Wildlife

  • India has approximately 90,000 animal species,2,000 species of birds, and 2,546 species of fish.

 

  • It also shares between 5 and 8 percent of the world’s amphibians, reptiles, and mammals . Elephants are the most majestic animals among mammals.

 

  • They are found in the hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka, and Kerala.

 

  • One-horned rhinoceroses are the other animals, which live in swampy and marshy lands of Assam and West Bengal.

 

  • Arid areas of the Rann of Kachchh and the Thar Desert are the habitat for wild ass and camels respectively.

 

  • Indian bison, nilgai (blue bull), chousingha (four-horned antelope), gazel and different species of deer are some other animals found in India.

 

  • India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions.

 

  • The natural habitat of the Indian lion is the Gir forest in Gujarat.

 

  • Tigers are found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, the Sundarbans of West Bengal, and the Himalayan region.

 

  • Ladakh’s freezing high altitudes are home to yak , the shaggy horned wild ox weighing around one tonne, the Tibetan antelope , the bharal (blue sheep), wild sheep, and the kiang (Tibetan wild ass).

 

  • In the rivers, lakes, and coastal areas, turtles, crocodiles, and gharials are found.

 

  • Peacocks, pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes, and pigeons are some of the birds inhabiting the forests and wetlands of the country.

 

  • We have selected our crops from a bio-diverse environment, i.e., from the reserve of edible plants.

 

  • The animals were selected from large stock provided by nature as a milch animal. They also provided us with draught power, transportation, meat, and eggs. The fish provide nutritive food.

 

  • Every s pecies has a role to play in the ecosystem . Hence, conservation is essential.

 

  • About 1,300 plant species are endangered and 20 species are extinct.

 

  • The main cause for this major threat to nature is hunting by greedy hunters for commercial purposes.

 

  • Pollution due to chemical and industrial waste, acid deposits, the introduction of alien species, and reckless cutting of the forests to bring land under cultivation and habitation, are also r esponsible for the imbalance.

 

To protect the flora and fauna of the country, the government has taken many steps.

  •  (i) Eighteen biosphere reserves have been set up in the country to protect flora and fauna.

Eighteen Bio-reserves

  1. Sundarbans 
  2. Simlipal 
  3. Gulf of Mannar 
  4. Dihang-Dibang 
  5. Nilgiri 
  6. Dibru Saikhowa
  7. Nanda Devi
  8. Agasthyamalai 
  9. Nokrek 
  10. Kangchendzonga 
  11. Great Nicobar 
  12. Pachmarhi 
  13. Manas
  14. Achanakmar-Amarkantak 
  15. Kachchh 
  16. Cold Desert 
  17. Seshachalam 
  18. Panna

 

Note:

Migratory Birds

During winter, birds, such as Siberian Crane, come in large numbers. One such place favorable to birds is the Rann of Kachchh . At a place where the desert merges with the sea, flamingos with their brilliant pink plumage come in thousands to build nest mounds from the salty mud and raise their young ones.

 

  • (ii ) Financial and technical assistance is provided to many botanical gardens by the government since 1992.

 

  • (iii) Project Tiger, Project Rhino, Project Great Indian Bustard, and many other eco-developmental projects have been introduced.

 

  • (iv) 101 National Parks, 563 Wildlife sanctuaries, and Zoological gardens are set up to take care of natural heritage.
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Davneet Singh

Davneet Singh has done his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has been teaching from the past 14 years. He provides courses for Maths, Science and Computer Science at Teachoo