12Endangered and endemic species of
India - Conservation of biodiversity: In-situ and Ex-situ conservation of
biodiversity
Endangered
and endemic species of India
The endangered species in the country are
categorised as Vulnerable, Rare, Indeterminate and Threatened. Other species
are found only in India and are thus endemic or restricted to our country. Some
of these may have very localized distribution and are considered highly
endemic.
Several plant and animal species in the country
are now found in only one or a few Protected Areas. Among the important
endangered animals are charismatic species such as the tiger, the elephant, the
rhino, etc. The less well-known major mammals restricted to a single area
include the Indian wild ass, the Hangul or Kashmir stag, the Golden langur, the
pygmy hog and a host of others. There are also endangered bird species such as
the Siberian crane, the Great Indian Bustard, the Florican and several birds of
prey. During the recent past, vultures which were common a decade ago, have
suddenly disappeared and are now highly threatened. Equally threatened are
several species of reptiles and amphibia. Many invertebrates are also
threatened, including a large number of species that inhabit our coral reefs.
Many plant species are now increasingly threatened
due to changes in their habitats induced by human activity. Apart from major
trees, shrubs and climbers that are extremely habitat specific and thus
endangered, there are thousands of small herbs which are greatly threatened by
habitat loss. Several orchids are yet another group of plants that are under
threat.
Many
plants are threatened due to overharvesting as ingredients in medicinal
products.
To protect endangered species India has created
the Wildlife Protection Act. This includes lists of plants and animals
categorised according to the threat on their survival.
We know so little about the species diversity of
our country. There are several groups of which we know very little. Most of us are
only aware of the plight of a few glamorous large mammals, but we need to
appreciate the threat to the less known species of plants and animals. We need
to find ways to support the conservation of our incredible wildlife for future
generations.
A very special rare species is the Indian wild
ass, endemic to the Little Rann of Kutch. Himalayan pastures support several
species of wild goats and sheep, many of them restricted to the region, like
the goral and the Himalayan tahr. A single species, the Nilgiri tahr is found
in the Nilgiri and Annamalai hills in south India.
The rhinocerous is now restricted to Assam but was
once found throughout the Gangetic plains. The wild buffalo is now also
restricted to the Terai. The elephant is distributed in the Northeastern and
Southern States. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching for ivory. Gaur
is found in patches in several well-wooded parts of India.
The best known predator of our forests is the
tiger. Its gold and black stripes hide it perfectly in the forest undergrowth.
It preys on herbivores such as sambar or chital or less frequently on domestic
animals. The tiger kills only three or four times a month. Its numbers have
declined due to poaching for its superb skin, and for the supposed magical
value of its teeth, claws and whiskers. In the recent past it has been
extensively killed for the supposed medicinal properties of its bones that are
used in Chinese medicine.
The Asiatic lion is now found only in the Gir
forests of Gujarat.
The leopard is more adaptable than the tiger and
lives both in thick forests and degraded forest areas. Its beautiful ring like
markings camouflage it so perfectly that its prey cannot see its stealthy
approach. The smaller jungle cat, which is a light brown animal and the leopard
cat, which is a little bigger than a domestic cat, are very rare. The most
typical predator of the HImalayas is the snow leopard, which is very rare and
poached for its beautiful skin which is pale grey with dark grey ring-like
markings.
The wolf, jackal, fox and the wild dog or ‘dhole’
form a group called canids. Another threatened predator is the Himalayan wolf.
The wolves are now highly threatened as they have become increasingly dependent
on shepherd’s flocks. Thus shepherds constantly find ways to kill the wolves.
A rare macaque is the lion-tailed macaque found
only in a few forests of the southern Western Ghats and Annamalai ranges. It is
black in colour, has long hair, a grey mane and a tassel at the end of its tail
that looks like a lion’s tail.
The rare golden langur, is golden yellow in colour
and lives along the banks of the Manas River in Assam. The capped langur is an
uncommon species of Northeast India. The rare black nilgiri langur lives in the
southern Western Ghats, Nilgiris and Annamalais.
Birds:
There are over 1200 bird species found in India in
different habitats. Most of our forest birds are specially adapted to life in
certain forest types. Some Himalayan species however can also be seen in the
Western Ghats
Grasslands support many species of birds. The most
threatened species is the Great Indian bustard, a large, brown stately bird
with long legs which struts about through grasslands look ing for locusts and
grasshoppers. Another rare group of threatened birds are the floricans
The crocodile is our largest reptile which is
poached for its prized skin. The gharial is endemic to India and is highly
threatened.
Marine Life:
Marine ecosystems are most frequently associated
with fish and crustacea like crabs and shrimp, which we use as food. The other
species that are endangered include the marine turtles, which are reptiles, and
whales that are mammals.
Endangered fish such as the Mahseer which once
grew to over a meter in length.
CONSERVATION
OF BIODIVERSITY: INSITU AND EX-SITU
In-situ conservation
Biodiversity at all its levels, genetic species
and as intact ecosystems, can be best preserved insitu by setting aside an
adequate representation of wilderness as ‘ Protected Areas’. These should consist
of a network of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries with each distinctive
ecosystem included in the network. Such a network would preserve the total
diversity of life of a region.
In the past National Parks and Sanctuaries in
India were notified to preserve major wildlife species such as tigers, lions,
elephants, and deer. The objective of these areas should be expanded to the
preservation of relatively intact natural ecosystems, where biological
diversity – from microscopic unicellular plants and animals, to the giant trees
and major mammals – can all be preserved.
However species cannot be protected individually
as they are all inter dependent on each other. Thus the whole ecosystem must be
protected. The biologist’s view point deals with areas that are relatively
species rich, or those where rare, threatened or endangered species are found,
or those with ‘endemic’ species which are not found elsewhere. As rare endemic
species are found only in a small area these easily become extinct due to human
activity. Such areas must be given an added importance as their biodiversity is
a special feature of the region.
Animals such as elephants require different types
of habitat to feed in during different seasons. They utilize open grasslands
after the rains when the young grass shoots are highly nutritious. As the
grasses dry, the elephants move into the forest to feed on foliage from the
trees. A Protected Area that is meant to protect elephants must therefore be
large enough and include diverse habitat types to support a complete complement
of inter linked species
Ex-situ conservation
Conservation of a species is best done by
protecting its habitat along with all the other species that live in it in
nature. This is known as in-situ conservation, which is conserving a species in
its own environment by creating National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
However, there are situations in which an endangered species is so close to
extinction that unless alternate methods are instituted, the species may be
rapidly driven to extinction. This strategy is known as ex-situ conservation,
i.e. outside its natural habitat in a carefully controlled situation such as a
botanical garden for plants or a zoological park for animals, where there is
expertise to multiply the species under artificially managed conditions. These
breeding programs for rare plants and animals are however more expensive than
managing a Protected Area.
There is also another form of preserving a plant
by preserving its germ plasm in a gene bank so that it can be used if needed in
future. This is even more expensive.
When an animal is on the brink of extinction, it
must be carefully bred so that inbreeding does not lead to the genetic makeup
becoming weak. Breeding from the same stock can lead to poorly adapted progeny
or even inability to get enough offspring.
Modern breeding programs are done in zoos that
provide for all the animal’s needs, including enclosures that simulate their
wild habitats. There may also be a need to assist breeding artificially. Thus
while most zoos are meant to provide visitors with a visual experience of
seeing a wild animal close up, and provide the visitors with information about
the species, a modern zoo has to go beyond these functions that include
breeding of endangered species as a conservation measure.
In India, successful ex situ conservation programs
have been done for all our three species of crocodiles. This has been highly
successful. Another recent success has been the breeding of the very rare pygmy
hog in Gauhati zoo. Delhi zoo has successfully bred the rare Manipur brow
antlered deer.
However the most important step of a successful
breeding program is the reintroduction of a species into its original wild
habitat. This requires rehabilitation of the degraded habitat and removal of
the other causes such as poaching, disturbance, or other manmade influences
that have been the primary cause of reducing the population of the species.
In India, successful ex situ conservation programs
have been done for all our three species of crocodiles. This has been highly
successful. Another recent success has been the breeding of the very rare pygmy
hog in Gauhati zoo. Delhi zoo has successfully bred the rare Manipur brow
antlered deer.
However the most important step of a successful breeding
program is the reintroduction of a species into its original wild habitat. This
requires rehabilitation of the degraded habitat and removal of the other causes
such as poaching, disturbance, or other manmade influences that have been the
primary cause of reducing the population of the species.
Conservation of cultivars and livestock breeds:
There were an estimated thirty thousand varieties of rice grown in India till
about 50 years ago. Now only a few of these are still grown. The new varieties
which are now being cultivated everywhere have been developed using germ plasm
of these original types of rice. If all the traditional varieties vanish
completely it will be difficult to develop new disease resistant varieties of
rice in the future. Several varieties have been preserved in gene banks.
However, this is both very expensive and risky. Encouraging farmers to continue
to grow several traditional varieties is thus an important concern for the
future of mankind. At present gene bank collections have over 34 thousand
cereals and 22 thousand pulses. In the past, domestic animals were selected and
bred for their ability to adapt to local conditions. Traditional
agropastoralists in India have selectively bred livestock for 2 to 3 thousand
years. India has 27 breeds of cattle, 40 breeds of sheep, 22 breeds of goats,
and 8 breeds of buffaloes. These traditional breeds must be maintained for
their genetic variability
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