VULTURES

● Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get a vulture
conservation and breeding centre each, according to the Action Plan for Vulture
Conservation 2020-2025- also dealing with reducing use of diclofenac
● The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) also established
the Vulture Conservation Breeding Programme.
● A Vulture Care Centre (VCC) was set up at Pinjore, Haryana in 2001 to study the cause of
deaths of vultures in India.
○ The Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore is the world’s largest facility
within the state’s Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary for the breeding and conservation
of Indian vulture species.
● Critically endangered:
○ Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis)*
○ Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris)*
○ Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus)*- Indian vulture
○ Red headed vulture
● Endangered:
○ Egyptian vulture
● Near threatened:
○ Himalayan griffon
○ Cinereous vulture
○ Bearded vulture
● Least concern- Indian griffon
For more info, please click:
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/vulture-action-plan

MALABAR CIVET

IUCN status: Critically endangered

Scientific name: Viverra civettina

● This species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, being recorded in

southern India from Kanyakumariin in the extreme south, to Honnavar in
Karnataka in the north.
 ● Once inhabited lowland forests, lowland swamp and riparian forests. However,
now that natural forests have disappeared, the species now appears to be largely
confined to thickets in cashew plantations and to highly degraded lowland forests
in northern Kerala.
● Local people report that the species is nocturnal, with individuals foraging in the
valleys at night and retreating to the scrub forests and cashew plantations by day.
● They likely feed on small animals, eggs and some vegetable matter.
● Possibly extinct- widespread hunting and habitat loss

INDIAN RHINO

Scientific name: Rhinoceros unicornis

Status: Vulnerable
App1, sch 1
Area: Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
● Assam has an estimated 2,640 rhinos in four protected areas, i.e. Pabitora Wildlife
Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas
National Park.----About 2,400 of them are in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger
Reserve (KNPTR)

● The Greater One-Horned Rhino is one among the five different species of Rhino. The
other four are:

○ Black Rhino: Smaller of the two African species.

○ White Rhino: Recently, researchers have created an embryo of the northern
white rhino by using In vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
○ Javan Rhino: Critically endangered in IUCN Red List.
○ Sumatran Rhino: Recently gone extinct in Malaysia.
● There are three species of rhino in Asia—Greater one-horned (Rhinoceros
unicornis), Javan and Sumatran.
● Only the Great One-Horned Rhino is found in India- largest rhino

● Horn- only present in adults. As long as 10 inches, uses it to protect its

territory, protect calves from other rhinos and digging for water or breaking
branches. Horn is made of keratin- the stuff that makes up hair- no proven
medicinal value
● The species is solitary, except when adult males or rhinos nearing
adulthood gather at wallows or to graze.
● They primarily graze, with a diet consisting almost entirely of grasses as
well as leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.
● The Indian rhinoceros fights with its razor-sharp lower outer incisor teeth, not with its
horn. Such teeth, or tusks, can reach 13 cm (5 inches) in length among dominant
males and inflict lethal wounds on other males competing for access to breeding
females.
● The Indian rhinoceroses’ dung piles support interesting collections of over 25
species of plants whose seeds are ingested by rhinoceroses and germinate in the
nutrient-rich dung.
● Conservation efforts:
○ New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos
○ Moefcc- DNA profiles of all Rhinos
○ National Rhino Conservation Strategy
○ Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (Assam Govt, WWF,BTC)
ASIATIC LION

● Common Name
Asiatic lion
● Scientific Name
Panthera leo persica
● Population
523

Schedule 1, App1, Status: Endangered

● Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African lions. Adult males weigh 160 to 190
kg, >> while females weigh 110 to 120 kg. The maximum recorded total length of
a male Asiatic lion is 2.92m (115 inches) including the tail.
● The most striking morphological character, which is always seen in Asiatic lions,
and rarely in African lions, is a longitudinal fold of skin running along its belly.
● Currently only present in Gir NP- Three major roads and a railway track pass
through the Gir Protected Area (PA). Also, there are three big temples inside the
PA that attract large number of pilgrims, particularly during certain times of the
year.
● Five protected areas currently exist to protect the Asian lion: Gir Sanctuary, Gir National
Park and Pania Sanctuary to form the Gir Conservation Area (GCA) covering an area of
20,000 km2 of forest representing the core habitat for the Asiatic lion. The other two
wildlife sanctuaries, Mitiyala and Girnar, protect satellite areas within dispersal distance
of the Gir Conservation Area. An additional sanctuary is being established in the nearby
Barda forest to serve as an alternative home for Gir lions.
SWAMP DEER(Barasingha)

IUCN: Vulnerable; Sch1, App1

State animal of UP and MP
They prefer tall grasslands and open habitats. They found in swampland and a variety of
forest types ranging from dry to moist deciduous to evergreen. They also found in grassy
floodplains, wooded areas, and found near water bodies
● Range : central and northern India and southern Nepal

● India : Assam, Jumna River, Ganges River, Brahmaputra River, Madhya Pradesh,
Utter Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh

● Kaziranga, Manas, Kanha, Dudhwa

The hard ground swamp deer, more popularly known as Barasingha, is the state animal
of Madhya Pradesh. Three subspecies of southern swamp deer are found in the Indian
subcontinent. These are the western swamp deer (found in Nepal), southern swamp
deer -- only in Kanha (found in central & north India), and eastern swamp deer (found in
Kaziranga and Dudhwa National Parks). Of these, the southern swamp deer have hard
hooves and are adapted to hard ground, while the other two species are found in
swampy areas.
--Hard Ground Barasingha (Swamp deer or Rucervus duvaucelii) is found exclusively
in Kanha Tiger Reserve( Bhoorsingh the barasingha)

--Efforts are on to conduct the first genetic profiling of swamp deer found in the Dudhwa
Tiger Reserve. Swamp deer or barasingha is the State animal of Uttar Pradesh and one of
the five deer species found in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
With their numbers estimated at over 3,000, Dudhwa has the largest number of
barasingha in the country
JERDON’S COURSER

Scientific name: Rhinoptilus bitorquatus

Status: Critically endangered
● Nocturnal bird feed on insects, which it hunts by sight. The population is
tentatively estimated at 50 to 249 adults, known only from the Eastern ghats- found
only Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
● For over 85 years, the Jerdon’s Courser was thought to be extinct until it was
sensationally rediscovered in 1986.
● It inhabits open patches within scrub-forest. This habitat is under tremendous
pressure due to various anthropogenic activities.
● Increase in various anthropogenic activities has resulted in loss of scrub jungle
habitat at the fringes of the Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, where the
species is found. Sri Penusula Narasimha Wildlife Sanctuary

NORTHERN RIVER TERRAPIN

Status: Critically endangered, sch1, appendix 1
Scientific name: Batagur baska

● Physical features: It is a 60 cm long turtle, recognized by 4 claws in front

feet where as other turtles have 5.
● Habitat: The terrapin is found in tidal areas of large rivers, sandbars and
riverbanks.
● The northern river terrapin is omnivorous, taking waterside plants and small animals
such as clams
● A small group of one of India’s most-threatened turtles, the northern river terrapin, is
finding refuge in four breeding ponds in the Sundarbans in West Bengal, under an
ambitious plan to repopulate the species in the wild.
● The terrapin is one of five freshwater turtles among the world’s 50 most-threatened
turtles. India’s “top five” at risk include
○ Batagur baska, the northern river terrapin found in the Sundarbans(CR)
○ Red-crowned roof turtle, Batagur kachuga, from the National Chambal
Sanctuary, spread across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh.(CR)
○ Chitra indica, the South Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle in the gangetic
river system(EN)
○ Nilssonia nigricans, or black softshell turtle, encountered in temple ponds in
north Bengal and Assam- extinct in the wild
○ Pelochelys cantorii, the Asian giant softshell turtle in the east.(CR)
○ Assam roofed turtle - CR (Sch 1)
● Batagur baska has been exploited long-term for local subsistence and
ritualistic consumption as well as some regional trade, including supply to the
Calcutta markets in the 19th and 20th centuries. Harvest of its eggs has been
extensive as the eggs are highly prized for consumption and can be
collected at known sites at predictable times. Habitat loss. Entanglement in
fishing nets.
● Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA):It was formed in 2001 as an IUCN
partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and
tortoises.

CLOUDED LEOPARD
Status: Vulnerable
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Neofelis nebulosa

● Due to its forest habitat, clouded leopards have large, dexterous paws with
specialized footpads for gripping branches. Most cats are good climbers, but the
clouded leopard is near the top of its class. These big cats can even hang upside
down beneath large branches, using their large paws and sharp claws to secure a
good grip.Specialized anklebones allow varied position for climbing, including
climbing headfirst down trees.
● Another distinctive feature of the clouded leopard is its long canine teeth. These
canines are longer in proportion to skull size than those of any other species of wild
cat.
● exceptionally long tail for balancing, which can be as long as the body
itself, thick with black ring markings.
● While more closely related to big cats, the clouded leopard is frequently described as
bridging the gap between big and small cats due largely to its smaller stature. It has
proportionately short legs and a long tail. Cannot purr like small cats, cannot roar like
the big ones, Vocalizations include growling, hissing and chuffing.
● young leopards remain dependent upon their mother
for about ten months.
● Spread: The clouded leopard is found from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Assam (eastern
India) through Indochina to Sumatra and Borneo, and northeastward to southern China
and formerly Taiwan. Clouded leopards prefer to live in lowland tropical rainforests.
However, they can also be found in dry woodlands and secondary forests, even in
foothills of Himalayas
● INDIA:
○ State animal of Meghalaya
○ Dampa (Mizo) had one of the highest population densities of clouded
leopards, among the sites surveyed.
 ○ In India, it occurs in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical
forests, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal
Pradesh.
○ Clouded leopard NP in Tripura( national park in the Sipahijola Wildlife
Sanctuary)
○ Clouded leopard’s presence is positively related to:

■ Dense forest cover

■ High rainfall
■ Hard terrain
■ Low human presence

ARABIAN SEA HUMPBACKED WHALE

Status: Endangered
Spread: The known range includes Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Pakistan and India, and
possibly the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
● one of the four species of baleen whales occurring in Indian waters.
● Arabian humpback whales, inhabiting the Arabian Sea, are a small sub population of
humpback whales, which are most genetically distinct humpback whales and are
considered to be the most isolated whale population on Earth. A population
estimation study suggests that they have remained separate from other humpback
whale populations for perhaps 70,000 years, which is extremely unusual in a species
famed for long distance migrations.
● only known subpopulation that does not undertake seasonal migrations between
high-latitude feeding grounds and low-latitude areas for mating, calving and nursing.
● Role of whales: help regulate the flow of food by sustaining a stable food chain and
ensuring that certain animal species do not overpopulate the ocean. By producing
nutrient rich feces, whales stimulate the production and growth of phytoplankton
 ● Maharashtra is the third state along the country’s west coast, after Karnataka and
Goa which will join the studies on the distribution and population of Arabian Sea
humpback whales
● Threats: entanglement in fishing gear, Oil exploration activities
● Whale vomit of Sperm Whale (1% of them produce) - Ambergris- Floating Gold -
Perfume manufacture

RED PANDA

Status : Endangered
Spread: Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas.
● In India, About 5,000-6,000 red pandas are estimated to be present in Sikkim,
western Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling district of West Bengal and parts of
Meghalaya.

○ This is the second-largest population after China (6,000-7,000).

○ Red pandas have been reported from 11 districts of Arunachal Pradesh,
which is presumed to hold the largest red panda population in the country.
○ State animal of Sikkim

● Red pandas are very skillful and acrobatic animals that predominantly stay
in trees. They use their long, bushy tails for balance and to cover
themselves in winter, presumably for warmth.
● Like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a
thumb and greatly aids their grip.
 ● When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of
dusk and dawn.
● Primarily an herbivore, the name panda is said to come from the Nepali
word ‘ponya,’ which means bamboo or plant eating animal.Red pandas have
a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as
well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs.
● They are shy and solitary except when mating. Females give birth in the spring and
summer, typically to one to four young. Young red pandas remain in their nests for
about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them.
● -Red pandas often communicate when they feel provoked or threatened. They use
body language — such as head bobbing, tail arching and standing on their hind legs
— and a variety of loud noises including the “huff-quack” and a warning whistle.
● When it gets really cold red pandas go into what is called
“torpor.” They wrap their tail around themselves and go into
a deep sleep, reducing their metabolic demands and
lowering both their core temperature and respiration rate
● Threats:
○ The loss of nesting trees and bamboo is causing a decline in red panda
populations across much of their range because their forest home is being
cleared.
○ Red pandas are often killed when they get caught in traps meant for other
animals such as wild pigs and deer.
○ They are also poached for their distinctive pelts in China and Myanmar.
Red panda fur caps or hats have been found for sale in Bhutan.

CARACAL
IUCN status: Least concern
Spread: several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central and South
Asia. While it flourishes in parts of Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.
● Could be earlier found in arid and semi-arid scrub forest and ravines in Rajasthan,
Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. Today, its
presence is restricted to Rajasthan, Kutch, and parts of MP.

➔ Name: The iconic ears are what give the animal its name — caracal comes from the
Turkish karakulak, meaning ‘black ears’. In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian
name that translates as ‘black Ear’.
➔ The caracal is an elusive, primarily nocturnal animal, and sightings are not common.
➔ rarely hunted or killed — in recent years, cases have been detected of the animal
being captured to be sold as exotic pets — and the decline of its population is
attributable mainly to loss of habitat and increasing urbanisation.
◆ Experts point out that the caracal’s natural habitat — for example the
Chambal ravines — is often officially notified as wasteland. Land and
environment policies are not geared towards the preservation of such
wasteland ecology, rather they seek to ‘reclaim’ these areas to make them
arable.

HIstory: The earliest evidence of the caracal in the subcontinent comes from a fossil dating
back to the civilisation of the Indus Valley c. 3000-2000 BC.
The caracal has traditionally been valued for its litheness and extraordinary ability to catch
birds in flight; it was a favourite coursing or hunting animal in medieval India.
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88) had siyah-goshdar khana, stables that housed large numbers
of coursing caracal. It finds mention in Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama, as a hunting animal in the
time of Akbar (1556-1605). Descriptions and illustrations of the caracal can be found in
medieval texts such as the Anvar-i-Suhayli, Tutinama, Khamsa-e-Nizami, and Shahnameh.
The East India Company’s Robert Clive is said to have been presented with a caracal after
he defeated Siraj-ud-daullah in the Battle of Plassey (1757).
MARINE TURTLES
- Pg 72-73 PT365 Updated - 1

SNOW LEOPARD

Range - Himalayas, Yangtze

three large landscapes, namely, Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda
Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and
Arunachal Pradesh.

Status - Vulnerable (5000-6000)

Scientific Name: Panthera uncia
CITES - AP 1
CMS: App 1
WPA - Sch 1

Facts- ability to leap six times the length of its body

Snow Leopard capital of the world: Hemis, Ladakh.

● India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem

Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013
● GoI hosted the 4th Steering Committee of the GSLEP program in October
2019 at New Delhi. This meeting resulted in the “New Delhi Statement”
● Project Snow Leopard (PSL): It was launched in 2009
● Snow Leopard conservation breeding programme is undertaken at
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, West Bengal.
● community volunteer programme “HimalSanrakshak”
BUSTARDS
----

Great Indian Bustard

Range:Rajasthan and Gujarat. Small populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka

and Andhra Pradesh. (Pakistan also)
Status: CR
Scientific name: Ardeotis nigriceps
CITES: App 1
CMS: App 1
WPA: Sch 1

Facts:
● distinguished by its black crown on the forehead contrasting with the pale
neck and head
● Males and females generally grow to the same height and weight but
males have larger black crowns and a black band across the breast.
● They breed mostly during the monsoon season when females lay a single egg
on open ground.
● Males have a gular pouch, which helps produce a resonant booming mating
call to attract females and can be heard up to a distance of 500 metres.
● Males play no role in the incubation and care of the young, which remain with
the mother till the next breeding season.
● These birds are opportunist eaters. Their diet ranges widely depending on the
seasonal availability of food. They feed on grass seeds, insects like
grasshoppers
MoEFCC - ‘Habitat Improvement and Conservation Breeding of Great Indian
Bustard-An Integrated Approach’.
Rajasthan government has launched ‘Project Great Indian Bustard’
Siruguppa Karnataka.

MacQueen’s Bustard

(Houbara Bustard)
Range: Velavadar NP(Gujjuraat); Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula and nearby
Southwest Asia.
Status: Vulnerable
Scientific name: Chlamydottis MacQueeny
CITES: App 1
CMS: App 2
WPA: Sch 1

FUN FACTS:

● A medium-to-large bustard; significantly smaller than Great Bustard, but larger

than Little Bustard.
● Overall tones are rather pale sandy.
● The neck is white with a vertical black stripe, most prominent in adult males.
● Females are slightly smaller and slimmer than males.
● Very similar to African Houbara Bustard, separated mainly by range.
● Display of male is an amusing dance in long straight lines across open hills
with white ornamental feathers covering its tilting head. Breeds in dry steppe
and semi-desert with scattered shrubs.
distinctive black stripe on the side of the neck, which can be erected in a spectacular
display

BENGAL FLORICAN:

Range: species native to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.) and terai region of Nepal.
lowland dry, or seasonally inundated, natural and semi-natural grasslands, often
interspersed with scattered scrub or patchy open forest.
Status: CR
Scientific Name:Houbaropsis bengalensis
CITES: App 1
CMS: App 1
WPA: Sch 1

Facts:
This otherwise reclusive bird is best known for its elaborate courtship display, where
the male’s black and white plumage is shown off to good effect in short arching
display flights, as well as choreographed strutting – with fluffed up neck feathers
and a head pumping action, to attract females.

LESSER FLORICAN
likh or kharmore
Range: breeds in India in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, MP, Andhra P.
● Scientific Name: Sypheotides indicus.

● Distribution: It is endemic to India.

● Conservation status: ENDANGERED

● Weight: The lesser florican is the smallest bustard in the world, barely weighing
500-750 gms
CITES: App 2

WPA: Sch 1

Facts:
● Best known for the leaping breeding displays made by the males during the
Monsoon season.
● 46-51 cm. Small, slender bustard with longish bill and legs.
● Male has spatulate-tipped head plumes, black head, neck and underparts.
White collar across upper mantle, white wing-coverts.
● Female and immature are sandy or cinamon-buff.
● Similar spp. Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis is larger and
shorter-necked, with no head plumes and no white collar.
● Voice Frog-like croaks during display and short whistle when flushed.
● The Lesser Florican is known for its impressive aerial courtship displays in
which the male leaps vertically in the air in a flurry of wings and legs, doing so
as many as 500 times a day.
● this conspicuous display made males very vulnerable to hunting

DOLPHINS

Gangetic
RANGE : Ganga-Brahma-Meghna; Karnaphuli-Sangu (nepal)
Status: END
Scientific name:Platanista gangetica

Facts:

● WEIGHT: 330-374 pounds

● LENGTH : 7-8.9 feet

● The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind.
● They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other
prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind.
● They are frequently found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother
and calf travel together.
● Calves are chocolate brown at birth and then have grey-brown smooth,
hairless skin as adults.
● Females are larger than males and give birth once every two to three years
to only one calf.

Irrawaddy
Range: Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins inhabit a 118-mile stretch of the river
between Cambodia and Lao PDR; Chilika
Scientific Name : Orcaella brevirostris
Status: End

● WEIGHT : 198-440 pounds

● LENGTH : 5.9-9 feet

● HABITATS: Lakes, Rivers, Estuaries, and Coasts

Fact:
These dolphins have a bulging forehead, short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side
of both jaws.
● Irrawaddy dolphins are quite shy and usually hide from boats. They can dive
underwater and hold they breath up to 12 minutes but usually dive for short
periods (under 1 min).
● they do not swim really fast, are pretty sluggish and their record swimming
speed is around 25 km/h (15 mph)
● Collaboration with fishermen: Burma’s (Myanmar) Irrawaddy dolphins
collaborate with fishermen to catch fish. Experienced fishermen “call” the
dolphins, drumming a wooden stick on their boats. The dolphins soon show
up and help push the fish inside the nets

HANGUL
Range: Only Dachigam NP (Overa Aru WS, Shikargah-Tral also) ((once widely
distributed in the mountains of Kashmir and parts of Chamba district in neighbouring
Himachal Pradesh.)
Status: CR
Scientific name: Cervus hanglu hanglu

● state animal of Jammu and Kashmir and is the only surviving species of
red deer in India.
● Fawn is a young deer in its first year and Hind is a female deer, over
three years old and her counterpart, the mature male, is called a stag.
● The male-female and fawn-female ratios, is crucial for the management
and conservation of deer populations.
● Threat :closing down of their traditional routes leading to over a dozen
alpine pastures (in Gurez)
● This deer has a light rump patch without including the tail. Its coat color is
brown with a speckling to the hairs. The inner sides of the buttocks are
greyish white, followed by a line on the inner sides of the thighs and black
on the upper side of the tail. Each antler consists of five tines.
● prefers to live in dense riverside forests between 1700 and 3600 meters of
high valleys, and also in the mountain areas.
● Kashmir stag is a herbivores animal, they feeds on flowers, leaves, and
tender shoots of shrubs.
● The weight of male Kashmir stag is between 150 to 250 kg.,>> and weight of
female is between 100 to 160 kg.
● Belly in males is dark brown in color.
 ● The fawns have distinct spots during the first few weeks of their lives………..
● In males, hairs on the ridge of the neck are long, thick and bushy. Age of
sexual maturity is 2 to 3 years for male and 1 to 3 years for female. Breeding
season is between September to October. A stag will pursue a receptive
female through the forest and uphill slopes till mating takes place. Normally
one offspring per female.

NILGIRI TAHR

--Nilgiritragus hylocrius) aka the Nilgiri ibex or simply ibex.

Range : The Nilgiri tahr, which used to be found along the entire stretch of
Western Ghats, now in fragmented pockets; elevations from 1200 to 2600 m
Status: Endangered
Highest popn → Eravikulam NP Kerala
WPA: Schedule 1

Facts:
● The recent increase has favoured a healthy sex ratio i.e.slightly skewed
in favour of female goats.
● There has been almost 27% increase in the population of the tahr in the
Nilgiris over the last three years.
● The Nilgiri tahr is a stocky goat with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane.
● Males are larger than females and of darker colour when mature.
● Both sexes have curved horns, reaching up to 40 cm (16 in) for
males and 30 cm (12 in) for females.
● The Adult males of Nilgiri Tahr species develop a light grey area or
“saddle” on their backs and are hence called “Saddlebacks”
● It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
● It is found in open montane grassland habitat of rain forests ecoregion.

DUGONG
--‘Sea Cow
Range: Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the
Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. (warm coastal waters from the western Pacific Ocean
to the eastern coast of Africa, along an estimated 140,000 kilometres (86,992
mi) of coastline between 26° and 27° to the north and south of the equator.)
Status: Vulnerable
Scientific name: Dugong dugon)
WPA: Sch 1

FACTS:
● only existing species of herbivorous mammal that lives exclusively in the
sea
● Dugongs graze on seagrass and the loss of seagrass beds due to ocean
floor trawling
● Dugong meat is consumed under the wrong impression that it cools down
human body temperature.
● Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted a ‘Task
Force for Conservation of Dugongs’
● plump appearance, but have a dolphin fluke-like tail
● Strictly marine animal
● Once the female is pregnant, she will carry the unborn baby, called a
foetus for 12-14 months before giving birth. Female dugongs give birth
underwater to a single calf at three to seven-year intervals.
● can consume up to 40 kilograms of seagrass in a day.
● Hundreds of dugongs inhabited waters off the Odisha, West Bengal
and Andhra Pradesh coasts two centuries back. But they are extinct in
these areas now,
● Seagrass in Odisha’s Chilika lake is a proper habitat for dugongs.
However, there is not extant population in Chilika,
● India has signed non-legally binding Memorandums of Understanding
with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes
(1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016),
Edible-nest swiftlet ((Aerodramus fuciphagus) )aka white-nest swiftlet,

Range: Andaman and Nicobar Islands,

( range of habitats from coastal areas to the mountains, occurring up to 2,800
metres above sea-level on Sumatra and Borneo. These birds generally occur
above forests, the forest edge, but also in open country.)

Status- Vulnerable

Facts:
● The bracket-shaped nest is built on a vertical surface and the long legs
are used for clinging. These swifts never settle voluntarily on the
ground. The nest is white and translucent and is made of layers of
hardened saliva attached to the rock.
● They also emit a rattling call used for echolocation, which enables them to
look for their nesting sites in the darkness of caves.
● The nest used in bird's nest soup is composed entirely of saliva. The soup is
made by soaking and steaming the nests in water. It is said to improve
kidney health, reduce phlegm, and to be an aphrodisiac. The nests can
fetch high prices and many colonies are harvested commercially.
● Some populations such as those in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have
been harvested extensively leading to them being considered critically
threatened under the IUCN criteria

WILD BUFFALO
translocate five female wild buffaloes from Manas National Park in Assam to Udanti
Wildlife Sanctuary in Raipur district, Chhattisgarh.

Range:

● found in the alluvial grasslands, marshes, swamps and river valleys. They are
generally found in areas that have plenty of water holes and resources
● India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, and Cambodia,
● The global population of wild buffalo has been estimated at 3,400 individuals,
of which 3,100 (91%) live in India, mostly in Assam.
● Kaziranga, Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks, Laokhowa Wildlife
Sanctuary and Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary
● Daying Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.
● Balpakram National Park in Meghalaya, and in Chhattisgarh in the Indravati
National Park and the Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary.

Status: Endangered since 1986,

Scientific Name: Bubalus arnee

State animal of Chhattisgarh

WPA: Schedule 1
Facts:

● survival hazard of inbreeding, poaching for horns and increasing male

population
● probable ancestor of the domestic water buffalo
● rather short legs
● The buffalo have small ears, drooping downwards.
● They have fluffy tips on their tails and large, outspread hooves.
● Horns of wild water buffalo are curved and outstretched.
● Females are noticeably smaller than males.
● Horns of females are longer than those of males while horns of males
are much thicker.
● Both males and females are black to slate-grey while mature males are
identified by rather dark color.

NICOBAR MEGAPODE

- Nicobar scrubfowl (Megapodius nicobariensis)

Range- Only Nicobar, Nancowry island (in Nicobar group)

Status: Vulnerable

FACTS:

● a large-footed bird that build nests on the ground

● More than 70% have disappeared over the last 12 years, (Tsunami)
● Tribal communities inhabiting the islands have traditionally hunted
megapodes, the activity increased following the tsunami.
 ● Large, brownish bird with a small gray head and massive legs and feet.
Forages on the ground in coastal forests in the Nicobar Islands.
● Builds a large mound for a nest, from where the newly-hatched chicks dig
themselves out and become immediately independent.
● Said to sing when it is dark, giving out a series of low-pitched wails which then
reach a crescendo, culminating in a loud, metallic clattering sound.

Sangai (brow-antlered deer or dancing deer or Eld’s deer )

Status: Endangered

Range: Endemic species found only in Manipur, India. Keibul Lamjao NP

Cambodia, Myanmar

WPA: Sch 1

Facts:

● State animal of Manipur

● Phumdi — floating mass of entangled vegetation formed by the accumulation

of organic debris and biomass with soil

● Shrinking habitat due to continuous inundation and flooding by high water

caused as the result of artificial reservoir of the National Hydroelectric Power
CorporationLoktak

● Sangai is interpreted as the binding soul between humans and the nature
● Name — sangai (sa“animal” and ngai “in awaiting”):

○ By nature, the deer, particularly the males, even when running for its
life stops occasionally and looks back as if he is waiting for someone

● Height
115-130cm (Males), 90-100cm (females)
● Weight
90-125kg (Male), 60-80 kg (Female): Sexes are moderately dimorphic in body
size and weight

● uniquely distinctive antlers, with extremely long brow tine

● dark reddish brown winter coat, which turns paler in summer.
● The females fawn all year round.
● The deer walks on the hind surface of its pasterns with mincing hops over
floating foliage, and is hence also called the Dancing Deer.