India as Unique
Indian Fauna
There are around 500 varieties of mammals, 2000 species of birds and 30,000
types of insects and a wide variety of fish, amphibians and reptiles are found
in the country according to the latest census
estimate. India is also a land of some of the most endangered fauna and some
them are …………….
Clouded Leopard : named after the distinctive
'clouds' on its coat - ellipses partially edged in black, with the insides a
darker colour than the background colour of the pelt. The base of the fur is
a pale yellow to rich brown, making the darker cloud-like markings look even
more distinctive . The limbs and underbelly are marked with large black ovals,
and the back of its neck is conspicuously marked with two thick black bars.
The clouded leopard is about the size of a small Labrador retriever with a body
length of up to 90 cm: an intermediate size between the large and small cats
of the world .It does, however, have an exceptionally long tail for balancing,
which can be as long as the body itself, thick with black ring markings
Range - The clouded leopard is found in tropical and sub-tropical forests
from India, South China, Burma, Indochina to Sumatra and Borneo . Despite this
wide distribution, it actually has a very low population and is very thinly
dispersed . The clouded leopard’s total effective population size is estimated
at below 10,000 mature breeding individuals; no subpopulation contains more
than, 1000 mature breeding individuals.
The Red Panda - also called the "Fire
Cat," is a tree dwelling mammal, which looks like a
raccoon,
with its bushy tail and white and black markings across its face. Characterized
by its red fur, the Red Panda looks very different from its larger relative
the Giant Panda. The Red Panda weighs 3-6 Kg and is covered with red fur. It
grows to a length of 50-60 cm with a 20-50 cm long tail. It looks like a raccoon,
with white tipped ears, white markings on its face, long whiskers and a bushy
striped tail. Its paws are equipped for grasping the stems of bamboo plants
and twigs of trees. It has a strong jaw to help it chew bamboo and en extended
pad on the sole of the forepaw and the first digit of its paw to help it grasp
bamboo while eating and in climbing up trees
Range : Red Pandas are found in the sub Himalayan states of North East
India - Sikkim, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. The Red Panda's range extends
across Nepal, Bhutan, China, Laos and Myanmar. It is found in areas within an
altitude of 1500 to 4000 m.
Snow Leopard - The Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)
is classified as the sole member of the genus Uncia uncia and is not related
to the common leopard. The Snow Leopard can measure anything between 90 cm to
1 m 35 cm in length and weigh almost 50 kgs. It has rosettes and broken spot
markings, less defined than that of the common leopard, and are spaced further
apart. The woolly fur protects it from extreme cold.The general color is predominantly
grey with brownish/yellow tinges on the flanks and lighter, often white fur
on its belly, chest and chin. Its head is relatively small as
compared
to its body size. Its tail is long which helps it to keep its balance as it
moves and has powerful limbs which are short for its body and are supported
by large, powerful paws.
Range : Mountainous regions of northern India, the former USSR and in
the mountainous regions of Himalayan regions of India.
One-Horned Rhino - The Indian Rhinoceros,
internationally known as the Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros is a massively
built beast of truly gigantic proportions that is next only to the Indian Elephant.
A single One -Horned Rhino weighs about 1800 kg and is about 1.5 to 1.8 m tall.
Range : Though it could once be found throughout India in the grassy
flood plains of the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers, it is now restricted
to the banks of the Brahmaputra, for its natural habitat of marshes, grassland
and swamps has gradually been turned into farmland. The Great Indian One Horned
Rhinoceros can be found in the national reserves of Kaziranga, Manas and Jaldapara.
The
Asiatic Lion - From Gujarat's splendid wildlife reserves that are
quite out of the ordinary and the most amazing one is the Gir National Park,
where the last surviving population of the Asiatic lion is to be found. Being
a major wildlife conservation hub of India, Gir is a refuge of more than 300
lions.
The prey animals at Gir are generally smaller in Gir than they are in Africa,
and hunting groups tend to be smaller as well. The Gir Lions themselves aren’t
as big as African lions, and they have shorter manes and a long fold of skin
on their undersides that many lions in Africa don’t have.
Bengal Tiger - is not only the National
Animal of India; it is the very essence of Indian wildlife. But poaching and
too much killing have threatened its very existence of this magnificent animal,
Tiger. With the success of Project Tiger some of the sanctuaries have seen a
bright light and Corbett National Park is the biggest example of it, having
the highest density of tiger in India.
The Great Indian Bengal Tiger can be found in the national reserves of Bandhavgarh,
Kanha, Corbett National, Sunerbans National Parks and in other game reserve
& wildlife sanctuaries.
Ganges
River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) - The Ganges River dolphin,
or “susu” (Platanista gangetica) occur in the Ganga and Brahmaputra,
south Asia’s largest river systems. It can now be considered amongst the
most endangered mammals of the region.
The Ganges river dolphin ranges from 2.3 to 2.6 meters in length. The tail fluke
is on average 46cm in width. Females are larger than males.The color of this
dolphin varies from lead-colored to black. The undersides are lighter in color.
The rostrum is 18 to 21cm in length and the forehead is steep and rises abruptly
from the base of the snout. The dorsal fin is rudimentary and ridge-like, and
the ends of the pectoral fins are squared instead of tapered. The neck is visibly
constricted and the blowhole is a longitudinal slit. There are 28 to 29 teeth
on either side of the jaw. The eye and optic nerve of the Ganges river dolphin
are degenerate. The eye lacks a lens and is therefore incapable of forming images
on the retina. However, it functions in light-detection. It is believed that
the lack of a true visual apparatus in the river dolphin is related to its habitat;
the water in which it lives is so muddied that vision in essentially useless.
Range : The Ganges river dolphin is found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and
Bangledesh in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Karnaphuli, and Hoogli river
systems.
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