Important News Articles-For PSC

New species of reddish-brown pit viper from Arunachal Pradesh:

• This discovery of new species makes Arunachal Pradesh only Indian state to have a pit viper named after it.
• Scientific Name: Trimeresurus arunachalensis.
• With this, India is now home to fifth brown pit viper. The other four brown pit vipers are Hump-Nosed, Horseshoe, Malabar, and Himalayan.
• This new discovery makes Arunachal pit viper the second serpent to have been discovered in state after Crying Keelback, a non-venomous snake was found in Arunacal’s Lepa-Rada district in 2018.

Barn owls:

Why in News? With a thriving rat population playing havoc with its coconut yield, the UT of Lakshadweep hires barn owls for help.

Why barn owls?

• The reason is that the rats in the Lakshadweep Islands practically live on treetops. The coconut palms here grow so close together that they resemble a jungle. The fronds overlap, allowing the rodents to move easily from one tree to another.
• Besides, the nocturnal barn owls are natural rat hunters, armed with a powerful auditory mechanism. There is also an important environmental angle to Lakshadweep’s decision to choose biocontrol.
• The islands being a designated organic zone, use of chemicals for pest control is a strict no-no.

Apache Guardian attack helicopters:

Context: US aerospace major Boeing has handed over first of the 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force today.

AH-64E Apache:

• It is a leading multi-role attack helicopter and is flown by the US Army.
• The helicopter has been customised to suit the IAF’s future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain.
• It has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground.
• Its ability to transmit and receive the battlefield picture, to and from the weapon systems through data networking makes it a lethal acquisition.

Chilika lake:

Context: The extremely severe cyclone, Fani, has created four new mouths in Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lake, connecting to Bay of Bengal. Chilika lagoon had only two active mouths — the point where it meets the sea before Fani hit the Odisha coast on May 3. Four new mouths have opened due to wave energy with high tidal prism.

About Chilika Lagoon:

• It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest lagoon in the worldafter The New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.
• It is the largest wintering ground for migratory waterfowl found anywhere on the Indian sub-continent.
• It is one of the hotspot of biodiversity in the country, and some rare, vulnerable and endangered species listed in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals inhabit in the lagoon for atleast part of their life cycle.
• On account of its rich bio-diversity and ecological significance, Chilika was designated as the 1st “Ramsar Site” of India.
• The Nalaban Island within the lagoon is notified as a Bird Sanctuary under Wildlife (Protection) Act, the National Wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs Committee of Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, have also identified the lagoon as a priority site for conservation and management.
• Chilika Lagoon lies in the districts of Puri, Khurda and Ganjam of Odisha State along the eastern coast of India. It is well connected to the Chennai and Kolkata through National Highway No 5, and the Chennai Kolkata rail line passes along the western bank of the Lagoon Balugaon, with Balugaon, Chilika and Rambha being the main stations along the Western shoreline of the lagoon.