Endangered animals in India

India is said to be the land of forest. India has more than 700,000 sq Km of Forest area, It is more than 21% of India’s total area in India. India is also one of the most populated countries in the world, And because of that many forests and agricultural land is getting urbanized.

With faster urbanization, that are many species that are getting threats of extinction. Many of the animal species in India are now endangered and listed in the IUCN Red List

Basically, endangered species means a species of animal or plant which are on the risk of extinction. Most importantly, it also disturbs the cycle of nature if any of the species on the planet go extinct

In India, there are many wild life species who are critically endangered and at high risk of extinction.

Given below is the list of Endangered animals in India.

• One Horned Rhinoceros
• Asiatic Lion
• The Great Indian Bustard
• Snow Leopard
• Royal Bengal Tiger
• Nilgiri Tahr
• Lion Tailed Macaque
• Red Panda
• Indian Elephant
• Blackbuck

One Horned Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros also referred to as great one-horned rhinoceros, or ‘Rhino’ is a species of rhinoceros. Indian Rhinoceros are mainly found in the Indian subcontinent. Male rhinoceros has a body length of 368-380 cm and weighs around 2200 kg, while female rhinoceros has a body length of 310-240 cm and weighs about 1600 kg.

The rhino’s most important habitat, alluvial grasslands, and the riverine forest is declining at a fast rate because of the human and livestock interference. Another reason for the decline of the Population of Rhinos is Illegal wildlife trade and Poaching. Less than 1500 One Horned Rhinoceros are left in the wild.

One-horned rhino are mostly found in Kaziranga National Park in India.

Asiatic Lion

India is the only home for the Asiatic Lions in the world. The Gir National Park of Gujarat is the last natural habitat of Asiatic Lions in India. Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African lions. Asiatic lions are one of the pantherine cats inhabiting India.

They are also known as Indian Lion and Persian Lion.

The Asiatic Lions are similar in size to that of Central African Lions but smaller than Large African Lions. The adult Asiatic male Lions weigh 160-190 kg and height at the shoulders is more than 100 cm. Furthermore, females weigh 110-120 kg. 

Mainly, the diet of Asiatic Lions includes deer, buffaloes, antelopes and sometimes wild boars.

According to the 2015 census, the population of Asiatic Lions was 523 individuals, which included 109 adult males, 201 adult lionesses, and 213 cubs.

The Great Indian Bustard

The Great Indian Bustard is also known as Indian Bustard which is found on the Indian subcontinent. It is a large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs and appears like an ostrich. The bird is the heaviest among all the flying birds. They are mainly found in the Rajasthan state of India, also found in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh

Its height is about 1m and it is omnivorous. They mainly feed on insects like beetles, but their diet also includes grass seeds, berries, and reptiles.

According to Birdlife International, the Great Indian Bustard was categorized as critically endangered as its population was estimated to be less than 250.

Snow Leopard

The Snow Leopard is also called an ounce. It is a large cat in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as likely to become endangered by IUCN as its population is estimated to be less than 10000. It is mainly threatened by poaching and hunting.

The Snow Leopards are mainly found in the high altitudes of the Himalayas in India mainly comprising in the states Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The snow leopard is a carnivore and hunts Himalayan blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, a wild goat. The lifespan of an average snow leopard is 15-18 years in the wild.

In India, the population of snow Leopard is found to be 516-524.

Royal Bengal Tiger

Tiger is the national animal of India. Some facts about Royal Bengal Tigers is that they have unique combination and pattern of strips which resembles that no two tigers are the same. They attack with such a force on the animal that it breaks the spine of the animal.

Their diet mainly includes deer, wild boar, water buffalo, etc. Considering the weight and height, a male tiger weighs about 200-300 kg and has a height of 8-10 feet, while females weigh about 100-181 kg and have a height of 8-9 feet.

The estimated population of Royal Bengal Tigers is approximately 2967.

Nilgiri Tahr

The Nilgiri Tahr is also known as Nilgiri ibex or only ibex. The interesting fact about Nilgiri Tahr is it is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. They can be found in the southern states of India, namely Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Adult males weigh up to 80-100 kg and have a height of 100 cms at the shoulder. 

Unfortunately, hunting and poaching reduced their population. By the early 20th century, not more than 100 Nilgiri tahrs were left in the wild. They mainly feed on grass.

Lion Tailed Macaque

The lion-tailed macaque is also known as bruh. It is an Old World Monkey which is found mainly in Western Ghats of Southern India.

The Lion Tailed Macaque lives in the rainforest and they are active exclusively during daylight. Their diet typically includes fruits, leaves, buds, insects, etc. They basically have a height in between 42-61 cm and weigh around 2-10 kg. They probably live for 20 years in the wild.

The Lion Tailed Macaque is one of the rarest and most threatened primates. According to IUCN, their population is about 3000-3500 in the areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

Red Panda

The Red Panda is basically a mammal. Red Panda is also known as lesser Panda or the red-bear-cat.

The head and body length of the Red Panda is 50-64 cms and they weigh about 3-6.5 kg. They are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List because their estimated population is less than 10000 due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching.

Red Pandas are excellent climbers. Their diet mainly includes bamboo, birds, eggs, flowers, and berries. They also eat mulberry leaves, bark, and fruits of maple and mulberry, etc.

Indian Elephant

The Indian Elephant is one of the subspecies of Asian Elephants. They are smaller than African Elephants. The height of the Indian Elephant is between 2 & 3.5 m, while they weigh about 2000 and 5000 kg. They have 19 pairs of ribs in total. The largest Indian Elephant had a height of 3.43 m(11.3 ft) at the shoulder.

Indian Elephants mainly inhabit grasslands, dry deciduous, evergreen forests and mainly feed on grass. They are mainly found in West Bengal, Assam, Nagaland, Orissa, Jharkhand, etc.

Indian Elephants are listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List as three elephant generations were declined between 1930-1940. Their population declined by 50%. They are mainly threatened by habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation.

Blackbuck

The Blackbuck which is also known as Indian antelope was described and given its binomial name by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The blackbuck is active mainly in the daytime. They have three kinds of groups typically, male, female and the bachelor herds. Blackbucks are herbivores, they graze on low grasses and often eat leaves and shrubs.

Blackbucks need an ample amount of water, so they prefer areas where water is available in ample quantity. The male blackbuck weighs around 20-57 kg and is 74-84 cm tall at the shoulder. In comparison, females are lighter in weight, they weigh 20-33 kg or 27 kg on average.

The main reason for blackbuck being endangered is excessive hunting, deforestation, etc. In India, they are found in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, and parts of Central India. In 1947, there were about 80000 blackbucks, but in less than 20 years their population decreased to 8000. Thus, the blackbucks are endangered species on the IUCN Red List.