The Sumatran rhino has become extinct in Malaysia after the last remaining individual died on November 23, 2019, due to natural causes.
It is the smallest of all rhino species and one of the most endangered land mammals on the planet.
It is the only Asian Rhino with two horns.
Its IUCN status is Critically Endangered.
Earlier, it has occurred in the parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Now, it exists only in four isolated regions of rainforests on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Malabar Tree Toad
It is a very rare species of amphibian endemic to the Western Ghats.
It is an endangered species that spends most of its life on trees, coming to the ground only during the first monsoon showers to mate.
Its population is shrinking mainly due to habitat loss, climate change and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a deadly fungus that has been decimating entire amphibian populations worldwide.
The Metastring Foundation, a citizen-based conservation non-profit based in Bengaluru, was awarded a grant of Rs 15 lakh for one year for its project on the Malabar Tree Toad.
It is working to train and equip citizens for mapping the range of an extremely rare species of toad as only sporadic records are available.
Wooden Breast Syndrome
Researchers have recently found that the Wooden Breast Syndrome affects broiler chickens by making the meat hard and chewy.
It is a metabolic disorder characterised by abnormal fat accumulation in the breast muscle tissue.
It involves inflammation of the veins in the breast tissue and accumulation of lipid around the affected veins.
It is followed by muscle cell death and replacement by fibrous and fatty tissue.
An enzyme called lipoprotein lipase is behind the syndrome and it is crucial for fat metabolism.
At the onset of wooden breast syndrome, lipoprotein lipase was higher in affected chickens, leading to more fat accumulating in the breast muscles.
This is an irregularity because breast muscle fibres in chicken typically rely on sugar molecules for fuel, not fat molecules.
It can render the birds unmarketable and cause losses for growers.
Gamosa
It is a symbol of Assamese culture. It is equivalent to towel by meaning 'Ga' means 'body' and 'mosa' means 'wipe' (literally meaning a towel but multi-functional in practice).
It is mostly woven out of white threads with colourful and intricate inlays in red.
There are different varieties woven for religious and auspicious occasions.
It is also known as ‘Bihuwaan’ and it is an essential part of Bihu festival of Assam.
It is valued as a gift for visitors, used as a scarf, anti-dust mask, wrapped around the head as a turban.
It has been assigned a new function for conservation of rare freshwater turtles.
Conservationists are using this cultural icon to carry forward the message of turtle conservation, with gamosas woven with turtle images.
MILAN 2020
It is a biennial naval exercise held under the command Indian Navy.
The Last (10th) edition was held in 2018 and the next (2020) is going to be held in Vishakhapatnam.
In its forthcoming edition, 41 countries have been invited for the participation.
USA and Russia have been invited while Pakistan and China are not.
The areas of cooperation include Capacity Building, Marine Domain Awareness, Training, Hydrography, Technical Assistance, Operational Exercise etc.
