India Willife Heritage

India wildlife provides a rich heritage of a long history and tradition of conservation. In India, different animals are associated with different Gods and are thus provided with religious sanctity. All the religions of ancient India respected nature and the love and regard for wildlife is a part of Indian culture.

India Wildlife - the Species

Wildlife habitats and the forests are being destroyed by the demand for land for industrialization, hydro electro projects, urbanization and agriculture and this continues to threaten many species with extinction.

These include the Indian hunting cheetah, the Royal Bengal tiger, the Asiatic lion, the Hangul deer of Kashmir and Swamp deer and Black buck. Among birds and reptiles pink headed duck, the mountain quail, Jerdon’s courser, Great Indian Bustard, Gangetic Gharial, Marsh mugger, and Estuarine Crocodile have all reached a point of near extinction.

The Government of India and the State Governments take the deteriorating wildlife situation very seriously. In 1972 the Government passed the Wildlife (Protection) Act to providing legal protection to the wildlife and to the endangered species of fauna. They created the ‘Protected Areas’ of the National Parks and Sanctuaries, which also include game reserves and biosphere reserves.

In ancient times kings and other rulers set aside vast areas for hunting, although these reserves were primarily for hunting, they also acted as conservation areas. Many of these became national parks, most notably Bharatpur National Park.

India's first wildlife sanctuary was set up at the end of the last century as the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary in Tamilnadu. The first National Park came into being in 1936 when Hailey National Park was set up in Uttar Pradesh. It is now known as Corbett National Park.

At present, there are 86 National Parks and 481 Wildlife Sancuaries together with an area of about 150,000 Sq Kms. All National Parks and Sanctuaries are different.. The Gir National Park is for the preservation of the Asiatic lion, the Kaziranga National Park for the single horned Rhinoceros and the Dachigam sanctuary for the Kashmir stag, Keibul Lamjo and the Brow antlered deer.

Velavadar National Park and Point Calimer are specifically for the protection of for the Black buck. Kanha National Park and the Corbett National Park. are famous for the richness and variety of wildlife to be found in them. The tiger population in India is officially estimated to be 3,000 - 3,500.

Decades of scientific research on tigers and their prey have helped to develop and design the protected areas that allow the species to survive. Large development projects are taking their toll on the tiger's habitat. In the past few years, thousands of square kilometers of forest land have been destroyed.

Though mostly outside the protected network, the loss of this vital habitat will have serious repercussions on tiger conservation in India. One of the earliest portrayals of the tiger in India is found in the Harappan seals from the Indus valley culture, dating back to 2500 BC, and depicting an intricate association between people and tigers. The rock paintings of Warli tribe, which date back to around 3000 BC, also feature the tiger. It is believed that tigers evolved in northern China and Far East Asia approximately two million years ago. They migrated through woodlands and along river systems into southwest Asia before they finally reached India.

During their evolutionary history, tigers split into eight subspecies. All the subspecies were alive until 1940. However, during the next three decades, three sub-species became extinct. Project Tiger was launched in India in 1973, with the goal of saving the tiger and its habitat in India. With an initial list of 9 Tiger Reserves, this Project now covers 27 Tiger Reserves across the country, incorporating an area of 37,761 sq. km.

Tigers occur in 18 States within the Republic of India, with 10 States reportedly having populations in excess of 100 tigers. There are still areas with relatively large tiger populations and extensive tracts of protected habitat.