Highlighting the urgent need to save wildlife, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) have brought out a list of 57 critically endangered species of animals in India.
The list includes rare birds, including the white-bellied heron, three species of vultures and the forest owlet which has not been sighted for 113 years and was fortunately rediscovered in 1997.
The Himalyan quail and the pink–headed duck have not been sighted from 1949. Several mammals, such as the pygmy hog and the Nicobar white-tailed are on the verge of extinction due to selective logging, natural disaster and drastic weather changes.
The Malabar civet and the Sumantran rhinoceros, which was found in the Western Ghats and the foothills of the Himalayas, is practically extinct due to massive deforestation.
A secretion from the Malabar civet is rubbed every day on Lord Venkateshwara at Tirupati and the temple trust have agreed to finance a independent programme to breed these civets in captivity, the minister disclosed.
A large number of amphibians such as the amazing Anamalai flying frog and the Shillong bubble-nest frog are also on their way out.
This list of animals prepared by scientists of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) are classified into seven categories, with 57 animals falling under the critically endangered list, 132 in the endangered, 301 in the vulnerable, 301 in the near risk category and 2,468 which fall in the “least concern” section, minister of environment Jairam Ramesh disclosed.
Mr Ramesh warned that populations are some species are down to 250 individuals and less. “As a first step, the MOEF is going to concentrate on recovering eight species which include vultures the chalazoces bubble-nest frog and the different varieties of turtles.” Attempts are also on to protect different mammals that belong to different categories of marine life such as the Pondicherry shark, the Ganges shark, the long comb sawfish and the large-tooth sawfish need to be protected.
Mr Ramesh admitted that major habitat changes, including the construction of dams over rivers, siltation, pollution from industries and mining industries as also rising ocean temperatures were threatening these animals.
The Sumatran rhino is the most endangered of the five species of rhinoceros.
Mr Ramesh said, “Preservation of the one-horn rhino has been the most successful preservation effort amongst all animals with more than 2,000 rhinos presently to be found in the forest of India. Integrating the coastal zones forms an integral part of the programme since oceans played a key role in maintaining bio-diversity and sequestration of carbon.”