Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. With large regional variation in physiography, climate and edaphic types, Indian forests offer a wide range of habitat types, which are responsible for a large variety of wild life in India
India has about 90,000 species of animals, which is about 6.5% of the world’s total species.
The following are the prominent animals found in India:
- Elephants are found in forests of Assam, West Bengal and in southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu
- One-horned Rhinocerous are confined to locations in Assam and West Bengal, and they survive under strict protection in the Kaziranga & Manas sanctuaries of Assam, and in the Jaldapara sanctuary of West Bengal
- Wild Buffalo is found in Assam and in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh
- Gaur or Indian Bison is one of the largest existing bovine and is found in forests of Central India
- Tigers are found in forests of eastern Himalayan foothills and in parts of the peninsular India
- Desert and Jungle Cats live in north western parts of the country
- Yak is found in Ladakh and is tamed to be used as draught animal
- Deer are found across all Indian forests
- Stag or Barasingha is found in Assam, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh
- Munjac or barking deer are found in the lower wooden slopes of the Himalayas
- Chinkara or the Indian Gazelle, Black Buck or Indian Antelope, Nilgai or Blue Bull, wild dog, fox are other mammals found in Indian forests
- Marsh Crocodile(Mugger) and long nosed Gharial are important large sized reptiles found in India
- India is rich in bird life as well, as there are about 2,000 species of birds in India
Preservation of Fauna
- The fast dwindling forest cover in India has adversely affected wildlife in the country
- Several species have been drastically reduced, while a few are endangered and some face extinction
- This calls for urgent measures for preserving wildlife
- The following measures could help in conserving Wildlife
- Implementing ban on hunting strictly, to the word of law
- Existing national parks and sanctuaries should be further taken care of, by providing better amenities for their monitoring & protection
- Seminars, workshops, exhibitions should be arranged to improve general awareness of wildlife among the public
- Proper conditions for breeding of wild fauna in national parks, could result in increase of their population
The measures taken to conserve Fauna in India are:
- Indian board for Wildlife
- It was constituted in 1952
- Its main purpose was to advise the Government on the means of conservation and protection of wildlife, construction of national parks, sanctuaries and zoological gardens as well as promoting public awareness regarding wildlife conservation
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
- It governs Wildlife conservation and protection of endangered species
- It prohibits the hunting of any wild animal specified in Schedules I, II, III and IV of the act
- The Central Government can constitute any area as a Sanctuary, provided the area is of adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance.
- National and State Board for Wildlife, Central Zoo Authority and National Tiger Conservation Authority are the bodies constituted under the act
- Project Tiger
- It is a centrally financed scheme, launched in 1973, whereby 27 tiger reserves have been set up in 17 states
- Its main aims are to:
- Reduce factors that lead to the depletion of tiger habitats and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat shall be rectified to facilitate the recovery of the ecosystem to the maximum possible extent.
- Ensure a viable tiger population for economic, scientific, cultural, aesthetic and ecological values.
- Project Elephant
- This was launched as a centrally sponsored scheme in 1992
- Under this, states having free-ranging population of wild elephants are given financial, technical and scientific assistance to ensure long-term survival of identified viable population of elephants in their natural habitats
- The national Wildlife Action Plan(NWAP) provides the framework of strategy as well as programmes for conservation of wildlife
- The Indian board of wildlife is the apex advisory body overseeing and guiding the implementation of various schemes for wildlife conservation
- Biosphere reserves
- It is a unique and representative ecosystem of terrestrial and coastal areas which are internationally recognised within the framework of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme
- It consists of concentric zones with core at the centre, followed by buffer zone, transitional zone and finally zone of human encroachment
The International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species founded in 1964, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The Indian Fauna on the Red list, and their classification based on the risk are as follows:
- Critically Endangered
- River Terrapin
- Bengal Roof Turtle
- Sispara day gecko
- Nicobar White-tailed Shrew
- Kondana Rat
- Aythya Baeri
- Forest Owlet
- Great Indian Bustard
- Bengal Florican
- Siberian Crane
- Spoon-billed Sandpiper
- Sociable Lapwing
- Pygmy Hog
- Andaman White-toothed Shrew
- Jenkin’s Andaman Spiny Shrew
- Gharial
- Hawksbill Turtle
- Jerdon’s Courser
- White-backed Vulture
- Red-headed Vulture
- White-bellied Heron
- Slender-billed Vulture
- Indian Vulture
- Pink-headed Duck
- Himalayan Quail
- Pondicherry Shark
- Ganges Shark
- Knife-tooth Sawfish
- Large-tooth Sawfish
- Narrow-snout Sawfish
- Large Rock Rat or Elvira Rat
- Namdapha Flying Squirrel
- Malabar Civet
- Sumatran Rhinoceros
- Javan Rhinoceros
- Endangered
- Tigers (including Bengal Tiger)
- Asiatic Lion
- Red Panda
- Himalayan / White-bellied Musk Deer
- Hispid hare/ Assam rabbit
- Hog deer
- Lion-tailed macaque
- Nilgiri tahr
- Kharai Camel – India’s swimming camels
- Indian pangolin
- Indian skimmer
- Indian softshell turtle
- Dhole/Asiatic wild dog or Indian wild dog
- Eld’s deer/thamin or brow-antlered deer
- Golden langur
- Vulnerable
- Indian start tortoise
- Indian roofed turtle
- One-horned Rhino
- Gaur
- Sambar
- River Tern
- Malabar Pufferfish
- Nilgiri Langur
