Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Endangered Species
Despite having amazing biodiversity, India faces a growing challenge from its exploding
human population. Wildlife is severely threatened by poaching and habitat loss. A recent
count suggested India had over 500 threatened species, including 247 species of plants, 53
species of mammals, 78 species of birds, 22 species of reptiles, 68 species of amphibians,
35 species of fish and 22 species of invertebrates. In 2012 the International Union for Con-
servation of Nature released a list of the 100 most threatened species in the world. It in-
cluded four Indian species: a spider, a turtle and two birds, the great Indian bustard and
white-bellied heron.
Although much touted as a success story, even the massively resourced Project Tiger
faces an uphill battle every day. And every good news story seems to be followed by yet
another story involving poor villagers and corrupt officials. All of India's wild cats, from
leopards to snow leopards, panthers and jungle cats, are facing extinction from habitat loss
and poaching for the lucrative trade in skins and body parts for Chinese medicine (a whole
tiger carcass can fetch upwards of UK£32,000). Government estimates suggest that India is
losing 1% of its tigers every year to poachers.
Even highly protected rhinos are poached for the medicine trade - rhino horn is highly
valued as an aphrodisiac in China and as a material for making handles for daggers in the
Gulf. Elephants are regularly poached for ivory, and 320 elephants were poached from
2000 to 2008 - we implore you not to support this trade by buying ivory souvenirs. Various
species of deer are threatened by hunting for food and trophies, and the chiru, or Tibetan
antelope, is nearly extinct because its hair is woven into wool for expensive shahtoosh
shawls.
India's bear species remain under threat although sloth bears will experience a reprieve
with the official demise of the dancing bear industry. In the rivers, India's famous freshwa-
ter dolphins are in dire straits from pollution, habitat alteration and direct human competi-
tion. The sea-turtle populations that nest on the Odisha (Orissa) coast also face environ-
mental challenges.
Threatened primate species clinging on in rainforests in the south include lion-tailed
macaques, glossy black Nilgiri langurs and slender loris, an adept insect-catcher with huge
eyes for nocturnal hunting.
