About Red-necked Phalarope:

• It is a fairly small shorebird known for spinning frantically on water to stir up small invertebrates.
• Distribution: It is found in both boreal and tundra ecosystems.
• Appearance and behavior of Red-necked Phalarope:
  • Food: The bird mainly feeds on small aquatic invertebrates and plankton.
  • It exhibits a typical feeding behavior of spinning on the surface of water.
  • Conservation status: IUCN: Least concern

About Papikonda National Park:

• It is located in the East Godavari and West Godavari Districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Established in 2008, the park lies along the banks of the Godavari River, encompassing a rugged landscape with steep slopes, hills, and deep valleys.
• The geology of the park is characterized by the Eastern Ghats range.
  • Devara Konda is the highest point.
• The national park has been recognized as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife International.
• A unique dwarf breed of goat known locally as the “kanchu mekha” is found in this region.
• Vegetation: The park is characterized by tropical, moist deciduous forests mixed with patches of semi-evergreen and dry deciduous forests.
• Flora: The park is home to several types of trees, including teak, rosewood, sandalwood, bamboo, eucalyptus, sal, mahua, pterocarpus, terminalia, and cassia.
• Fauna:
  • Wildlife in Papikonda includes Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, and Indian wild dog (dhole).
  • The park is also home to various deer species, including sambar and spotted deer.

About New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM):

• It was developed between 1957 and 1965 in Austria.
• The main idea is to use the geological stress of the surrounding rock mass to stabilize the tunnel itself.
• The method uses the strength of the surrounding soil to the greatest extent possible to strengthen the tunnel structure.
• The operation occurs sequentially to take most advantage of the ground conditions.
• Additionally, NATM installs ground support on the go and on an as-needed basis, adding reinforcement to the shotcrete where necessary.
• NATM is best suited for short-range (> 2 km) tunnels in regions with variable soil conditions.

Key Facts about Thane Creek:

• It is one of the largest creeks in Asia and is located partly on the coast of the Mumbai metropolis.
• It is an inlet along the shoreline of the Arabian Sea that isolates the city of Mumbai from the Indian mainland.
• A major part of the creek has been declared a bird sanctuary called Thane Creek Flamingo Bird Sanctuary (TCFS).
• It was designated as a Ramsar site, a wetland of international significance, in 2022.

About Striped Dolphin:

• The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a streamlined oceanic dolphin, similar in shape and size to the common dolphin.
• It is among the most abundant and widespread dolphins in the world.
• Distribution:
  • It is found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans.
• Habitat:
  • They tend to prefer deeper, more offshore waters and can be found in oceanic waters over the continental shelves.
• Features:
  • The striped dolphin reaches 2.5-2.6 m (averaging around 2.2-2.3 m) in length, the males being slightly larger.
  • They have a long, defined rostrum and round forehead (known as a melon).
  • As the name suggests, the most recognisable features are the ‘stripes’. A dark grey stripe runs from the beak, above the eye, across the flank, and then down to the underside of the body. A second stripe runs below the eye to the pectoral flipper.
  • They are usually found in tight, cohesive groups of about 25 to 100 individuals.
  • They display a unique behavior called roto-tailing, when the animal leaps high out of the water and vigorously rotates its tail while airborne.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern