50 ‘Critically Endangered’ Animal Species in India

Critically Endangered Animal Species In India

Critically Endangered Animal Speciesc In India

Blessed with the rarest of the rare varieties of plants and animals, India is a country with one of the richest wildlife in the world. A land of biodiversity, India is definitely blessed. The wide range of species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds that the country possesses is unmatchable. However, a cause of concern is the endangering of thousands of these plants and animals.

At present, several of the species of our country have already been declared extinct and thousands of others are endangered. As per the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the critically endangered species are those which are on the verge of being extinct, typically having a really high risk of getting extinct in the near future.

On one hand where we can boast of 96,000 species, as per the Zoological survey, inhabiting the country, on the other hand, we find out that out of total, 50 are critically endangered.

Of these 50 species, 13 species are of birds, 18 amphibians and 14 fishes among others. The Indian Sea cow or the Dugong is one of these critically endangered species. Even though the species is on the verge of extinction as only 250 of them are left in the country, continuation of poaching is indeed a cause of concern for the government.

Another cause of concern for the wildlife department is the Great Indian Bustard. This large bird is found mainly in Rajasthan. As per the survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India in October, there were only 13 of these birds in Rajasthan, 11 in Gujarat and just 6 in Maharashtra.

Mainly found in Manipur, Sangai or the Brow Antlered deer, is another critically endangered species whose population was only 204 in 2013. The Manipur government has been making concerted efforts to save this deer from extinction.

With only 300 of them left, the Ganges River Dolphin is another worry for the wildlife department. Major causes of these species becoming endangered are accidental or deliberate killing and illegal fishing activities. Another species, which is critically endangered is the Wild Buffalo. As of March 2013, there were only 4000 of these wild buffaloes left, out of which 2900 are in India.

Many other critically endangered species include the Bengal Tiger, Ganges Shark, Anamalai Flying Frog, Indian Vulture, and Sumatran Rhinoceros, among several others.

The main reasons contributing to these species becoming endangered are human activity, global warming and climate changes which drastically affect the natural habitat of these animals and also the environment. The Government has been trying its best to conserve the precious and rich flora and fauna of the nation by establishing several national parks, bird sanctuaries and wildlife sanctuaries.

Government funding to save animals from extinction

Apart from this, the government has allocated funding for the conservation of these animals in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. For conservation of Ganges River Dolphin, Rs. 23 crore has been budgeted, for Dugong almost Rs 23 crores have been budgeted and Rs 108 crores and almost Rs. 100 cores have been budgeted for the Great Indian Bustard and the Manipur deer respectively.

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