Was the wrong tiger killed in Kumaon?

LUCKNOW: A day after Uttarakhand forest officials shot a tiger claiming it had killed six people in and around Kumaon's Corbett Reserve, doubts are being raised if the big cat felled on Thursday was a man-eater.

The Corbett authorities who had earlier claimed that the man-eater was a tigress, on Friday said the feline shot by Ramnagar forest officials was a "rare specimen with female characterstics". With deformity in both its hind claws, the pug marks of the tiger made them look like that of a tigress. "Whatever doubts have arisen, could be because of this assumption of ours," said Corbett park warden U C Tiwari on Friday adding, "it was a tiger with female characteristics."

The contention was outrightly rejected by wildlife experts. "The pug mark impressions are very distinct and are impressions of paws and not claws," said former director of Dudhwa G C Mishra. He added that this leaves little chance of a goof up. "We are yet to come across a tiger with "female characteristics," he said.

"If they have killed a wrong tiger and a man-eater is still at large, killings (of men) will take place in some 15-20 days," he warned.

Former director, Project Tiger, R L Singh said: "I agree that pug marks are misleading evidence, but I have never ever come across a tiger with any of its claws like that of a female. Though the cubs can have their claws look like that of a female, the Corbett tiger was an old one."

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Needed: Rapid rescue teams for leopards

NEW DELHI: Wildlife experts want rapid response teams set up in sensitive areas across the country to deal with human-leopard conflicts. After three leopards were killed last week, experts said the environment ministry must frame an action plan to swiftly rescue the big cats when they stray into towns and villages. The killings took place within five days in separate regions. In each case, the cat had strayed into an inhabited areas and could not find a way out.

On the afternoon of January 9, a policeman shot dead a rampaging leopard to stop it from mauling a man who had stepped out of a bar in Maharashtra's Karad city. Three days later, a male leopard strayed into Kheri Gujran village near the Aravalis in Haryana's Faridabad district and attacked a woman. An angry mob broke tranquilizer guns brought by rescue teams and beat the animal to death. There was a rerun of the scene a day later on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Orissa, when villagers killed a leopard.

Big cat specialists say these incidents indicate India's leopards are coming under increasing stress. "It is high time the Centre formulated guidelines to deal with these situations," said Qamar Qureshi of Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India. "We need trained people to reach stranded leopards before the mob does."

Qureshi said it is possible to set up rapid response teams in all problem areas without spending a lot of money. "All you need to do is train three to five local forest officials for the job, have a veterinary care unit, a vehicle and some basic equipment. This would save lives and protect the animals," the big cat expert said.

He said despite leopard encounters being by far the most commonly occurring human-carnivore conflict in India, it has not got the attention it deserves. "Sadly, the leopard is not an iconic animal like the tiger. Its numbers are relatively high and so its killings do not make big news."

Qureshi has a point. Leopard poaching has reached alarming levels. The Wildlife Protection Society of India recorded 3,552 killings since 1994. Other reports say one leopard is killed every day in the country.

"Poaching and forced translocation of leopards are probably among the main reasons for human-leopard conflicts," said Vidya Athreya, a wildlife biologist working specifically on the problem.

Citing her own research on leopard conflicts in Maharashtra, Athreya said removals through poaching and translocation lead to other leopards occupying the 'vacated' territories. "These leopards are new to the area and are more liable to come into contact with human beings or prey on livestock." Vidya said there was a sharp fall in leopard attacks in Borivili and Jhunnar – two conflict hotspots in Maharashtra – since translocation of trapped animals to other places was stopped. "Now, the trapped leopards are released in the same area and seldom cause trouble," she said.

Shrinking habitats is the most cited cause of conflict. "Leopards are great survivors," said co-founder of Wildlife SOS Kartick Satyanarayan, whose team members were almost beaten up trying to rescue the leopard at Kheri Gujran.

"They have traditionally lived at the edge of human habitations. Now, more and more unused land where leopards usually live unseen by humans is being developed."

Athreya said the government needs to study all aspects of this complex problem if the majestic feline is to co-exist peacefully with humans – as is still the case in many parts of the country
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Jackals endangering flight safety at Kolkata airport

KOLKATA: Last week a jackal strayed onto the runway of the N S C Bose International Airport here forcing the pilot of an aircraft to abort take off and delayed two incoming flights.

The jackals as well as birds are attracted to garbage dumped from markets in areas surrounding the airport which pose a danger to air safety.

Adding to the problems is the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)'s recent ban on using guns and firecrackers to scare away birds and animals from the airport premises.

The problem was discussed at a meeting of the Airfield Environment Committee headed by West Bengal home secretary G D Gautama with officials of the local civic bodies around the airport and the Airports Authority of India two weeks ago.

"Garbage attracts birds and animals, including jackals and wildcats causing trouble for airport operations," airport Director R Srinivasan said.

"Steps have been taken to keep the area adjacent to the airport clean and free from garbage," he said.

Cages have been set up by the forest department inside the airport to trap jackals.

"We are keeping in touch with forest department officials. Recently some jackals and wildcats have been caged," Srinivasan said.

The BCAS recently relaxed its directive on use of firecrackers to scare away birds and animals at the airport.

It, however, stipulated that firecrackers when used should be done in the presence of the Central Industrial Security Force, which is incharge of the security of the airport.

Airport sources said the relaxation has not helped matters much. The sources also said though a few jackals were trapped in cages, it was not proving to be effective.

"Since jackals are clever animals, they have understood the danger to them and avoid the cages," sources said
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Feeding birds impact male mating chances

LONDON: Feeding birds can delay their dawn chorus, says new research, which pointed out that the extra food could have a major impact on male mating chances.

Scientists have discovered that the growing trend of providing wild birds with food such as sunflower seeds and fat balls is changing their behaviour.

As well as causing songbirds to delay the dawn chorus by 20 minutes, or skip it altogether, the extra food could have a major impact on male mating chances, the journal Animal Behaviour reports.

"Dawn singing is used to show off to females and keep away competitors, so delaying or skipping song at dawn may have detrimental effects on male chances of paternity," says Valentin Amrhein, zoologist at the University of Basel, Switzerland, who led the study, according to the Telegraph.

"Our advice is to keep feeding birds in gardens during the winter when it can save lives, but stop feeding by the end of March to avoid the breeding season."

Around 48 percent of Britain households now provide food for wild birds, according to the researchers.

It began as a way of helping birds survive the winter, but the scientists say birds in urban areas are now often fed well into the breeding season or even all year-round.

The scientists investigated the effects of extra food on the great tit, one of the best-known visitors at garden feeders.

The springtime study compared the dawn song behaviour of birds with and without access to supplied food.

It found 36 percent of the birds with supplementary food skipped the dawn singing altogether - nearly four times the rate of the other birds.

Of those that did sing, the average chorus for fed birds was 20 minutes later than for those without extra food.

Scientists believe birds could become reliant on provided food, making it less necessary to forage early. An alternative theory is that the additional food may attract predators, or rival males, which distract the birds.

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Lightning strikes, rat bites, falling off toilet-how Brits got injured in 2010!

LONDON: Rat bites, lighting strikes, falling off toilets-are some of the top reason why Brits had to run to the hospital in 2010, reveals new data.

Yearly hospital admissions data has revealed a number of unusual reasons for trips to the emergency room.

According to the NHS figures, seventy-five people needed treatment for lightning strikes.

There were 460 admissions nationally for injuries from a powered lawn mower, 1,120 from wasp, bee or hornet incidents, 30 due to 'cataclysmic storms' and 24 for rat bites.

The figures come from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) inpatient data for the financial year ending April 2010.

There were 3,680 injured riders or passengers on animal-drawn vehicles and 6,419 people who fell on or off a ladder.

As many as 1,419 patients fell out of trees and 310 injuries from contact with plant thorns, spines and sharp leaves.

And 2,079 admissions got injured while being carried or supported by other persons (including being dropped) and 46,463 were due to a fall on the same level (including falling from or off a toilet).

"The databases show the wide variety of different accidents people have had," the Daily Mail quoted a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, as saying.

"Some of them sound fairly light-hearted but these are accidents that result in people having to be admitted to hospital.

"The good news is that most accidents are preventable. A bit of forward planning and thinking about any possible risks can help," said the spokesman.

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National park celebrates World Wildlife Week

Mumbai, October 04 A guided walk through the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), wildlife and bird watching, lion and tiger safaris, films and documentaries, instructive talks and a special wildlife programme for morning walkers. These are some of the star attractions the SGNP has planned to commemorate the World Wildlife Week with, from October 1 to 7.
On Saturday, the park has planned a special walk-through for senior citizens. Officials said, “This programme is especially for senior citizens, who come to the park every morning. They show great enthusiasm and are always eager to learn,” they said.

The park has also organised special lion and tiger safaris through the week. According to K D Bharathi, rounds officer at the park, “We have arranged buses that will take people up close to the wild cats. We have created special enclosures in the park in such a way that the animals will be completely free, and the buses will go through a fenced walkway.”

On Thursday, state minister for forest Babanrao Pachpute visited the Manpada, Thane section of the national park to celebrate the week and talk to children. He address students and journalists at the park and answered queries. Thursday’s programmes started at 9 am with a bird watching walk for school students, forest officials and general public, followed by a documentary on wildlife.

A representative in the Nature Information centre (NIC) also said a drawing competition for schoolchildren was held on October 1. “About 30 children participated in the competition. Those from standards I to IV drew butterflies and those from standards V to VII drew lion. The seniors from standards VIII to X had the most difficult assignment: they were asked draw pack or herd animals. Of course, the children showed great creativity,” he said. The winners of the competition will be announced on October 6.

Exhibition on endangered birds
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is also holding an exhibition on ‘Endangered Birds’ at Hornbill House till October 10, to commemorate Wildlife Week.

The exhibition will remain open to public between 11 am and 6 pm

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Wild life migration in full swing to Wayanad Wild life Sanctuary

When the mercury rises in the Neelgiri Biosphere the seasonal migration of wild animals has begun from the adjacent wild life sanctuaries in Karnataka and Tamilnadu to Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary (WWLS) in search of fodder and water.

The sanctuary is a haven for the wild animals such as wild elephants, gaur, different species of antelopes, bears and numerous birds during the summer season. Easy availability of fodder and water through out the year is the attraction of the sanctuary.

The annual migration usually begins from the end of February and it will continue till the advent of monsoon. The forest department has made highly structured measures to assure the availability of fodder, water and protection measures for the migrating wild guests.

Though water scarcity is not affected the sanctuary till now, two temporary check dams is being built inside the sanctuary, where the streams may dry up during summer, a forest official told The Hindu on Sunday . He added that they have a tender machine with a water storage capacity of 3000 litres and we can pump water where ever necessary.

More over, the construction work of a new earthen dam will begin soon at Muthappankolly, an important habitat of wild elephants in Muthanga range under the WWLS at a cost of Rs.3 lakhs, he said.

As a part of the fodder management, the coarse grasslands have been trimmed to grow the soft grasses in the sanctuary for ensuring the fodder security for the herbivores, the officials said.

The sanctuary has been closed till 31 March as a part of generating a trouble free movement for the migrating wild animals from Muthumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu and Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, The official said.

Apart from the 17 permanent anti poaching camps and two watch towers at important strategic points inside the sanctuary as many as 9 newly erected tree top machans (temporary watch towers) have been started functioning this year and forest officials including guards and watchers have been deployed there to alert against poaching and wild fire.

Jungle patrolling has also been introduced during the season led by a deputy forest range officer and the regular patrolling under the forest range officers in 4 ranges under the sanctuary is intensified inside the sanctuary. As a fire season as many as 130 watchers have been deployed inside the sanctuary including 70 newly appointed temporary watchers .

The watchers were equipped with binoculars for observation and wireless apparatus. Free rationing is also provided for the as they are working in remote areas, the officials said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

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Rediscovered rare bird in Afghan protected list

Afghanistan’s fledging conservation agency moved on Sunday to protect one of the world’s rarest birds after the species was rediscovered in the war-ravaged country’s northeast.

The remote Pamir Mountains are the only known breeding area of the large-billed reed warbler, a species so elusive that it had been documented only twice before in more than a century.

A researcher with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled upon the tiny, olive-brown bird during a wildlife survey in 2008 and taped its distinctive song. Later, a research team caught and released 20 of the birds — the largest number ever recorded.

On Sunday, Afghanistan’s National Environment Protection Agency added the large-billed reed warbler to its list of protected species, which was established only last year.

Mustafa Zahir, the agency’s director-general, acknowledged the difficulties of trying to protect wildlife in a country preoccupied with the Taliban insurgency. On Friday, suicide attackers killed 16 people in Kabul, the capital, and thousands of Afghan and NATO forces are fighting to root out the hard-line Islamists from their southern stronghold.

But Mr. Zahir, who is the grandson of Afghanistan’s former king, said the discovery of the large-billed reed warbler provided some welcome positive news.

“It is not true that our country is full of only bad stories,” Mr. Zahir said. “This bird, after so many years, has been discovered here. Everyone thought it was extinct.”

The bird’s discovery in Afghanistan kicked off a small flurry in conservation circles.

The large-billed reed warbler was first documented in India in 1867 but wasn’t found again until 2006 — with a single bird in Thailand. The Pamir Mountains, in the sparsely populated Badakhshan province near China, is now home to the world’s only known large population of the bird.

The Afghan environmental agency also added 14 other species to the protected list on Sunday. It now includes 48 species including the rare snow leopard, the Asiatic cheetah and the markhor, a type of wild goat with large spiral horns.

While conservation efforts are in their infancy in Afghanistan, there have been some recent successes. Authorities in Badakhshan last week seized a snow leopard from villagers who had trapped it and planned to sell it. The snow leopard — one of an estimated 150 left in the wild — will be freed once its injuries from the trap are healed, Mr. Zahir said.

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Proposed Nilgiris elephant corridor runs into resistance

Tension is simmering over a proposed elephant corridor in the Ooty foothills. While conservationists say this is essential to restore the man-nature balance, farmers and property owners are questioning the State government’s decision to acquire 7,000 acres of fertile land for it.

The whole area from the Bandipur reserve forest in Karnataka, adjoining the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary of Tamil Nadu and the foothills of Ooty, was once untouched “tusker territory”, say wildlife activists.

Humans have now intruded into the wilderness and encroached upon the UNESCO-recognised Nilgiri biosphere reserve comprising more than 5,000 sq km in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, they say.

Of the around 2,000 elephants in the southern peninsula, half are in the three contiguous, ecologically sensitive sanctuaries.

An Australian outfit called Rain Forest is spearheading a movement to persuade official agencies to review decisions to locate developmental projects in the threatened elephant habitat.

While officials deny that land acquisition for the elephant corridor has already been initiated, residents say under the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forest Act, 1947, proceedings have begun in Masinagudi, Mavanallah, Bokkapuram, Vazhaithottam, Anaikatty and Sigur.

This village, which is to be part of the corridor, is around 28 km from the hill resort of Ooty.

Agriculturists say the land in question is being used for cultivation by more than 18,000 farmers. D. Prasad Reddy of the Nilgiris Farmers Association said this was gross injustice to farmers.

Farmers, traders, residents and resort owners under the banner of the Farmers and Landowners Association have been demonstrating regularly. A shutdown was observed by the transporters and merchants of the area, while property owners displayed black badges in protest in early February to oppose the new elephant corridor.

A farmer said their main occupation had been agriculture for more than 500 years and now “more than 2,000 families would be displaced”.

Another farmer in the area said, “The more than 10,000 Sri Lankan refugees have not been touched by the Tamil Nadu government’s move to provide the elephant corridor.”

Narsimhan, president of the Masinagudi Circle Farmers’ Association, apprehended that locals would be forcibly evicted from their land and in return would receive peanuts as compensation.

Locals also allege that the Madras High Court order of November 6, asking the forest department to provide detailed maps demarcating elephant corridors in the Nilgiris for conservation, was being used by the authorities to secure village land to attract foreign funds for conservation projects.

Villagers say the movement and the actual number of elephants in the area should have been properly studied and satellite imagery scientifically analysed before starting the acquisition proceedings.

Villagers of Vazhaithottam, translated as “banana fields,” say the area was never part of the corridor.

A property owner in a village in the Masinagudi panchayat said on condition of anonymity: “We are wondering if the authorities are planning to create a new elephant sanctuary in place of a corridor, which is normally defined as a narrow passage.

“The land belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, even if it falls on the corridor route, will not be touched. Also, one fails to comprehend the logic of official agencies in blaming ‘outsiders’ for purchasing land here. Under the constitution of India, any citizen can own property anywhere without the tag of an outsider.”

State government officials after a recent public hearing at Masinagudi said public opinion was being ascertained and views of the various interest groups were being collected as per the orders of the high court.

Anand Rao Patil, the Nilgiri district collector, has said the opinions of affected parties would be conveyed to the government. More than 150 petitions have been submitted.

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Parambikulam Tiger Reserve opened

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the tiger population in 18 of the 38 tiger reserves in the country “may die out any time.”

Inaugurating the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, the 38th in the country, at Anappadi (Parambikulam), he said there were only nine functioning tiger reserves in the country.

The tiger population in the reserves of Sariska (Rajasthan) and Panna (Madhya Pradesh) had almost become extinct. The main reason was poaching, mining and operation by real estate mafia in these areas. “They have finished off the tigers in order to lay their claim on the forests. To save the tigers, we have to save our forests.”

He said the Central government would pay Rs.2 crore annually to each tiger reserve. It would also meet the expenses incurred for relocating people from the core area. Nearly 1 lakh families were living in the core areas of tiger reservesand 3,000 families relocated. The Centre would pay Rs.10 lakh each to the family willing to relocate. There was no compulsion to move out.

In the Parambikulam Reserve, 250 families were living in the core area. Of this, 78 had expressed ‘initial willingness’ to relocate. The government would compensate them.

The Minister said the Centre would provide financial assistance to the Kerala Forest Department to acquire the Pachakanam Estate, situated inside the Periyar Reserve. The Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary would be inaugurated on April 11 and the Indira Gandhi Bio-diversity Institute at Silent Valley in May or June.

The Minister expressed the hope that Kerala Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac would present a ‘green budget,’ where there would be lot of incentives for the protection of forest and environment.

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Scientist discovers Himalayan wildcat haven

A little-known rainforest in north-east India could be home to the world’s largest number of wildcat species, with no less than seven species photo-documented by a wildlife biologist at the end of her two-year survey.

Kashmira Kakati’s camera-trap shots reveal that the wildcats share a relatively small, 500 sq.km. patch of rainforest in the Jeypore-Dehing lowlands in Assam, which includes the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Among the cats are the elusive and rare clouded leopard ( Neofelis nebulosa), the marbled cat ( Pardofelis marmorata) and the Asian golden cat ( Catopuma temminckii), besides the relatively more widely distributed tiger ( Panthera tigris), the leopard ( Panthera pardus), the leopard cat ( Prionailurus bengalensis), and the jungle cat ( Felis chaus).

“To discover what is, most likely, the maximum number of wild cat species sharing a single area gives us a mere glimpse of what species the Jeypore-Dehing forests hold,” says Jim Sanderson, biologist, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Cat Specialist Group. “That such a place still exists will attract naturalists and scientists alike to make even more discoveries, but only if the Jeypore-Dehing forests receive the protection they so clearly deserve.”

The discovery comes in the backdrop of growing concern among environmentalists over deforestation, poaching, crude oil and coal extraction and mega hydro-electric projects that threaten the ecology of the eastern Himalayas. However, new wildlife species continue to be discovered in this part of the eastern Himalayas — listed as a “biodiversity hotspot” — comprising Bhutan, parts of northeast India and Nepal.

Twelve other carnivore species were also recorded in the Kakati survey, among them the endangered dhole (Asiatic Wild Dog), the Malayan sun bear, binturong, mongoose, otter and civets. And among the 45 mammals documented are six species of primates, deer, porcupine, wild pig and rodents, which are prey for the rainforest carnivores. The discovery is significant in that it points to the importance of protecting less-known patches of wilderness in the country that hold tremendous biodiversity, says Ravi Chellam of the Wildlife Conservation Society-India Program. “It also places enormous emphasis on the need for more structured research.”

Sarala Khaling, regional coordinator of Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) in the eastern Himalayas, says: “It is now time for extractive industries operating in and around the area to [begin] partnering with conservation organisations and local communities to preserve the area’s incredible biodiversity.”

Dr. Kakati’s research was supported by the Assam Forest Department and funded by the CEPF, the Wildlife Conservation Society–India Program and the Rufford Small Grants Foundation, United Kingdom.

Source: The Hindu

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Elephant corridor, a New Year gift to Karnataka jumbos

NEW DELHI: It's a new year gift to nearly 1,000 elephants and other wild species who can now wander freely without any human interference through the Kollegal corridor in Karnataka. 

This has been made possible by an NGO, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) supported by its partner - the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which has purchased nearly 25 acre-Kollegal (Edayarhalli-Doddasampige) elephant corridor from private ownership and transferred to the state government.

The corridor which connects Kollegal forests to Biligiri Ranganswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary would be soon notified to be made a part of a protected area as Karnataka Forest Department officials and WTI signed the land ownership transfer agreement last week.

"Purchasing corridor land for securement is a very good initiative to re-establish the habitat and remove impediments to elephant movement. Generally, these kind of initiatives are easier with involvement of NGOs rather than government doing it alone.

"More corridors need to be secured similarly to ensure long-term conservation of elephants," said Biswajit Misra, Karnataka deputy conservator of forests.

Simultaneously, people will be made aware of the status and significance of the corridor, he added.

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Elephants to be banished from all zoos

NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three elephants. In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday to the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140, should be sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as possible.

According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not the best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos. Elephants are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.

According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA, India had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of these, Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.

Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various zoos and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following standards set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.

Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi Zoo's resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime soon. Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the Zimbabwian government.

Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states and the CZA.

Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had reservations on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the principal of ex-situ conservation."There is merit in this decision. It is best for them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants needs a lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived that space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF India.

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Superbugs that Dine on Antibiotics

There's something lurking about your garden, weaving in and out of your vegetables and making itself at home. You can't see it, but it's there. Deep down under the soil lies a ravenous 'ultrabug', a bacterium able to survive only on antibiotics - the very drugs that are supposed to kill it.

Recently, while hunting for soil bacteria that can turn plant waste to biofuels, a team of microbiologists led by George Church of Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, found a strain of Pseudomonas bacteria (right) that could survive on antibiotics. The researchers collected soil bacteria from many places such as farms, forests and parks around the northeast United States and Minnesota.

They used antibiotics as an experimental control; and discovered that these bacteria were able to survive on many different antibiotics, both natural and manmade, including frequently used antibiotics for childhood illnesses. In all cases, not only did the bacteria just survive but they flourished while eating the antibiotics.

How could this happen? Should we be concerned? And is this the next superbug?

Beneficial Germs

Most people think of bacteria as "germs," invisible creatures that can invade our bodies and make us sick.

However, not all bacteria are harmful; in fact, many bacteria are quite useful. There are over a thousand types of bacteria in the normal human intestines that make vitamins such as folic acid and vitamin K, and can also help digest milk proteins such as lactose. Other bacteria help clean up oil spills by devouring the oil as food. Some bacteria decompose compost, garbage and sewage and help make methane which is used as fuel. It's difficult to imagine our life without some of these bacteria.

Interestingly, bacteria can also be found everywhere from soil, water, acidic hot springs and radioactive waste (left), to locations deep in the Earth's crust, as well as in plants and animals. These bacteria are essential for the stable ecosystem in which we live.

Bacteria also play a major role in scientific research and drug development. Bacteria in the lab can be genetically engineered to make proteins that are useful for humans, such as insulin and human growth hormone. Certain human genes that are responsible for making proteins such as insulin are inserted into bacteria like E. coli, to produce synthetic 'human' insulin in large quantities.

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