Essay on Wildlife Conservation -Safeguarding the Future
India Possessing tremendous diversity in climate and physical condition, India has a great variety of fauna. Some Statistics, More 59353 thousands species of insects, 2000 fish, 518 reptiles, 1,266 birds, 410 mammals are found in the country.
The mammals include elephant the Indian bison (or gaur), Indian buffalo, nilgai, four horned antelope (or chousingha), black buck (an Indian antelope), Indian wild ass (ghorkhur). There is also several species of deer such as Kashmir stage, swamp deer, spotted deer, musk deer and mouse deer.
Among the animals of prey, the Indian lion is most important. It is the only lion to be found in the world found outside Africa. The tiger is our national animals. They are about 3,890 in numbers.
The general decline in its number has led to the launching of project tiger, a scheme to safeguard the tiger, its prey and its habitat, in fifteen selected areas. Among other cats are the leopard, clouded leopard, the snow leopard and various species of smaller cats.
Many species of monkeys and langurs are also found in India. The lion tailed macaque is found in the south. The peacock is our national bird. Pheasants, geese, ducks, mynas, parakeets, pigeons, cranes, hornbills and sunbirds are other important birds.
Gharials and Crocodiles are found in the river and lakes of India. The salt water crocodiles are found along the eastern coast and in the Andaman Nicobar islands. Many schemes are in operation in different states for breeding of crocodiles and releasing them in the wild.
The great Himalayan range is also rich in fauna and includes wild sheep and goats, the markhor, the ibex, the shrew and the tapir. In the upper ranges of mountains the snow leopard is found.
Conclusion
A national wild life action plan adopted in 1983 provided the framework of strategy for the wildlife conservation in the future. India is also a signatory to the convention on International treaty on endangered species for wild flora and fauna.
There are at present 51 national parks as in 2019, 543 wild sanctuaries and 54 zoological gardens in the country covering a protected area of approximately 88,000 sq. km.