changed.
By Monica Verma | Project Leader
By Monica Verma | Project Leader
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