WILDLIFE OF INDIA

India boasts a variety of species and organisms.[1] Apart from a handful of the major farm animals such
as cows, buffaloes, goats, chickens, and both Bactrian Camels and, Dromedary Camels, India has an
amazingly wide spectrum of animals native to the country. It is home to Bengal and Indochinese tigers,
Asiatic Lions, Leopards, Snow Leopards, Clouded Leopards, various species of Deer, including Chital,
Hangul, Barasingha; the Indian Elephant, the Great Indian Rhinoceros, and many more amongst
others.[2][3] The region's rich and diverse wildlife is preserved in 120+ national parks, 18 Bio-reserves and
500+ wildlife sanctuaries across the country. India has some of the most biodiverse regions of the world
and hosts three[4] of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots[5] – or treasure-houses – that is the Western
Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma.[6] Since India is home to a number of rare and threatened
animal species, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these species.[7] India is one
of the seventeen megadiverse countries. According to one study, India along with other 16 mega diverse
countries is home to about 60-70% of the world's biodiversity.[8] India, lying within the Indomalaya
ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian (bird), 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of
flowering plant species

Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, to which India originally
belonged. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with, the Laurasian landmass
set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic change 20 million years ago caused
the extinction of many endemic Indian forms.[10] Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia
through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya.[11] As a result, among
Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of
reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians.[9] Notable endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and
carmine Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated
threatened species.[12] These include the Asian elephant, the Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, Indian rhinoceros,
mugger crocodile, and Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the
carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.

India is home to several well-known large mammals, including the Asian elephant, Bengal and
Indochinese tigers,[13][14] Asiatic lion, Indian leopard,[15] Indian sloth bear and Indian rhinoceros. Some
other well-known large Indian mammals are: ungulates such as the rare wild Asian water buffalo,
common domestic Asian water buffalo, gail, gaur, and several species of deer and antelope. Some
members of the dog family, such as the Indian wolf, Bengal fox and golden jackal, and the dhole or wild
dogs are also widely distributed. However, the dhole, also known as the whistling hunter, is the most
endangered top Indian carnivore, and the Himalayan wolf is now a critically endangered species
endemic to India.[citation needed] It is also home to the striped hyena, macaques, langur and mongoose
species.

There are about 17500 taxa of flowering plants from India. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 helped to
improve protection of the natural habitat. Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, also exhibit
extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.[16][17]
India's forest cover ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and
Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated
moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern
India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.[11]
Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies.

Why it is imperative to protect the wildlife in India? Well, it cannot be debated that India is a storehouse
of many animals like the mighty Royal Bengal tigers, majestic Asiatic lions, huge elephants, rare one-
horned rhinos and birds. With plenty of exotic animals to see, it becomes a duty of every citizen of India
besides the government to carve out various ways or plans to protect wildlife, the integral heritage of
India. Let us try to gauge out certain dangers or reasons responsible for the decreasing count of animals
 The most vital reason largely responsible for the dwindling wildlife count in India is illegal
poaching and trading. Every year, many innocent animals are killed by the greedy poachers just
to satisfy their lure for money. They slay down the animals to trade their flesh, teeth, bone and
skin in exchange of for cash, gold and weapons.
 In the western market, the demand for the products made from their skin, fur or bone is very
high. The horrifying fact here is that the money involved in the black marketing of the products
is very high. The desire of making quick money in short span of time drive poor and needy
people to kill the animals.
 Many companies discharge harmful chemicals into the rivers that the animals use for drinking.
The deadly chemicals poison the water that can prove fatal for the existence of wildlife and
most importantly aquatic animals.
 A large part of the forest area is cleaned just to set up new companies or homes. This act leads
to loss of habitat for animals. Sometimes, there have been instances when the animals
wandered into the cities or towns in search for food. People get frightened after seeing the
animals in their region and kill them.

Due to the growing impact of deforestation, continuous efforts are being made by some anxious animal
lovers to protect the endangered species of wildlife as well as those that are on the verge of extinction
and thus save the world from running out its green heritage. Wildlife is important for four main reasons:
 Beauty: By their unique way of existence, wild creatures exaggerate the natural beauty of the
earth.
 Economic value: The financial value of wild species is important to the economies of several
nations, as it provides many valuable substances like wood and other plant products, fibers,
meat and other foods, and skins and furs.
 Scientific value: By studying wildlife, scientists have gained valuable knowledge about various
life processes and discovered important medical products
 Survival value: Wildlife helps in maintaining the balanced living systems of earth, which
consequently ensures survival of life.

In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system
of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972,
India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; further federal
protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 515 wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 18
biosphere reserves, 10 of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 26 wetlands are
registered under the Ramsar Convention.

To promote wildlife awareness among the people, the Indian government has started various natural
projects and programs such as Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges. These projects not only
help to preserve our natural heritage, but encourage eco-tourism as well. Besides, there is the Gir
National Park, the only habitat for Asiatic lions in India. The Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary is Assam is
renowned for protecting the endangered one-horned Rhinoceros. There's also Dachigam National Park,
which conserves the Hangul or Kashmiri Stag. The NGOs - Gir National Park, Gujarat- Asiatic Lion that is
close to extinction is found in the GIr National Park, Gujarat.

 Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam - Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam has been established to protect
the endangered Rhinoceros.
 Periyar in Kerala - At Periyar, Kerala Wild elephants are preserved.
 Dachigam National Park- Efforts are made to save Kashmiri Stag

Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

3.29 million sq. km of area comes under the wildlife conservations efforts in India and it is becoming a
very popular wildlife holiday destinations both for Indian as well as International tourists. At present
there are more than 500 wildlife sanctuaries in India and seventeen Biosphere Reserves.

Popular Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

 Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh

 Corbett National Park in Uttar Pradesh
 Gir National Park & Sanctuary in Gujarat
 Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh
 Kaziranga National Park in Assam
 Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala
 Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan
 Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal

Biosphere Reserves

Government of India has initiated an effort to conserve wildlife, both flora and fauna including human
communities living under Biosphere Reserves. Biosphere Reserves are actually the areas defined by the
Government of India for protecting the above said in their natural habitat. There are seventeen
Biosphere Reserves in India at present. Achanakmar-Amarkantak, Agasthyamalai, Dibru Saikhowa,
Dihang Dibang, Great Nicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Kachchh ,Kangchenjunga, Manas, Nanda Devi, The
Nilgiris, Nokrek, Pachmarhi, Simlipal, Sundarbans, Cold desert, Seshachalam hills

National Parks of India

First national park of India was established in 1935 under the name of Hailey National Park that is now
known as Jim Corbett National Park. Till 1970 there were only five national parks in India but the
number rose to 96 by April 2007.

CONSERVATION CENTERS IN INDIA

A number of Conservation Centers have been set up in India for the purpose of studying, propagating,
conserving and for the betterment of the highly endangered species of wildlife, both flora and fauna.
These Conservation Centers can be divided into Wildlife Reserves, Conservation Centers and Wildlife
Sanctuaries.
Famous Wildlife Reserves in India

 Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

 Bandipur Conservation Center, Karnataka
 Bandhavgarh Conservation Center, Madhya Pradesh
 Corbett Conservation Center, U.P
 Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh
 Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan
 Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam
 Tadoba Tiger Reserve
 Pench Tiger Reserve
 Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh

Famous Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

 Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary

 Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
 Gir Conservation Center and Sanctuary, Gujarat
 Kalsubai Harischandragad Sanctuary in the Western Ghats
 Thattekad Bird Sanctuary in Kerala.
 Mudumalai Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
 Chilika Lake, Orissa
 Bhitarkanika Sanctuary, Orissa
 Satkosia - Baisipalli Sanctuary, Orissa
 Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
 Lawalong Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
 Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
 Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
 Topchanchi Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
 Kabar Lake Bird Sanctuary, Bihar
 Kedarnath Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh
 Askot Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh
 Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh

The NGOs - There are also various NGOs working on wildlife conservation in India such as Wildlife
Society of Orissa (Orissa), Rhino Foundation for Nature (Assam), Friends of Forests (Maharashtra), North
Eastern Society for Preservation of Nature and Wildlife (West Bengal), Nature's Beckon (Assam), Nature
Conservation Society Amravati (Maharashtra), The Friends of the Doon (Uttaranchal) and Bali Nature
and Wild Life Conservation Society (West Bengal).

For all the animal lovers, wildlife enthusiasts and in fact, for all of us, these initiatives should serve as
inspiration!

1. Project Tiger
Project Tiger is a scheme centrally sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change. This scheme covers around 47 tiger reserves located across more than 17 regions populated
with tigers. Project Tiger mainly focuses on conducting assessments of number of tigers, their habitat,
hunting habits, etc. All these activities are sanctioned by the Tiger Task Force.

Project Tiger was formed in 1972 and launched on the 1st April 1973 at Corbett National Park. Till date,
the project has been the most successful one in preserving the tiger population at Tiger Reserves in
Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Pench, Ranthambhore, Kanha, Bandipur, Panna, Dudhwa, Sunderbans, Manas
and Sariska. All these reserves act as Conservation Centers for tigers in India.

Though the initial push for the action was constituted by the growing concern to protect the Royal
Bengal Tigers, the disturbing data presented by the 1972 All India Tiger Census, which enumerated the
Tiger population at an alarming 1,827 as compared to the figure of 40,000 present at the turn of 20th
century called for immediate action to curb the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the
disturbance of viable tiger habitats. Thus following steps were taken:
 Thus, a national ban was imposed on Tiger Hunting in 1970
 The Wildlife Protection Act came into force in 1972
 Project Tiger was launched in 1973 and various tiger reserves were created in the country based
on a 'core-buffer' strategy.

The management strategy of each Tiger Reserve functioned in accordance to certain core principles
mentioned below:

 All forms of human exploitation and biotic disturbance to be eliminated from the core zone and
any activities carried out in the buffer zone should not impeach the wildlife habitat.
 Any habitat management carried out should be subject to redressing the damage caused by
human interference in order to restore the ecosystem to its original state.
 Changes in flora and fauna are to be documented for research purpose.

In the initial phase of Project Tiger only 9 Tiger Reserves were established in different States during the
period of 1973-74 by the joint effort of Central and State Governments. At present the number has
grown to 28 reserves in 2006 with a total Tiger population of over 1000 tigers from a mere 268 in 9
reserves in 1972.

2. Project Elephant

Project Elephant, a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in February 1992 to provide financial and
technical support to major elephant bearing states in India for protection of elephants, their habitats
and corridors. The Project, involving 25 Elephant Reserves across the country, is being implemented in
13 States and Union Territories in India, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand,
Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal.

For a better understanding of the main activities of the Project, they are listed below:
 Ecologically restoring the existing natural habitats and migratory routes of elephants
 Developing of scientific methods for conservation of elephant habitats and viable population of
Wild Asiatic elephants in India and ensuring their continuance through planned management.
  Promoting measures for mitigating man-elephant conflict in crucial habitats and as far as
possible negating the undue pressures of human and domestic stock activities in crucial
elephant habitats
 Ensuring strictest adherence to "No poaching" acts formulated for Wild elephants and
minimizing cases of unnatural deaths of elephants due to human or other interference.
 Research on Elephant management related issues.
 Conducting Public education and awareness programmes.
 Providing for veterinary care of the wild elephants.
 Undertaking Eco-development as a major step to fortify their efforts at wildlife conservation.

3. Crocodile Conservation Project

Launched in 1976, the main objective of this project is to protect the three most endangered species of
crocodile: the fresh water crocodile, gharials and salt water crocodiles. The Crocodile Conservation
Project undertakes captive breeding of various species of crocodiles, looks after the hatching and rearing
of gharials in order to decrease the mortality rate of crocodiles. Under Gharial Rehabilitation Project,
about 200 gharials were sheltered and consequently released in the Ramganga River in Corbett National
Park.

4. GOI - UNDP Sea Turtle Project

Executed by Ministry of Environment along with Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, The Government
of India- UNDP Sea Turtle Project works to protect sea turtles. Launched in 1999, this project carries out
rigorous surveys along the coastal areas, checks the community and legal conservation, creates
awareness, gathers information about main nesting areas and also provides training to fisheries
managers, researchers and biologists.

5. Vulture Conservation

Because of a serious decline in the population of the main species of vulture, a series of meetings and
seminars are being held in India in order to address the need for vulture conservation. The National
Workshop held in New Delhi in 2004, for the same cause was attended by Chief Wildlife Wardens, BNHS
(Bombay Natural History Society), SACON (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History,
Coimbatore), GEER (Gujarat Ecological and Education Research Foundation, Gandhinagar), Department
of Animal Husbandry et al

6. Indian Rhino Vision 2020

India Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 is an effort of pact made by the Bodoland Territorial Council, WWF (World
Wildlife Fund), IRF (International Rhino Fund) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The main objective of
IRV is to conserve at least 3000 greater one-horned rhinos in Assam, India by 2020.

7. The Corbett Foundation

The Corbett Foundation involves actions taken by passionate men and women who wish to protect
wildlife and bring forth harmony. This Foundation raises funds, conserves various ecosystems, draws the
government’s attention towards major wildlife issues and promotes wildlife research projects. This
foundation works for protection of other regions such as Bandhavgarh, Kutch and Kanha as well.

8. Wildlife Institute of India

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was established in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India in 1982 with an aim to
provide training and courses, and promote wildlife research and management. WII is actively involved in
research of biodiversity and major wildlife issues in India.

9. WWF- India

World Wildlife Fund- India started working at Horn Bill House, Mumbai. Today, WWF- India happens to
be the largest voluntary organization which works for wildlife as well as nature conservation. WWF-
India promotes various academic, field projects for biodiversity and even spreads awareness about
enviro-legal actions. Through strategic alliance with TRAFFIC India, WWF- India helps state governments
and agencies to stop illicit wildlife trade.

10. Nature Conservation Foundation

Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) works in varied animal habitats, including that of coral reefs,
tropical rainforests and as far as the Himalayas. NCF works to know the fundamental needs of elephants,
snow leopards and even spiders and corals. NCF even conducts research in order to address the impact
of commercial usage and its effects on ecology.