Donkeys are vanishing from Madhya Pradesh - China is to blame!

There is a mystery surrounding the donkeys of Madhya Pradesh that are disappearing - latest figures revealed by the state animal husbandry department reveal that these animals are disappearing faster than tigers. Going by the 19th census report, the donkey population in MP has gone down by 75 per cent - from 49,289 in 1997 to 14,916 in 2012.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 February 2017.

It seems China is to blame because it sources the animals from Madhya Pradesh and use them to produce medicinal tonics, aphrodisiacs and anti-ageing creams. They extract a gelatin from the hides of the donkeys - this gelatin is a key ingredient for ejiao which is one of China's most popular traditional remedies.
Ejiao is used for a variety of conditions including bleeding, dizziness, insomnia and dry cough and the edible form of ejiao is mixed with almonds and sesame seeds and served as a snack in certain parts of China. Donkey hides are being smuggled out of Madhya Pradesh to exporters in Delhi and Maharashtra at rock bottom prices of Rs 10-20 per hide.
Africa has banned sale of donkey hides to China and, hence, it has turned to India and Pakistan to meet its requirement of donkey hides.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New luxury cruise liner Seabourn Encore is labeled as 'sexiest ship at sea'

Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Rajghat gets a new look

200-year-old banyan tree uprooted by cyclone Vardah replanted in Chennai


The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed

Saraswati Puja means entering a new phase of life

Moody on UFO, Mangalyaan and Moon Mission for monkey baat (satire)


Naomie Harris gets Oscar nomination in the best-supporting actress category for Moonlight

Nicole Kidman could earn $8 million if she writes her autobiography

Sets of the film Padmavati in Jaipur vandalised, Bhansali cancels shooting


Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

Militants in Indonesia looking for women terrorists

Six people shot dead by gunmen in a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers

Donkeys in California freak out on seeing grass for the first time

A group of eight Arizona donkeys freaked out when they saw grass for the first time in their lives. They got the shock of their life when they were moved to a California ranch because, till then, they had been fed on hay. Montgomery Creek Ranch has posted a video of the moment the Black Mountain burros almost stood still in shock as they gazed at their new home.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 29 September 2016.

Montgomery Creek Ranch has explained that the video was filmed as the burros were first being introduced to the 'foreign' terrain. Since they had till then been fed only a diet of hay, the animals needed to be slowly introduced to the grass otherwise they would get sick very fast. They will graze in the small pasture so that they get used to it, and when they have adapted themselves to the new surroundings, they will be set loose.
Montgomery Creek Ranch is a wild horse sanctuary in Northern California and it gives refuge to horses and burros that have been removed from Western public lands.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

For pandal hoppers during Durga Pujas in Jamshedpur - try the pool bus service

Rejuvenate the lakes of Bengaluru - bring back the birds

Bengal unable to hold on to homegrown start-ups - they end up flourishing in other states


Lord Shiva in the world of deodorants (satire)

Didi off to Rome in search of goodies (satire)

Moody learns about honey traps (satire)


Syrian ceasefire breaks down - airstrike in Aleppo claims at least 45 civilian casualties

Construction begins on the Great Wall Of Calais to keep out illegal migrants

MI6 to recruit 1000 extra people to assist in solving modern day crimes


Tamil film Visaranai is India's official entry for Academy Awards 2017

Tension on the Indo-Pak border has its effect on Bollywood movies

Shah Rukh Khan could make a movie on tennis star Sania Mirza