Caring is not just for humans...

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Ragini S)

June 16, 2013

Mangalore, Jun 16: For all those people who have nurtured a false notion that virtues like care, compassion, helping nature and sense of belongingness is confined to human race, this true story, which can easily pass off as a fable, will change their outlook.

Two days ago, Ragini S, a resident of Mangalore was disturbed by cawing of a murder of crows. When she went out she saw a crow rendered almost numb on the ground, apparently because of electric shock. She also saw another crow standing by the hurt crow.

Her presence of mind drew her to grab a camera because she knew she was about to witness something worthwhile.

Within few minutes the crow lying on the ground made some vague movements but it had no energy to stand up on its own. With a swollen leg, the crow fluttered its wings on rain soaked land and finally it managed to stand on its own.

However, all this while, the fellow crow looked on and finally when the hurt crow on its legs, the fellow crow pulled its feathers with timed intervals. The trick worked. As though somebody blew life into the hurt crow, it took off and flew away.

This crow camaraderie shows the world that even animals and birds have emotions.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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