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Endangered Animals in India

WhatsApp Video 2021-03-31 at 17.46.57.mp4

BENGAL TIGER

There are 2,226 tigers in India today – with smaller populations found in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. While tiger numbers have increased in the last few years, they are still considered endangered. Why? The growing demand for poaching to meet a market from Asia in recent years has kept the Bengal tiger at risk.

The mangroves of the Sundarbans—shared between Bangladesh and India—are the only mangrove forests where tigers are found. However, the Sundarbans are increasingly threatened by sea level rise as a result of climate change, thus threatening the tiger.

The name Rhinocerous comes from two Greek words Rhino and Ceros, which when translated into English mean nose horn! It’s a very fitting name, don’t you think? Unfortunately, though, poaching for their distinctive horns is their biggest threat. They are used in Traditional Chinese medicine and displayed as a status symbol and demonstration of wealth. They are so highly prized that a Javan rhino horn can sell for up to $30,000 per kg on the black market.

Because of this, three of the five species of rhinoceros are among the most endangered species in the world: the black rhino, the Javan rhino, and the Sumatran rhino. The Javan rhino is the closest to extinction with only between 46 to 66 individuals left, all of which are in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia.

Sketch of a One Horned Rhinoceros

ONE HORNED RHINOCEROS

ASIAN ELEPHANT

There are two kinds of elephants: the African elephant and the Asian elephant, which are both endangered. There are believed to be around five-hundred-thousand African elephants in the wild, which may sound like a lot, but only twenty-five years ago, there were more than one million. The numbers are decreasing very quickly. That means in twenty-five years, half the elephants that lived, have died.

Asian elephants are even more endangered than African elephants. There are less than 50,000 alive, which is only a tenth of the number of African elephants, due to the decreasing habitat and poachers.

Several fox species are endangered in their native environments. Pressures placed on foxes include habitat loss and being hunted for pelts, other trade, or control. Due in part to their opportunistic hunting style and industriousness, foxes are commonly resented as nuisance animals.

On the other hand, foxes, while often considered pests themselves, have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit farms while leaving the fruit intact.

FOX

SEA TURTLES

Next on our endangered species list are sea turtles. Two species of sea turtle are critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hawksbill Turtles and Kemps Ridley Turtles. Leatherback sea turtles are classified as Vulnerable, though the population is decreasing and several subpopulations are facing extinction.

Hunting is one of the biggest threats to sea turtles, with poachers targeting their eggs, shells, meat and skin. They are also at risk from habitat loss, bycatch, and pollution as well as climate change. Sand temperature determines the sex of hatchlings with eggs developing as females in warmer temperatures. That means even small temperature changes could skew the sex ratio of populations. Furthermore, breeding beaches could disappear underwater with sea-level rise

Drawing of a Snow Leopard

SNOW LEOPARD

There are at least nine different subspecies of leopards. Many of these are endangered, the most endangered being the Amur leopards. There are only forty left on this earth. They live in the same area as the Siberian tiger, which has also been affected by the decreasing habitat.

Because leopards are some of the most beautiful animals, with beautiful fur, people used to hunt them, which is the primary reason for the limited number left today. The number of Amur leopards left has decreased the number so significantly; it has reduced the odds of the ones left to become pregnant, which is causing their population to decrease substantially.

The snow leopard is another endangered leopard. There are around five thousand snow leopards left on this Earth in the wild. A big problem for the snow leopard is that the animals they prey on are decreasing. As their food falls, so do the number of surviving snow leopards.

GHARIAL

Gharials are fish-eating crocodiles from India. They have long thin snouts with a large bump on the end which resembles a pot known as a Ghara, which is where they get their name. They spend most of their time in freshwater rivers, only leaving the water to bask in the sun and lay eggs.

Unfortunately, Gharial numbers have been in decline since the 1930s and, sadly, this large crocodilian is now close to extinction. There are only around 100 to 300 left in the wild. Their decline is due to several issues, though all human-made. Habitat loss, pollution and entanglement in fishing nets pose some of the biggest threats, along with poachers that target them for use in traditional medicine.

Gorillas are fascinating creatures that share 98.3% of their DNA with humans! They are capable of feeling emotions like we do and even behave like us sometimes – did you know they can laugh?There are two species, the Eastern Gorilla and the Western Gorilla, and they both have two subspecies. Three out of four are Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The only one that isn’t is the Mountain Gorilla, a subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla, which is considered Endangered.

At the time of writing (June 2020), there are only around 150 to 180 adult Cross River Gorillas left in the wild. Like many endangered animals, their decline is mostly due to poaching, habitat loss, disease, and human conflict. Gorillas are also slow to recover as they have a low reproductive rate, meaning females only give birth every four to six years. One female will breed three or four times in her lifetime

GORILLAS

RED PANDA

According to the IUCN, the red panda is listed as endangered because ‘’ its population has plausibly declined by 50% over the last three generations and this decline is projected to continue, and probably intensify, in the next three generations.’’ In India, this small mammal found on high trees is found in Sikkim, western Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling district of West Bengal and parts of Meghalaya. It is also the state animal of Sikkim. The loss of nesting trees and bamboo is causing a decline in red panda populations across much of their range because their forest home is being cleared.

Here are WWF-India’s interventions for red panda conservation – you can get in touch with us to know how you can help!

The Ganges River dolphin lives in one of the world's most densely populated areas, and is threatened by removal of river water and siltation arising from deforestation, pollution and entanglement in fisheries nets. In addition, alterations to the river due to barrages are also separating populations. It inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.

This vast area has been altered by the construction of more than 50 dams and other irrigation-related projects, with dire consequences for the river dolphins. A recent survey conducted by WWF-India and its partners in the entire distribution range in the Ganga and Brahamaputra river system - around 6,000 km - identified fewer than 2,000 individuals in India.