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INTRODUCTION:

Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated

animal species, but has come to include all plants, fungi, and
other organisms that grow or live wild in an area without
being introduced by humans.

Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, forests, rain

forests, plains, grasslands, and other areas including the
most developed urban sites, all have distinct forms of
wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to
animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists
agree that much wildlife is affected by human activities.

The term wildlife was introduced by Willion Hornaday in 1913

in his book "our vanishing wildlife". Wildlife is commonly
respired to represent the non-domesticated animals living in
natural habitats like forests. In simple world, wildlife means
non-domesticated animals found in wild without the caring of
human beings.

AIM OF THE PROJECT:

The aim of the project is to research on wildlife conservation

and the efforts undertaken in India to conserve wildlife. The
objective is to understand the necessity for conservation of
wildlife and the protection of potentially endangered species
from being extinct.
WHAT IS WILDLIFE CONSERVATION?

Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant

and animal species and their habitats. The goal of wildlife
conservation is to ensure that nature will be around for future
generations to enjoy and also to recognize the importance
of wildlife and wilderness for humans and other species
alike. Additionally, wildlife conservation aims to raise
awareness regarding the importance of wildlife and
wilderness. Many nations have government agencies and
NGO's dedicated to wildlife conservation, which help to
implement policies designed to protect wildlife. Numerous
independent non-profit organizations also promote various
wildlife conservation causes.

Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important

practice due to the negative effects of human activity on
wildlife. There are now government bureaus and
organizations that help promote different wildlife
conservation areas. The government also aims to implement
certain policies that are specifically created to protect the
animals.
It is essential to take actions to protect wildlife from
extinction. By doing so, we do not only ensure their survival,
but also the diversity of the ecosystem. As a result, it will help
to improve the ecological health of the earth.

HOW IS WILDLIFE ENDANGERED IN INDIA?

Since this project is concerned only with the wildlife
conservation in India, the reasons for wildlife destruction in
India only has been discussed here.

India is a bio-diverse country, with nearly 6.5% of the world's

known wildlife species. Approximately, 7.6% of the world's
mammals and 12.6% of the world's birds are found in
India. The illicit demand, globally, for wildlife and its
products has seen the rise of wildlife crime across the
subcontinent.

In India, wildlife crime is a pervasive problem damaging

ecosystems, impacting food security and affecting
livelihoods of rural communities. In many cases, cross-border
smuggling of live animals and plants can result in the spread
of disease through carrier animals and plants. Major wildlife
crime in India includes poaching of tigers, rhinos and the sale
of Star tortoises. Tigers are an endangered species, poached
for their skin and bones to cater to an illegal market. Their
body parts are used in Asian medicines and tiger claws are
used in jewellery. Tiger whiskers are considered a dreadful
poison in Malaysia and a powerful aphrodisiac in Indonesia.

Ancient trade routes for salt, spices and wool are being used
to smuggle tiger skins and bones. These illegal goods are
sent to buyers based largely in northern India and are then
smuggled out of the country through couriers. The main route
is via Nepal, with whom India has a porous border, or directly
across the border to China. More recently, routes through
Myanmar have also been used.
Apart from tigers, India is also witnessing a rise in wildlife
crime against Rhinoceros. Driven by a soaring demand for
their horn, hundreds of rhinos are being killed, illegally.
According to a report by TRAFFIC and the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sophisticated
poachers are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and
high calibre weapons to kill rhinos.

Ancient trade routes for salt, spices and wool are being used
to smuggle tiger skins and bones. These illegal goods are
sent to buyers based largely in northern India and are then
smuggled out of the country through couriers. The main route
is via Nepal, with whom India has a porous border, or directly
across the border to China. More recently, routes through
Myanmar have also been used.

Apart from tigers, India is also witnessing a rise in wildlife

crime against Rhinoceros. Driven by a soaring demand for
their horn, hundreds of rhinos are being killed, illegally.
According to a report by TRAFFIC and the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sophisticated
poachers are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and
high calibre weapons to kill rhinos.

The Indian rhino could once be found from Pakistan, all the
way through India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar.
However, the current population of this species is dwindling
and today only about 2500 survive in India and Nepal.
It is not only large mammals, but also smaller species that
are under threat. Star tortoises from South India are illegally
traded in huge numbers. Due to their popularity in Feng Shui,
they are kept as pets, believed to bring prosperity and can
cost as much as $500 in the illegal market. Many protected
marine species such as sea cucumbers, molluscs, sea horses
and coral are also illegally harvested in Indian waters for
export.

In India, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is a strong

legislation that covers wildlife crime. However, the
implementation and enforcement needs to be strengthened in
order to curb this transnational crime.

The four most general reasons that lead to destruction of

wildlife include overkill, habitat destruction and
fragmentation, impact of introduced species and chains of
extinction.
Major dangers to wildlife:
Fewer natural wildlife habitat areas remain each year.
Moreover, the habitat that remains has often been degraded
to bear little resemblance to the wild areas which existed in
the past. Habitat loss—due to destruction, fragmentation and
degradation of habitat—is the primary threat to the survival
of wildlife in India. The other reasons posing danger to wildlife
are as follows:

a) Climate change: Drought, rainfall and flooding cause

dangerous changes to the landscape, adding stress to
wildlife species and their habitat. Every year, many
animals die due to abrupt climatic changes.
b) Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting
and poaching causes a major threat to wildlife. Along
with this, mis-management of forest department and
forest guards triggers this problem.
c) Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are
ingested by a wide variety of organisms. Pesticides and
toxic chemical being widely used, making the
environment toxic to certain plants, insects, and
rodents.
d) Perhaps the largest threat is the extreme growing
indifference of the public to wildlife, conservation and
environmental issues in general. Over-exploitation of
resources, i.e., exploitation of wild populations for food
has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing and over-
grazing for example).
e) Over exploitation of wildlife resources by people for food,
clothing, pets, medicine, sport and many other purposes
is becoming a grave danger to sustenance of wild life.
f) Population: The increasing population of human beings
is the most major threat to wildlife. More people means
more consumption of food, water and fuel. Therefore,
more waste is generated. Every major threat to wildlife
as seen above, is directly related to increasing
population of human beings. If the population is altered
so is the amount of risk to wildlife. The less is the
population, less is the disturbance to wildlife.

Top 10 Most Endangered Wild Animal

Species of India:

All animals and birds in India are rated as critically

Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU).
Mainly endangered animals in India are the big cats family
which includes snow leopard, Bengal tiger and Asiatic Lion.
Other endangered animals are Purple Frog or Pig nose Frog,
Great Indian Vulture, Indian giant squirrel, Giant Indian
Fruit Bat, Great birds and King Cobra. Some of the extinct
animals of India includes Asiatic Cheetah, Pink headed
duck and Indian aurochs.

1. Indian Tiger
The members of Felide family, which includes three great
cats namely, Asiatic Lion, Bengal Tigers, wild cats and
leopard, found in India are dwindling population, Because
of excessive poaching, big cats in India are on the verge
 of extinction. There were only 1411 Royal Bengal Tigers
left in India as per the Tiger Census in 2008. The Asiatic
or the great Indian lion is only found in the Gir national
park. One of the most endangered species of felide family
is the snow leopard which is found only in Himalayan
Ranges.

2. Indian Dolphin
The Ganges River Dolphin is member of Cetacea
family,which includes marine mammals porpoises and
whales. Dolphins are primarily found in the Ganges and
Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in India. They
share their habitat with crocodiles, fresh water turtles. The
blind Dolphin of holy river Ganges is the National Aquatic
Animal of India. The Indian River Shark is also listed as one
of the endangered Species in India.
3. Gharial
The gharial is one of the three crocodilians found in India
and is the longest of all living crocodilians. The holy river
Ganges is one the important habitat of the Gharial in India,
It is also found in Chambal, Irrawady and Brahmaputra
rivers. The gharial is listed as a most critically endangered
species in India. Mass gharial deaths in the Chambal river is
still a mystery which is assumed to be caused by polluted
river water.

4.The Great Indian Bustard

The Great Indian bustard is one of the world’s heaviest
flying birds and is also the rarest in the Indian sub-
continent. It is found only in some parts of Gujarat,
Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. Less than a thousand survive
today and the species is threatened by hunting and loss of
its habitat. The Indian Vulture is another endangered bird
of India, The Indian King Vulture is found mainly in Gujarat,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

5. Indian Rhinoceros
The Great Indian Rhinoceros also called as One Horned
Rhinoceros is found in India. The Indian Rhinoceros has a
single black horn which is present in both male and female
species. The Great Indian Rhinoceros is the fourth largest
animal in the world. The large endangered mammal is
primarily found in parts of north-eastern India, Today about
3,000 rhinos live in the wild, 2,000 of which are found in
Manas and Kaziranga National Park, Assam. Excessive
hunting for its horn, reduced their natural habitat
drastically.
6.Black Buck

Black Buck also known as Kala Hiran is a species of

antelope found mainly in India. It is one of the most
beautiful and graceful animals of the antelope species in
India. Due to extensive poaching and habitat loss, black
buck populations have been reduced drastically. The
antelopes of India can be seen in a few protected areas
like the Guindy National Park, Tamil Nadu, Rollapadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Chilka (Orissa) other than few parts
of Rajasthan and Haryana. Punjab has declared the Black
Buck as its state animal.
7. Indian Wild Ass
The Indian wild ass, also called Khur, is a subspecies of the
Asiatic wild ass found only in the Rann of Kutch. Its last
refuge lies in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of
Kutch and the surrounding areas of the greater Rann of
Kutch in Gujarat. Its estimated population is 362, hence it
was classified as a highly endangered species in India.

8.Indian Wild Dog

Indian Wild Dog or Dhole is one of the top predators of the
wild forest, living in packs, hunting cooperatively and are
highly social animals. Dhole is found in the national
parks of Assam, Bengal, Gujarat, Kashmir, Madhya
Pradesh, and the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve of south India. It
is estimated that only 2500 Dholes are left in the wild.
Threats to the dhole species include habitat destruction
and loss of its main prey.
9.Nilgiri Langur
The Nilgiri Langur found in the Nilgiri Hills of
the Western Ghats in South India. Its range also
includes Kodagu in Karnataka, Palani Hills in Tamil
Nadu and many other hilly areas in Kerala. The Nilgiri
Black Langur is a member of one of the 13 species of
monkeys found in India, which is endangered due to
deforestation and poaching for its fur and flesh. Indian
golden langur is also falls in the same category of
endangered animals of India.

10.Red Panda
 The beautiful and endangered species, Indian Red
Panda is also known by the name of Red Fox. From the
two kinds of Red Pandas in the world, only one variety
is found in India. India has 20 protected areas in
Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal’s
Khangchendzonga and Namdapha National Park. The
endangered Red Panda live in temperate climates, in
deciduous and coniferous forests, usually with an
understorey of bamboo and hollow trees.

Wildlife Conservation Efforts in India:

India is a home to rich and diverse wildlife tours because of
her wide range of climate, soil, weather and other such
factors. Owing to such diversity, equal number of rare as
well as threatened animals and plants are found that need to
be protected. This leads to the need of much greater wildlife
conservation efforts in India. As per the survey India is a
home to about 60-70% of the total biodiversity found across
the world and about 33% of plant species are endemic.
There are 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated threatened
species in India. Under this comes the Asiatic Lion, the
Indian white-rumped vultures and the Bengal Tiger. This
further enforces the need of right wildlife conservation
efforts in India. Last few decades have seen emergence of
human encroachment to an extent that has never been seen.
This is one of the greatest threat to India's wildlife.

Indian Government built many National Parks in order to

facilitate endangered species
up to some extent. The first park was established in 1935;
besides, the Project Tiger was also
enacted in 1972. At the beginning of the 20 century, there
were around 40,000 tigers in India as compared to the tiger
consensus of 2008 which revealed only 1,411 tigers
remaining. The
‘Project Tiger’ is considered to be the most successful
conservation project all throughout India.
Currently, there are around 39 Project Tiger wildlife reserves
in India encompassing an area of
more than 37,761 sq. km. Many rhino’s are survived and
conserved in the Kaziranga National
Park.

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.

The other initiatives undertaken by the Government of India

to conserve wildlife are as follows:

 The Forest Conservation Act 1980 was enacted to lessen

the large-scale habitat destruction caused by
deforestation.
  India also indorsed the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITIES) in 1976. As a result, ban was imposed on the
commercial trading of Asian elephants which involved
the export of ivory.
 There has been a significant change in the Forest
Department’s planning policy, which not only brought an
end to the alteration of first-growth forests into
eucalyptus plantations, but it also swung the importance
from a commercially-centered forest management to the
conservation-centered forest management.
 The elephants have enjoyed an absolute protection in
Uttar Pradesh, since the promulgation of a
Wild Elephant Protection Act 1879. The authorities are
also putting their efforts to instigate Rajaji National Park,
Motichur and Chilla reserves.
 The Forest Department also compensated the families
whose persons were killed by the wild animals.
 The capturing of elephants has been superseded.
A new conservation area was also established which was
named as Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve covering 5,520 km2.

 This area protects elephants ranging from North of

Palghat Gap in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Kerala.
 The Karnataka state government has decided to exclude
tourist development on elephant migration routes all
throughout the Kabbini River.

Wildlife Conservation Initiatives by 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).
Some of the NGOs that have played an active role in the
conservation and preservation of wildlife in India are:
 TRAFFIC India fights wildlife trafficking in India
 Wildlife Trust of India have been very vocal about the Red
Jungle fowl and Golden Haired Langur
 Wildlife First works for the conservation of wildlife in
Karnataka
 Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) collaborate
with state governments to monitor illegal wildlife trade
 Greenpeace

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
531 wildlife sanctuaries in India and seventeen Biosphere
Reserves.

The 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.
 Popular Wildlife Reserves and Sanctuaries in India
Corbett National Park, Uttar Gir National Park,
Pradesh Sanctuary in Gujarat
Bandhavgarh National Park, Kanha National Park,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary,
Rajasthan Kerala
Kaziranga National Park, Sunderbans National Park,
Assam West Bengal
Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, Hastinapur Sanctuary ,
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh
Kedarnath Sanctuary, Uttar Askot Sanctuary, Uttar
Pradesh Pradesh
Topchanchi Wildlife Kabar Lake Bird Sanctuary,
Sanctuary, Bihar Bihar
Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary,
Bihar Bihar
Hazaribagh Wildlife Lawalong Wildlife
Sanctuary, Bihar Sanctuary, Bihar
Chilika Lake, Orissa Bhitarkanika Sanctuary,
Orissa
Mudumalai Sanctuary, Satkosia - Baisipalli
Tamil Nadu Sanctuary, Orissa
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Thattekad Bird Sanctuary,
Kerala
Palamau Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve
Bihar
Similipal Tiger Reserve, Chandka Elephant Reserve,
Orissa Orissa
Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary, The Palamu Tiger Reserve,
Assam Bihar
Dudhwa Conservation Srisailam Sanctuary,
Center, U.P Andhra Pradesh
Kalsubai Harischandragad Namdapha Tiger Reserve,
Sanctuary in the Western Arunachal Pradesh
Ghats
Manas Tiger Reserve, Tadoba Tiger Reserve
Assam
Bandipur Conservation Desert National Park
Center, Karnataka
Ranthambore Tiger Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary
Reserve, Rajasthan

Conservation Centers in India

Kaziranga Conservation Royal Chitwan Park
Center, Assam
Royal Bardia Park Sultanpur Conservation
Center
Valley of Flowers Nanda Devi Conservation
Conservation Center, Uttar Center, Uttar Pradesh
Pradesh
Nagarhole Conservation Nandankanan Biological
Center, Karnataka Park, Orissa
Keibul Lam Jao Bannerghata Conservation
Conservation Center, Center, Karnataka
Manipur
Periyar Conservation Sundarbans
Center, Kerala
Namdapha Conservation Dachigam Conservation
Center, Arunachal Pradesh Center, Jammu & Kashmir
Bharatpur Conservation Rajaji Conservation Center
Center
Dudhwa Conservation Sanjay Gandhi Conservation
Center, Uttar Pradesh Center Borivli, Mumbai

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.
Biosphere Reserves in India
Achanakmar-Amarkantak Agasthyamalai
Dibru Saikhowa Dihang Dibang
Great Nicobar Gulf of Mannar
Kachchh Kanchenjunga
Manas Nanda Devi
The Nilgiris Nokrek
Pachmarhi Simlipal
Sundarbans Cold desert
Seshachalam hills

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Policies and legislations

 1. A Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was established in 1992
under the Act to oversee the management of zoological
parks in the country.

2. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was adopted by all states

excluding Jammu and Kashmir (which has its own Act).
The Act prohibits trade in rare and endangered species.

3. In 1983, the Government of India adopted an National

Wildlife Action Plan to provide the framework of
strategy as well as a programme for wildlife
conservation. The 1983 action plan was revised, and a
new plan (2002-2016) has now been adopted. A
monitoring committee will oversee the implementation
of the plan.

4. The Indian Board of Wildlife, headed by the prime

minister, is the apex advisory body overseeing and
guiding the implementation of various schemes for
wildlife conservation. It was reconstituted on December
7, 2001.

International Conventions Related to Wildlife:

India is a party to five major international conventions

related to wildlife conservation, viz., Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Coalition
Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT), Inter - national Whaling
Commission (IWC), United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation— World Heritage Committee
(UNESCO- WHC), and the Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS). The Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal
agency for these conventions.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROJECTS:

The Government of India has undertaken many initiatives on

the conservation of wildlife. Some important projects are:
 Project Elephant
 Project Tiger
 Project Hangul
 Indian Crocodile Conservation Project
 Protected Area Network
 GOI – UNDP Sea Turtle Project
 GOI – UNDP Wildlife Protected Area Management in
Jaldapara Sanctuary, West Bengal
 Action Plan for Vulture Conservation in India
 Indo – Russian Cooperation

Project Tiger

Project Tiger was formed in 1972 and launched on the 1st

April 1973 at Corbett National Park. Project Tiger has
successfully emerged as one of the champion endeavours of
Tiger conservation as formulated by a special task force set
up under Wildlife Conservation Act to address the problem of
dwindling Tiger population in the country.

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. Currently, there are around 39 Project Tiger
wildlife reserves in India encompassing an area of more than
37,761 sq. km. 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.
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, namely:
 Manas (Assam)
 Palamau (Bihar)
 Similipal (Orissa)
 Corbett (U.P.)
 Kanha (M.P.)
 Melghat (Maharashtra)
 Bandipur (Karnataka)
 Ranthambhore (Rajasthan)
 Sunderbans (West Bengal)

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.

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.

Though this centrally sponsored scheme began with a thrust

on elephant conservation in the various elephant populous
bio-geographical regions of the country, it expanded its view
to adopt a more comprehensive approach to the subsidiary
issues of human-elephant conflict and welfare of
domesticated elephants.

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.

Protecting gharials

The gharial (a fish-eating crocodile with a long snout), native

to South Asia, is one of the most endangered freshwater
crocodile species. The World Wide Fund for Nature believes
it is extinct in its former habitats of Pakistan, Bhutan and
Myanmar. Now, it is reported only from India and Nepal. An
estimated 1,300 gharials are left in the wild, mostly in India,
according to the Fund.

The government, under pressure from conservationists, set

up protected areas in 1979 along the Chambal to prevent
poaching of their skin for high-grade crocodile leather, and it
raises eggs in captivity to protect them from predators.

The World Conservation Union recently upgraded it from

being an “endangered” to a “critically endangered” species.
But the recent deaths have further depleted the stock of
breeding pairs to less than 200.

Protecting vultures
In May 2006, the Government of India initiated preventive
actions to curb further decline in the population of vultures
which also includes. Following are the other measures
adopted by the government:

i.Banning the use of diclofenac in veterinary sector

ii. An “action plan” for vulture conservation is being

implemented to stem the decline and put the vulture
population on growth path.

iii. The government has extended support to breeding

centres at Pinjore in Haryana, Buxa in West Bengal and Rani
Forest in Assam.

iv. Captive breeding centres at four zoos at Bhopal,

Bhubaneswar, Junagarh and Hyderabad have also been set
up through the Central Zoo Authority.

Wildlife Threats in India

One of the foremost reasons for the population decline in

wild animals across India is overcrowding. The wildlife
sanctuaries and National Parks have become overcrowded
since the time and therefore the capacity has depleted to a
certain extent.

The tourism in the National Parks is on the rise each day

possibly due to the increasing fame of ecotourism and
adventure tourism. Subsequently, it leads to wildlife road
fatalities together with the increased vehicle pollution.
People are often involved in the wild fire or innocent
campfires that lead to the killing of animals and delimiting
their natural habitats.
Some chemical industries have also contributed to the
wildlife destruction. These industries discharge chemical
and other toxic effluents into the water thereby poisoning it.