We asked a conservation expert about amazing animals endemic to this part of the world
The Indian subcontinent is home to a very unique climate system thanks to the Himalayas and this has given birth to a diverse set of species of animals that call the region home. “When thinking of endemic species, it is much more helpful to think of a natural region than countries divided by political borders,” says Dr Samir Kumar Sinha, the head of Conservation at the Wildlife Trust of India, conservation not-for-profit. “The whole region, as diverse as it is, forms an area with distinct biodiversity shared between the countries in it,” he explains. He is talking about a region that has four of 34 biodiversity hotspots (the Himalayas, Western Ghats, the North-East and the Nicobar Islands) and eight percent of recorded global species that includes more than 91,000 animals. While some of these species are found in other parts, a few are endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Sinha points out the unique species of big and medium-sized animals that you won’t find anywhere else, where you can go to see them and the challenges they face in modern times.
Asiatic lion or Indian lion (Panthera leo) is probably the best known endemic species based almost entirely in one geographical area around the dry teak forests of Gir National Park. While many live within the park boundaries, several subspecies have been found out in the surrounding wilds. There are around 350 Asiatic lions now and while the number hasn’t increased drastically recently, it has remained stable. The animal is still endangered with many instances of poaching and habitat degradation being the chief threats to the populations. The cat, much smaller than its African cousin, weighs in at no more than 230kg and once prowled an area stretching across the Middle East and Western India. But now, just this one small population remains.
Lion tailed macaque or wonderoo (Macaca silenus) roam the treetops of tropical rainforests in the Western Ghats in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They are some of the smallest macaques and get their name because of their distinctive appearance—black bodies with a distinguished-looking silver mane and a lion-like tail with a tuft at the tip. The females are slightly smaller than the males who also have menacing-looking canines they like to bear when a competing male is in its vicinity. Lion tailed macaques are endangered with around 2,500 still believed to be living in a rapidly shrinking and fragmented habitat, a result of ever-spreading human infrastructure and felling of trees. They have also been hunted in the past for bushmeat and for use in traditional medicine. You can see them on treetops in Silent Valley National Park and Periyar National Park in Kerala and New Amarambalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu among other such reserves in this part of the country.
Hangul, Kashmir stag or Kashmir red deer (Cervus hanglu) is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir. Endemic to the forest and grasslands around Dachigam National Park just outside Srinagar, this majestic looking species of deer with a crown of horns is critically endangered today with fewer than 150 of them believed to still inhabit the national park area, the Chenab valley area of Jammu and a few in Himachal Pradesh’s Chambal district. In the past, the species was believed to be “royal game” and protected as such but numbers have consistently declined over the years because of poaching and illegal hunting. Unless drastic changes are made, the hangul is expected to become extinct in the very near future.
Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) are ungulates that inhibit the rocky slopes of the Western and Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Somewhere between a sheep and a mountain goat, these feature horns that slope backwards from its head. They look like stocky goats and the males are slightly bigger and darker than the females and both have bristly hair on their head and neck. Adult males are easily recognisable by a light grey area on their backs called “saddleback”. While a protected species, it is endangered with no more than 2,000 Nilgiri tahr in the wild. Habitat degradation and illegal hunting are the major causes of the decline of the population. You can see the biggest cluster in Kerala’s Eravikulam National Park and Periyar National Park. A smaller population also lives on the peaks of the Anamalai Hills in Tamil Nadu.
Baransingha or Swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii) used to roam from the Indus river in present-day Pakistan to the Sundarbans in Bangladesh but now the species is extinct in both these countries. A small, vulnerable population lives in and around Kanha National Park and Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh and along the terai region in southern Nepal. Small populations of subspecies also call Manas National Park and Kaziranga National Park in Assam home. These big deer with impressive antlers weigh in at approximately 280kg but the females are slightly smaller and lighter. They have a wooly brown coat with pale spotting along the back and spine. Their hooves vary depending on their habitats – the ones that live in sal forests in central and northern India have different hooves than the ones that live in the marshy wetlands with tall grass. The biggest risk facing the decreasing barasingha population is a fragmented habitat caused by forests being cut down to make way for farming land. They are also poached for their antlers that are often used as decoration.
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is probably the most recognisable symbol of wildlife in the country. The animal is believed to have arrived in the subcontinent more than 12,000 years ago. Today, of the around 2,500 Bengal tigers thought to be in the wild, more than 1,700 are in India with smaller populations in neighbouring Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. India recently conducted a massive tiger census that has been recognised with a Guiness World Record as the largest one of its kind in the world. But the population has been declining steadily and the big cat is endangered thanks to severe degradation of habitat, lack of wildlife corridors and poaching. This downward trend has been addressed through a number of initiatives that have seen populations steady in certain parts of the country. Today these majestic big cats can be seen in any of India’s 50 tiger reserves in the Sunderbans, North Eastern India, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in parks including Sunderban National Park, Ranthambore National Park and Tadoba Andhari National Park.
The Greater one-horned rhinoceros, Great Indian Rhinoceros or Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) was almost wiped out at the start of the 20th Century with only 12 rhinos still left in Kaziranga National Park in Assam in 1905. The species has since been protected and numbers have steadily risen over the last century. There are now believed to be just under 3,600 one-horned rhinos in the wild, with just under 3,000 of them in India. The remaining population is in neighbouring Nepal. More than 70 percent of the population of Indian one-horned rhinos live in Assam along the riverine grasslands of the Brahmaputra basin with a scattering of groups in West Bengal and the terai region in Uttar Pradesh. It is still a vulnerable species despite the conservation success in bringing it back from the brink and its population is believed to be increasing. Poaching for use in medicine and habitat destruction result in conflict with humans and are major risks to the one-horned rhino.
https://www.cntraveller.in/story/made-in-india-wildlife-national-parks-karnataka-kerala-gujarat/
No comments:
Post a Comment