WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN INDIA

IUCN lists Pygmy Hog as Critically Endangered species in India. Only 200 to 500 such animals were found living in forests of Assam during a 2008 survey by IUCN.

The latest status of Pygmy Hog remains unknown since IUCN says their figures were decreasing.

It is quite likely the animal is now on verge of extinction or gone extinct in wild already.

The Indian government’s efforts to conserve the Pygmy Hog had met scant support from the public.

IUCN has listed them as Critically Endangered. They are also listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act.

In 1961 pygmy hogs were thought to be extinct, but they were accidently rediscovered in 1971 in Assam in a local tea market.

It was only in 1978 though that a census was carried out that showed 5 major pygmy hog populations. Unfortunately due to lack of substantial conservation efforts out of five only one population was left.

In 1996 captive breeding in Manas reserve was started but the animals could not be released into the wild because there were no habitats suited for them. Finally between 2008 and 2010 35 of the pygmy hogs bred in captivity were released in Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam where they have settled.

Why are they called sensitive indicator species?

Pygmy hogs are termed to be sensitive indicator species, because a decline in their population indirectly shows that there is something wrong with the habitat. Animals like the rhinoceros, wild boars etc. will not die out instantly if the habitat has degraded, but pygmy hogs will find it difficult to survive even if there is slight disbalance in the biodiversity of the ecosystem. Thus, their critically endangered status shows that the entire area where they are found is a threatened habitat.

saving the tiny pygmy hogs can save the entire ecosystem?

Pygmy hogs stay in grasslands. They need thick cover to hide and also build their grass nests. What grasslands do mostly, apart from providing fodder to herbivorous animals, is help protect forest lands from floods and create a reservoir. During monsoons, the grasslands absorb water which then slowly percolates as ground water and also flows towards the rivers and streams.

If there are no grasslands, there is soil erosion, flooding, and no particular retention of water. The ecosystem automatically starts to collapse.

Therefore, if the pygmy hog population flourishes, it indicates there is ample grassland in the habitat and therefore the entire biodiversity of the ecosystem is flourishing.

Indian Pangolin is a very unusual looking animal since its entire body is covered with thick scales.

Reason: The Indian Pangolin feeds on all sorts of ants. IUCN lists them as critically endangered since their population is steadily declining in India.

This animal is largely harmless to humans and is very shy. Hence, poachers target it easily.

The Indian Pangolin is a critically endangered animal in India because of its illegal hunting.

There is a common belief that consuming its scales and genitals increases libido and sexual powers among men. Its meat is falsely claimed to have magical cures.

Indian Pangolin (Manis Crassicaudata) is a nocturnal and very secretive wild animal,found in the rainforest,hills and plains of Indian Subcontinent. The pangolin or scaly anteater is locally known as chippu handi, eenampechi, bajrakapta, saal khapri and sallu saanp in India.

Indian Pangolin is highly endangered animal in India and world’s most hunted as well as most trafficked animal in the World. The endangered Thick Tailed Pangolin is being hunted for its meat,various body parts and scaly skin.

The Indian pangolin may be more arboreal but mostly nocturnal and terrestrial. They are entirely insectivorous and diet includes mainly ants and termites but also feeds on beetles, cockroaches and possibly worms. Nocturnal and slow moving pangolin has cone-shaped head and long sticky tongue to feed specially on termites and ants.

Indian Pangolin lives in various forest types including grasslands,rainforest,secondary forests and also well adapted to desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Pangolin distributed throughout Indian states and found in the Western ghats,Nilgiri mountains and forest of Kerala, Maharashtra Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use (e.g. as a protein source and traditional medicine) and international trade, for its meat and scales in East and South East Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular its scales, from both India and Pakistan, with Myanmar and China comprising the most likely, final destinations. Seizure reports from the country suggest that between 2009 and 2013, over 3,000 pangolins were hunted. Media reports state that during the period, approximately 5,000 kg of pangolin scales were confiscated in 25 seizures. Inadequate information on population and distribution further accentuates the threats arising from hunting and poaching. TRAFFIC is mapping pangolin trade hubs, conduits, transportation, high poaching areas and drivers in relation to poaching and illegal trafficking of pangolins. In February 2015, TRAFFIC, in partnership with WWF-India and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) launched a social media campaign to create awareness and divert efforts towards curbing illegal trade in pangolins.

Why protect Pangolins?

• Pangolins are currently the most trafficked wildlife species in the world.

• These Scales has now become the main cause of the pangolin’s disappearance.

• Pangolin meat is also in high demand in China and Southeast Asia.

• Consequently, pangolins have seen a rapid reduction in population globally. The projected population declines range from 50 per cent to 80 per cent across the genus.

The population of Indian Rhinoceros is increasing due to massive efforts by the Indian government.

However, IUCN continues to list Indian Rhinoceros as ‘Vulnerable’ because it stands at critical crossroads as endangered animal species.

The Indian Rhinoceros is typically found in North Eastern states of India, especially Assam, where it is venerated by some tribes.

Despite, illegal hunting for its thick skin and the single horn continue to threaten this fierce wild animal.

The greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis is a flagship species for conservation in protected areas in India and Nepal. In India the species is afforded the highest level of legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Although censuses of greater one-horned rhinoceros have been carried out for decades using the traditional total count method, no advanced scientific approach has been adopted for population estimation of the species in India or elsewhere. We optimized noninvasive genetic techniques for identification of greater one-horned rhinoceros from dung samples, and applied these to estimate the number of rhinoceros in Gorumara National Park, in West Bengal, India. Our results confirmed the presence of 43 individuals from 60 dung samples collected throughout the Park in 2011. We confirmed a male-to-female sex ratio of 3.8 : 1, based on analysis of DNA from dung samples, using a y-chromosome linked marker. Our results are in concordance with a census carried out by the West Bengal Forest Department that found 42 rhinoceros in the Park, with a male-to-female sex ratio of 3.5 : 1. Our study thus demonstrates the feasibility of using a noninvasive genetic approach for population estimation of greater one-horned rhinoceros in the wild.

Sport hunting became common in the late 1800s and early 1900s.[1] Indian rhinos were hunted relentlessly and persistently. Reports from the middle of the 19th century claim that some British military officers in Assam individually shot more than 200 rhinos. By 1908, the population in Kaziranga had decreased to around 12 individuals.[11] In the early 1900s, the species had declined to near extinction.[1]

Poaching for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino after conservation measures were put in place from the beginning of the 20th century, when legal hunting ended. From 1980 to 1993, 692 rhinos were poached in India. In India's Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, 41 rhinos were killed in 1983, virtually the entire population of the sanctuary.[29] By the mid-1990s, poaching had rendered the species extinct there.[2]

In 1950, Chitwan’s forest and grasslands extended over more than 2,600 km2 (1,000 sq mi) and were home to about 800 rhinos. When poor farmers from the mid-hills moved to the Chitwan Valley in search of arable land, the area was subsequently opened for settlement, and poaching of wildlife became rampant. The Chitwan population has repeatedly been jeopardised by poaching; in 2002 alone, poachers killed 37 animals to saw off and sell their valuable horns

Six methods of killing rhinos have been recorded:[29]

• Shooting is by far the most common method used; rhino horn traders hire sharpshooters and often supply them with rifles and ammunition.

• Trapping in a pit depends largely on the terrain and availability of grass to cover it; pits are dug out in such a way that a fallen animal has little room to manoeuvre with its head slightly above the pit, so that it is easy to saw off the horn.

• Electrocution is used where high voltage powerlines pass through or near a protected area, to which poachers hook a long, insulated rod connected to a wire, which is suspended above a rhino path.

• Poisoning by smearing zinc phosphide rat poison or pesticides on salt licks frequently used by rhinos is sometimes used.

• Spearing has only been recorded in Chitwan National Park.

• A noose, which cuts through the rhino's skin, kills it by strangulation.

Found mainly in southern India and around the Nilgiri range of mountains, the population of this languor is increasing slowly.

However, the rapid loss of forests and its habitat are a cause of concern to IUCN, which places it on the ‘Vulnerable’ list of wild animals.

A 2017 assessment by IUCN identifies seven different threats to the Nilgiri Langoor- construction and development, energy production and mining, agriculture and aquaculture, building roads and rail networks, building dams and hunting.

Poaching and habitat loss are the two main threats to the survival of Nilgiri langurs.

Poaching is a key threat to the survival of Nilgiri langurs, where their pelt organs, blood and flesh are used to produce crude medicines and aphrodisiacs. Prior to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, these crude medicines were widely available and even advertised. Karinkorangu Rasayanam was one of the leading products at that time. Besides this, they are also poached for their skins which are used as drum heads.

Habitat destruction, primarily due developmental projects like dams and hydroelectric projects have led to decline in their population size.

Nilgiri langurs are also captured and sold as pets.

The population of Nilgiri langur is estimated to be between 5,000 and 15,000 individuals with less than 10,000 mature individuals.

Nilgiri langurs have been protected under the Schedule I, Part I of Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is also listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The following actions are needed for the conservation of the Nilgiri langurs.

1. To strictly enforce the Wildlife Protection Act and CITES.

2. To regularly monitor the population of Nilgiri langurs in their natural habitats.

3. To check the habitat loss of the animal.

4. To restore the degraded habitats of the animal.

5. To promote captive breeding of Nilgiri langur and subsequent release in their natural habitats.

6. To educate people about the biological/ecological significance of Nilgiri langurs.

With less than 2,500 remaining around the world, the IUCN lists Malayan Tapir as an endangered wild animal in India.

This animal looks very unique due to its body structure that resembles both, a swine and an elephant.

In 2017, IUCN found seven major threats to the Malayan Tapir population in India.

These include encroachment on its habitat by humans, construction of power plants, mining, deforestation, irrigation projects, illegal logging, fires and other natural hazards as well as hunting.

The population status of the Malayan tapir and its relatives is worrying. Malayan tapirs are in trouble due to deforestation in their natural habitat. Forest is being destroyed by logging, by clearance of land for agriculture, and by flooding of land due to the creation of dams for hydroelectric projects. These activities are affecting many other types of animals in many parts of the world.

The tapir is also hunted for meat and its tough hide, but deforestation is having a far more serious effect on its population. Predation by tigers is relatively unimportant in reducing the animal's numbers compared to habitat loss and fragmentation. The tapir's low reproductive rate makes it hard for it to recover from a disaster.

One of our country’s iconic animals, the Malayan Tapir is facing a grim problem. Although loved by all of us, we are not really paying attention to ensuring this living fossil of a creature that has been around since 55 million years ago, to continue living for the next hundreds of years.

Being the herbivore that they are, the Malayan Tapir needs the forest to live and they even contribute back by helping to spread the seeds of the trees. However, their livelihood is threatened by human activity such as deforestation, flooding, and illegal animal trade.

As reported by The Assam Post, Dr. Alan Shoemaker fro the Tapir Specialist Group has explained that the declining number in these majestic animals is mainly because of habitat loss from illegal logging and lack of protection even though their habitats are known by the parties involved.

The reduced size of their habitats has forced these animals to wander further into dangerous areas, which explains the recent cause of their death; road accidents. According to Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), 25 tapirs became roadkill in 2017 alone.

One thing we can hope for is that in 2019, Perhilitan has announced that the first tapir conservation center will be built to focus on tapir rehabilitation and breeding. However, as the people of the country, we still need to focus on the underlying issue, which is the greed of certain parties who simply destroy the forest for their own gain.