SUBJECT ASSOCIATION ACTIVITY NO 1 ENDANGERED MAMMAL SPECIES IN INDIA
ENDANGERED MAMMAL SPECIES IN INDIA
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invasive species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration. India has a staggering variety of flora and fauna, including some of the rarest species in existence on the planet. The animals and plants have been here for a very long time and humans beings have been exploiting these for various reasons like food, resources and hunting trophies. Here is the list of some of the prominent endangered mammal species in India such as Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica ),Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius),Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris),Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus )etc.
Platanista gangetica
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Platanistidae
Genus : Platanista
The south Asian river dolphin is a fresh water dolphin which is native to ganga ,Brahmaputra river . These unique dolphins swim on their sides with their grey brown coloured body and along ,pointed nose .female dolphins are bigger in size than males
Distribution : India ,Nepal and Bangladesh .
Threats : Hunting ,poisoning because of chemicals industrial waste ,water pollution, entanglements in fishing nets ,habitat loss.
Nilgiritragus hylocrius
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Subfamily : Caprinae
Genus : Nilgiritragus
Distribution : Western gnats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Threats : Loss of habitat,competition with domestic stock and poaching .
Panthera tigris
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae
Subfamily : Pantherinae
Genus : Panthera
The Asiatic lion is a Panthera Leo population surviving today only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range is restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat.Historically,it inhabited much of the Middle East to northern India.
Threats: The Asiatic lion currently exists as a single subpopulation, and is thus vulnerable to extinction from unpredictable events, such as an epidemic or large forest fire. There are indications of poaching incidents in recent years, as well as reports that organized poacher gangs have switched attention from local Bengal tigers to the Gujarat lions. There have also been a number of drowning incidents, after lions fell into wells.
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalian
Order : Carnivores
Family : Ursidae
Genus : Ursus
Threats :They are poached for their fur and claws for ornamental purposes and internal organs for use in medicines. They are killed by shepherds to protect their livestock and their home is destroyed by human encroachment.
Millardia kondana
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Rodentia
Family : Muridae
Genus : Millardia
Species : M. kondana
Kondana rat or large metad, is an endangered species of rodent in the family Muridae . This nocturnal burrowing rodent that is found only in India. It is sometimes known to build nests. Its habitat Tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and tropical scrub.
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Ailuridae
Genus : Ailurus
Species : A. fulgens
The red panda is a carnivoran native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. Their small body mass allows them to walk on thin branches, making the panda inaccessible to heavier predators. Red pandas are also excellent climbers, and they have strong, curved claws. When descending down a tree headfirst, the red panda uses hind-foot mobility. Their small body mass allows them to walk on thin branches, making the panda inaccessible to heavier predators. Red pandas are also excellent climbers, and they have strong, curved claws. When descending down a tree headfirst, the red panda uses hind-foot mobility.
Distributions: Red pandas live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in Nepal, India and Tibet
Threats: Continues to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression. Climate change is impacting species across the globe and red pandas.
Balaenoptera borealis
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Balaenopteridae
Genus : Balaenoptera
Species : B. borealis
The sei whale is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. Usually attaining a length of about 13–15 meters (43–49 feet), this cetacean is bluish gray or blackish above with paler underparts and a relatively large hook-shaped (falcate) dorsal fin.
Distributions :They have unpredictable behavior, so don't stick to a particular location. Sei whale adaptations include that in the summer season, they are located in sub-polar and temperate regions, and during winters, they turn their tail and move to sub-tropical waters.
Threats: Aggressively hunting of whale for their fins ,habitat loss .
Macaca silenus
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Primates
Suborder : Haplorhini
Family : Cercopithecidae
Genus : Macaca
Species : M .silenus
Lion tailed macaca is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. Typically have a black fur on their body along with a silver white mane surrounding its head .they are diurnal and arboreal rain forest dwellers .who are very good climbers .As per the technical report, the total wild population of the lion-tailed macaque (LTM) could be about 4,000 individuals consisting of less than 2,500 mature individuals, made up of 47 isolated sub-populations in seven different locations in the three States.
Distributions : It is a primate endemic to small and severely fragmented rainforests of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Threats : Road kills and habitat loss .Hunting for skin, meat and erroneously as a source of medicine.
Trachypithecus geei
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Primates
Family : Cercopithecidae
Genus : Trachypithecus
Species : T. geei
Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey's.The coat of the adult golden langur ranges from cream to golden, on its flanks and chest the hairs are darker and often rust coloured while the coats of the juveniles and females are lighter, silvery white to light buff. The coat changes color seasonally, from white or cream coloured in the summer to dark golden or chestnut in the winter. Their long whiskers to protect their eyes from rain during monsoon. The golden langur has a black face and large whorl of hair on its crown.
Distributions :In the region of Western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan
Threats :Road kills and habitat loss .Hunting for skin, meat and erroneously as a source of medicine.
Bubalus arnee
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Bubalus
Species : B. arnee
Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild Asian buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The wild water buffalo has an ash-Gray to black skin. The moderately long, coarse and sparse hair is directed forward from the haunches to the long and narrow head. There is a tuft on the forehead, and the ears are comparatively small. Its head-to-body-length is 240 to 300 cm. Wild water buffaloes are both diurnal and nocturnal.
Distributions :The wild water buffalo occurs in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, and Cambodia, with an unconfirmed population in Myanmar
Threats: The most important threats are: interbreeding with feral and domestic water buffaloes in and around protected areas, hunting, especially in Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar ,habitat loss of floodplain areas due to conversion to agriculture and hydropower development ,degradation of wetlands due to invasive species such as stem twiners and lianas ,diseases and parasites transmitted by domestic livestock ,interspecific competition for food and water between wild water buffaloes and livestock.
Rucervus eldii eldii
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Cervidae
Genus : Rucervus
Species : R. eldii
The sangai is an endemic and endangered subspecies of Eld's deer found only in Manipur, India. It is also the state animal of Manipur. The brow-antlered deer is a medium-sized deer, with uniquely distinctive antlers, measuring 100–110 cm. in length with extremely long brow tine, which form the main beam. The two tines form a continuous curve at right angles to the closely set pedicels. This signifies its name, brow-antlered deer, the forward protruding beam appears to come out from the eyebrow. Sangai feed on a variety of water living plants, grasses, herbaceous plants, and shoots.
Distributions : Found only in Manipur, India.Natural habitat only at Keibul Lamjao National Park over the floating biomass locally called phumdi in the southeastern part of Loktak Lake. It is located between 24°27’ N and 24°31’ N latitude and 93°53’ E and 93°55’ E longitudes.
Threats: The sangai faces a two-pronged danger to its life. Firstly, its habitat is steadily degenerating by reason of continuous inundation and flooding by high water caused as the result of artificial reservoir of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Loktak. Secondly, poachers are out there to trap and slay the deer at the slightest opportunity.
Moschus leucogaster
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Moschidae
Genus : Moschus
Species : M. leucogaster
White-bellied musk deer are very well adapted for high altitudes; they demonstrate such adaptations as well-developed dew claws, broad toes that provide increased stability on steep slopes, and a dense coat of coarse hairs with air-filled cells to insulate against the extreme temperature.While they lack antlers, a trait notable among all musk deer, they do possess a pair of enlarged and easily broken canines that grow continuously. The maximum length of these tusks is about 10 cm. During the day, white-bellied musk deer hide in dense cover and are shy and secretive. At night, they emerge to feed in more open habitats, and preferably select leaves of trees and shrubs with high protein and low fibre contents.
Distribution: Himalayan musk deer occurs in parts of northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and in northern India such as in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. It inhabits high alpine environments above altitudes of 2,500 m
Threats: As the musk the deer produces is in demand for the manufacture of perfumes and medicines, it is highly valuable. Since the species is endangered and hard to find, its value on the wildlife trade market is increased still further. The hunting and trade of the white-bellied musk deer is the main threat to the species. Deer musk may sell for as much as 45,000/kg, making it one of the most valuable animal-derived products in the world. Hunters catch and kill the deer using snares. Only males produce the musk, so this creates a problem because females and young are caught in the traps and killed
Elephas maximus indicus
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Proboscidea
Family : Elephantidae
Genus : Elephas
Species : E. maximus
Distribution: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Threats : The pre-eminent threats to Asian elephants today are habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, which are driven by an expanding human population, and lead in turn to increasing conflicts between humans and elephants when elephants eat or trample crops. Loss of significant extents of elephant range and suitable habitat continues; their free movement is impeded by reservoirs, hydroelectric projects and associated canals, irrigation dams, numerous pockets of cultivation and plantations, highways, railway lines, mining and industrial development.Poaching of elephants for ivory is a serious threat in some parts of Asia.Electrocution due to contact with electric poles and transformers has been reported as another major threat to elephants in India. Illegal timber extraction plays a significant role in deforestation and habitat degradation.
