INDIAN FAUNA

India is ranked as 7^th most environmentally hazardous country in the world. The study is based on an evaluation of the ‘absolute’ environmental impact of 179 countries. Brazil was found to be the worst on environmental indicators followed by the United States and China, and Singapore was the best.

1. Critically Endangered Mammals

White-toothed Shrew from Andaman

• Andaman white-toothed Shrew- Crocidura jenkinsi & Nicobar white-tailed shrew- Crocidura nicobarica are endemic to India.
• They are usually active by twilight, in the night and have special habitat requirements.
• Their habitat is leaf litter and rock crevices.
• Andaman white-toothed shrew is found on Mount Harriet in the South Andaman Islands.
• The Jenkins Andaman Spiny Shrew is found on Wright Myo & Mount Harriet in the South Andaman Islands.
• The Nicobar White-tailed shrew is found in the southern tip of Greater Nicobar Island and is also recorded in the area extending from the Campbell Bay National Park to the Galatea River in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• Habitat loss due to selective logging, natural disasters like tsunamis & drastic weather changes are threats to these endemic species.

Pygmy Hog

• Pygmy hog- Porcula Sylvania is the world’s smallest wild pig, with adults weighing only 8 kilos.
• This species constructs a nest throughout the year.
• It is one of the most useful indicators of the management status of grassland habitats.
• The grasslands where the Pygmy hog resides are crucial for the survival of other endangered species like Indian Rhinoceros, swamp deer, hispid hare, wild buffalo, swamp Franklin, and Bengal Florican.
• A captive-breeding program of the species was initiated in Assam and some hogs were reintroduced in the Sonai Rupai area in 2009.
• They are distributed in the tall, wet grasslands called ‘Terai’, in the southern foothills of the Himalayas.
• By 2002, only one viable population remained in Manas National Park, with a few hundred individuals.
• Pygmy hog-sucking Louse- Haematopinus oliveri, a parasite that feeds only on Pygmy Hogs, also falls in the same risk category of critically endangered as its survival is linked to that of the host species.
• The main threats are loss & degradation of grasslands, dry-season burning, livestock grazing, and afforestation of grasslands.
• Hunting is also a threat to the remnant populations.

Elvira Rat

• It is commonly known as The Large Rock Rat- Cremnomys Elvira.
• Elvira is a medium-sized, nocturnal & burrowing rodent, endemic to India.
• The habitat of Elvira is a tropical dry deciduous shrubland forest seen in rocky areas.
• It is distributed in the Eastern ghats of Tamil Nadu, recorded from an elevation of about 600 m above sea level.
• Major threats are habitat loss, conversion of forests to fuel and wood collection.

Kondana Rat

• Millardia kondana is a nocturnal, burrowing rodent that is endemic to India, and often builds nests.
• Tropical & subtropical dry deciduous forests and tropical scrubs are habitats for Kondana rats.
• They are distributed in the small Sinhagarh Plateau, near Pune in Maharashtra.
• Major threats are habitat loss, overgrazing of vegetation & disturbance from tourism & recreational activities.

Sumatran Rhinoceros

• Dicerorhinus sumatrensis is commonly known as the Sumatran Rhinoceros.
• It is the smallest & most endangered of the other species of rhinos.
• It was thought to be regionally extinct in India, though it was observed in the foothills of the Himalayas & north-east India.
• Javan rhinoceros is also believed to be extinct in India & only a small number survive in Java & Vietnam.

Flying Squirrel

• Biswamoyopterus biswasi is commonly known as the Namdapha Flying Squirrel, restricted to a single valley in the Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is found in tropical forests, in Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Hunting is the major threat to this animal.

Malabar Civet

• The scientific name of the Malabar Civet is Viverra civettina, which is considered one of the world’s rarest mammals.
• It is endemic to India and was first reported from Travancore, Kerala which is nocturnal and found exclusively in Western Ghats.
• They are distributed in wooded plains and hill slopes of evergreen rainforests, and western ghats.
• Deforestation and commercial plantations are major threats.

Kashmir Stag

• It is also known as Hangul- Cervus elaphus hangul, which is a subspecies of red deer, native to India.
• It is a state animal of Jammu & Kashmir, distributed in dense riverine forests, high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir valley, northern Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.
• Habitat destruction, over-grazing, and poaching are the threats to these animals.

2. Aquatic Mammals

Freshwater Dolphin

It is distributed in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan which have two subspecies- the Ganges river dolphin and the Indus river dolphin.

Ganges River Dolphin- It is distributed in the Ganges, and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The Ganges river dolphin is recognized as a National Aquatic animal, by the government of India.

Indus River Dolphin- It is distributed in the Indus River in Pakistan, Beas and Sutlej tributaries.

Herbivorous Marine Animals

Dugong, manatees are included in this group. They inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands and coastal marine waters.

Dugong- They are also known as sea cows, which are vulnerable as per the Red data book. Hunting, habitat degradation and fishing-related fatalities are major threats.

Manatees- They are distributed in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon basin, and West Africa. Hunting, coastal development, and red tide are major threats.

Monotremes

• Monotremes are a sub-division of mammals, which lay eggs rather than give birth to their young ones.
• There are only 5 living monotremes/ egg-laying mammal species-

Duck-billed platypus, 4 species of spiny anteaters(echidna).

• All of them are found only in Australia, and New Guinea.

Echidnas

• They are distributed in Australia, and New Guinea, which are also known as spiny anteaters.
• In echidnas, the egg is carried in a pouch on the female’s belly until the young hatches, at which point the barely-developed young must find a mammary gland & latch onto it for nourishment.

Platypus

• The scientific name of the duck-billed platypus is Ornithorhynchus anatinus, which is a semi-aquatic mammal.
• It is endemic to Australia, and Tasmania.
• The female platypus, retires to a burrow in the bank of a river or pond.
• The burrow is lined with dry vegetation and there the eggs are laid.
• The male platypus has venom strong enough to kill a small dog or cause excruciating pain among humans.

Marsupials

• Marsupials are a group of mammals commonly called pouched mammals.
• Marsupial mammals have a placenta, but it is very short-lived and doesn’t make much contribution to fetal nourishment.
• They give birth very early and the young animal, a helpless embryo, climbs from the mother’s birth canal to the nipples.
• There it grabs on with its mouth and continues to develop, often for weeks or months depending on the species.
• They do not have long gestation periods like placental mammals. The short gestation time is due to the presence of a yolk-type placenta in the mother marsupial.
• Placental mammals all bear live young which are nourished before birth in the mother’s uterus through a specialized embryonic organ attached to the uterus wall, the placenta.
• Examples- kola, kangaroo, opossum, phalangers, wallaby, wombats, dasyure, Tasmanian wolf, bandicoot, marsupial mole etc.
• Placental mammals nourish the developing embryo using the mother’s blood supply, allowing a longer gestation period.

3. Critically Endangered Birds

The Bengal Florican

• It is a bustard species that is very well known for its mating dance.
• Among the tall grasslands, secretive males advertise their territories by springing from the ground & flitting to & fro in the air.
• They are distributed in grasslands, occasionally interspersed with scrublands.
• Bengal Florican is a native of Cambodia, India, and Nepal. In India, it occurs in 3 states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Conversion of the bird’s grassland habitat for various purposes including agriculture is the main reason for its population decline.

The Forest Owlet

• After 113 long years, the owlet was rediscovered in 1997 and reappeared on the list of Indian birds.
• It is distributed in south Madhya Pradesh, north-west Maharashtra, and north-central Maharashtra.
• Common threats are logging operations, burning & cutting of trees damage to roosting & nesting trees of the forest Owlet.

Jerdon’s Courser

• Jerdon’s courser is a nocturnal bird, found only in the northern part of the state of Andhra Pradesh in peninsular India.
• It is a flagship species for the extremely threatened scrub jungle.
• The species was considered to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1986 & the area of rediscovery was subsequently declared as the Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is endemic to Andhra Pradesh.
• Threats include clearing of scrub jungle, creation of new pastures, growing of dry land crops, plantations of exotic trees, illegal trapping of birds, quarrying & the construction of river canals.

White-bellied Heron

• It is an extremely rare bird found in 5 or 6 sites in Assam & Arunachal Pradesh, and a few sites in Bhutan and Myanmar.
• Rivers with sand or gravel bars or inland lakes are the habitats of herons.
• It is distributed in Bhutan & North-east India to the hills of Bangladesh and north Myanmar.
• Loss & degradation of lowland forests, and wetlands through direct exploitation & disturbance are threats to white-bellied horn.

Pink-headed Duck

• Since 1949, pink-headed ducks have not been reported in India.
• Males have a deep pink head & neck from which the bird derives its name.
• It is observed in over-grown still-water pools, marshes `7 swamps in lowland forests, and tall grasslands.
• Pink-headed duck is recorded in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Maximum records are from north-east India.
• Wetland degradation, loss of habitat, along hunting are the main causes of its decline.

Himalayan-Quail

• Himalayan quail is thought to be extinct since no reliable records of sightings of this species exist after 1876.
• Intensive surveys are required as this species is hard to detect due to its reluctance to fly and its preference for dense grass habitats.
• It is distributed in the western Himalayas with tall grass & scrub on steep hillsides.
• Indiscriminate hunting during the colonial period along with habitat modification.

Lapwing

• Vanellus gregarious commonly known as sociable lapwing is a winter-migrant to India.
• This species suffered a sudden & rapid population decline due to which it was listed as critically endangered.
• It is observed in fallow fields, and scrub deserts in Central Asia, Russia, Egypt, India, and Pakistan. In India, its distribution is in the north & north-west of the country.
• Conversion of habitat to arable land, illegal hunting & proximity to human settlements.

Siberian Crane

• It is a large, strikingly majestic migratory bird that breeds in winters in wetlands. They are distributed in Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan.
• Pesticide pollution, wetland drainage, development of prime habitat into agricultural fields and hunting are the threats.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

• These sandpipers require highly specialized breeding habitats, a constraint that always kept its population scarce.
• India is home to some of the last existing groups of this species, observed in coastal areas with sparse vegetation.
• It is distributed in West Bengal, Orissa, Kerala & Tamil Nadu.
• Habitat degradation, land reclamation, and human disturbance are the main threats to this species.

Corals

• Fire corals are more closely related to jellyfish than corals. One usually feels a burning sensation similar to a sting from a jellyfish when touched by it.
• Generally they are found in murky inshore waters & display a tolerance for siltation. Often they are observed in clear offshore sites.
• Fire corals are distributed in Indonesia, Panama Pacific province, Gulf of Chiriqui. They are possibly extinct from Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Panama, and Thailand.
• They are collected for decoration & jewelry trade which is the major threat to their extinction.
• This group is sensitive to temperature rise and is thought to have completely disappeared from the majority of marine areas possibly because of growing global warming-related bleaching effects.'

Migration of birds

Migration refers to the regular, recurrent & cyclical seasonal movement of birds from one place to another. The distance of migration ranged from short distances to thousands of kilometres. But at the end of the period, birds will eventually return to their original place.

Reasons: There might be many reasons for migration including seasonal changes, water scarcity, managing food shortage, avoiding adverse factors, searching for better breeding conditions, etc,

In India: There are many migratory birds in India which are classified into winter migratory birds, and summer migratory birds.

Winter birds: Yellow Wagtail, white wagtail, Siberian cranes, greater flamingo, common teal, Northern Shoveler, rosy pelican, spotted sandpiper, wood sandpiper, Eurasian pigeon, black-tailed Godwit, spotted redshank, long-billed pipit, starling blue throat.

Summer birds: Black-crowned night heron, Asian koel, Eurasian golden oriole, comb duck, blue-cheeked bee-eater, blue-tailed bee-eater, cuckoos.

Species Extinction

• The fact or process of a species, family or other group of animals or plants vanishing or disappearing completely from the planet Earth.
• Extinction is caused by various processes like glaciation, deforestation, forest fires etc,
• Stochastic processes that affect the survival & reproduction of individuals. For example, unexpected changes in weather patterns, decreased food supply, and increase of competitors, diseases, predators, parasites etc, may act independently or add to deterministic effects.
• The impact of these processes will of course depend on the size & degree of genetic diversity & resilience of populations.
• Traits that adversely affect or increase a species' vulnerability to extinction due to habitat fragmentation were identified, which include rarity or low abundance, ecological specialization, poor dispersal ability, unstable populations, low adult survival rates, low intrinsic rate population increase, body size, dietary specialization, fecundity.

Natural Extinctions

• Continental drift, climate change, increased volcanic activity, tectonic activity, glaciations.
• The late Cretaceous extinction is assumed to be associated with an extra-terrestrial impact.
• Extinction in vascular plants was more gradual compared with the loss of animals.
• It is believed that extinction among this group was due to competitive displacement by more advanced plant forms or due to a gradual climate change, than due to any sudden catastrophic event.

Artificial Extinction

• Though species extinction is a natural process happening without human intervention, extinction caused by humans is now happening over & above the reasonable estimate of natural extinction rates.
• Species are threatened with extinction by the intervention of humans due to direct & indirect causes.
• Direct causes include hunting, collection, capture and persecution.
• Indirect causes include habitat loss, modification, fragmentation and introduction of invasive species.

Man-Animal Conflict

The interaction between wild animals & people results in a negative impact on people or their resources or wild animals or their habitat. It occurs when wildlife needs to overlap with those of human populations, creating costs to residents, and wild animals.

Impacts: Crop damage, livestock depredation, injuries to people, loss of human life, damage to property, wildlife injury, animal deaths, and destruction of habitat.

Causes: Land use transformation. Human population growth, species habitat loss, degradation & fragmentation, distribution & abundance of wild prey, climatic factors, stochastic events, increasing wildlife population as a result of conservation programs, growing interest in ecotourism, and increasing access to nature reserves.

Preventive strategies

• Waste management systems that restrict wildlife access to refuse.
• Guarding
• Artificial, natural, physical, and biological barriers.
• Alternative high-cost livestock husbandry practices.
• Voluntary human population resettlement.

Mitigative Strategies

Insurance programs, compensation systems, incentive programs, community-based natural resource management schemes(CBNRMS), alternate crops, prey or water points, regulated harvest, wildlife translocation, and conservation education for local populations.