Painted storks and ibises forage in a shallow pond near the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, on the opening day of the City Nature Challenge 2026 in Visakhapatnam on Friday. | Photo credit: KR DEEPAK
The four-day (April 24-27) global “City Nature Challenge 2026” began on Friday, with participants from various cities documenting urban biodiversity. Due to the prevailing temperature conditions, activity remained modest on opening day.
Vivek Rathod, a naturalist from Visakhapatnam, described the initiative: “The event brings together cities around the world in a ‘friendly competition’ to record and observe as many species as possible in public spaces such as parks, resorts and natural habitats. “Participants take photos of flora and fauna and upload them to the iNaturalist platform, which automatically records the location, date and time. Even if you don’t know the species, the platform helps identify it,” he said.
Published – 24 April 2026 22:45 IST
