Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wildlife Conservation India
Wildlife Conservation in India
Nature has always helped mankind flourish. But it is not just what immense bounties nature has given to you. It is what you as a human being give back in return. An important question to ask yourself is, am I concerned about nature. Does saving the wildlife and taking necessary actions for those on the brink of extinction mean something to me? If it does, then come and join hands with Indian wildlife organisations to help save mother earth.
The nature projects and programmes started by the Indian government like the Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges have been started to promote wildlife awareness among the common man. The projects besides preserving our natural heritage, also encourage eco-tourism.
Significance of Wildlife Conservation
The wild creatures are a nature's gift which help embellish the natural beauty by their unique ways of existence. But due to growing deforestation and negligence, their is a threat to the wildlife and it will require special attention to save the world from loosing its green heritage.
Some of the government initiatives carried out to preserve this natural heritage include Project Tiger, one of the most successful efforts in preserving and protecting the Tiger population. Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only existing habitat for the nearly extinct Asiatic Lions in India. The Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam is a prime example of an effort to save the endangered Rhinoceros. Likewise, Periyar in Kerala is doing appreciable work to preserve the wild Elephants while Dachigam National Park is fast at work to save the Hangul or Kashmiri Stag.
Nature has always helped mankind flourish. But it is not just what immense bounties nature has given to you. It is what you as a human being give back in return. An important question to ask yourself is, am I concerned about nature. Does saving the wildlife and taking necessary actions for those on the brink of extinction mean something to me? If it does, then come and join hands with Indian wildlife organisations to help save mother earth.
The nature projects and programmes started by the Indian government like the Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges have been started to promote wildlife awareness among the common man. The projects besides preserving our natural heritage, also encourage eco-tourism.
Significance of Wildlife Conservation
The wild creatures are a nature's gift which help embellish the natural beauty by their unique ways of existence. But due to growing deforestation and negligence, their is a threat to the wildlife and it will require special attention to save the world from loosing its green heritage.
Some of the government initiatives carried out to preserve this natural heritage include Project Tiger, one of the most successful efforts in preserving and protecting the Tiger population. Gir National Park in Gujarat is the only existing habitat for the nearly extinct Asiatic Lions in India. The Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam is a prime example of an effort to save the endangered Rhinoceros. Likewise, Periyar in Kerala is doing appreciable work to preserve the wild Elephants while Dachigam National Park is fast at work to save the Hangul or Kashmiri Stag.
Project Tiger
Launched in 1973-74, it has been one of the most successful ventures in recent times to protect the striped predator. Under the same, a few sites in India were identified and named as Tiger Reserves. Special efforts were then carried out in these reserves to save the tiger. Some of the main aims of Project Tiger are as follows.
Plans are in progress to develop wireless communication systems to curb the problem of poaching. Steps like the shifting of villages outside the core area, control of livestock grazing in tiger reserves and researching data about environmental changes have also shown positive impact.
Launched in 1973-74, it has been one of the most successful ventures in recent times to protect the striped predator. Under the same, a few sites in India were identified and named as Tiger Reserves. Special efforts were then carried out in these reserves to save the tiger. Some of the main aims of Project Tiger are as follows.
- Elimination of all kinds of human activity in the core zones and minimisation of activity in the buffer zone.
- Assessing the damage done to the eco-system by human activity and efforts to recover it to its original form.
- Monitoring the changes taking place and studying the reasons for the same.
Plans are in progress to develop wireless communication systems to curb the problem of poaching. Steps like the shifting of villages outside the core area, control of livestock grazing in tiger reserves and researching data about environmental changes have also shown positive impact.
Wild Life National Parks:
1.Bandhavgarh National Park
2.Bandipur National Park
3.Bannerghatta National Park
4.Corbett National Park
5.Dachigam National Park
6.Dudhwa National Park
7.Eravikulam National Park
8.Gir National Park
9.Hemis High Altitude National Park
10.Kanha National Park
11.Kaziranga National Park
12.Namdapha National Park
13.Nameri National Park
14.Panna National Park
15.Pin Valley National Park
16.Pench National Park
17.Periyar National Park
18.Rajaji National Park
19.Ranthambore National Park
20.Simlipal National Park
21.Sunderbans National Park
22.Sultanpur National Park
23.Great Himalayan National Park
24.Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary
25.Wild Ass Sanctuary
2.Bandipur National Park
3.Bannerghatta National Park
4.Corbett National Park
5.Dachigam National Park
6.Dudhwa National Park
7.Eravikulam National Park
8.Gir National Park
9.Hemis High Altitude National Park
10.Kanha National Park
11.Kaziranga National Park
12.Namdapha National Park
13.Nameri National Park
14.Panna National Park
15.Pin Valley National Park
16.Pench National Park
17.Periyar National Park
18.Rajaji National Park
19.Ranthambore National Park
20.Simlipal National Park
21.Sunderbans National Park
22.Sultanpur National Park
23.Great Himalayan National Park
24.Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary
25.Wild Ass Sanctuary
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Western lowland gorillas
Western lowland gorillas are endangered, but they remain far more common than their relatives, the mountain gorillas. They live in heavy rain forests, and it is difficult for scientists to accurately estimate how many survive in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Western lowland gorillas tend to be a bit smaller than their mountain cousins. They also have shorter hair and longer arms.
Gorillas can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals. These troops are organized according to fascinating social structures. Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.
The leader organizes troop activities like eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group's three-quarter- to 16-square-mile (2- to 40-square-kilometer) home range.
Those who challenge this alpha male are apt to be cowed by impressive shows of physical power. He may stand upright, throw things, make aggressive charges, and pound his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a frightening roar. Despite these displays and the animals' obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and nonaggressive unless they are disturbed.
In the thick forests of central and west Africa, troops find plentiful food for their vegetarian diet. They eat roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp.
Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny—weighing four pounds (two kilograms)—and able only to cling to their mothers' fur. These infants ride on their mothers' backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives.
Young gorillas, from three to six years old, remind human observers of children. Much of their day is spent in play, climbing trees, chasing one another, and swinging from branches.
In captivity, gorillas have displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language.
In the wild, these primates are under siege. Forest loss is a twofold threat; it destroys gorilla habitat and brings hungry people who hunt gorillas for bushmeat. Farming, grazing, and expanding human settlements are also shrinking the lowland gorilla's space.
Western lowland gorillas tend to be a bit smaller than their mountain cousins. They also have shorter hair and longer arms.
Gorillas can climb trees, but are usually found on the ground in communities of up to 30 individuals. These troops are organized according to fascinating social structures. Troops are led by one dominant, older adult male, often called a silverback because of the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. Troops also include several other young males, some females, and their offspring.
The leader organizes troop activities like eating, nesting in leaves, and moving about the group's three-quarter- to 16-square-mile (2- to 40-square-kilometer) home range.
Those who challenge this alpha male are apt to be cowed by impressive shows of physical power. He may stand upright, throw things, make aggressive charges, and pound his huge chest while barking out powerful hoots or unleashing a frightening roar. Despite these displays and the animals' obvious physical power, gorillas are generally calm and nonaggressive unless they are disturbed.
In the thick forests of central and west Africa, troops find plentiful food for their vegetarian diet. They eat roots, shoots, fruit, wild celery, and tree bark and pulp.
Female gorillas give birth to one infant after a pregnancy of nearly nine months. Unlike their powerful parents, newborns are tiny—weighing four pounds (two kilograms)—and able only to cling to their mothers' fur. These infants ride on their mothers' backs from the age of four months through the first two or three years of their lives.
Young gorillas, from three to six years old, remind human observers of children. Much of their day is spent in play, climbing trees, chasing one another, and swinging from branches.
In captivity, gorillas have displayed significant intelligence and have even learned simple human sign language.
In the wild, these primates are under siege. Forest loss is a twofold threat; it destroys gorilla habitat and brings hungry people who hunt gorillas for bushmeat. Farming, grazing, and expanding human settlements are also shrinking the lowland gorilla's space.
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Mammal
- Diet:
- Omnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 35 years
- Size:
- Standing height, 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m)
- Weight:
- 150 to 400 lbs (68 to 181 kg)
- Group name:
- Troop
- Protection status:
- Endangered
- Did you know?
- Western lowland gorillas live in the smallest family groups of all gorillas, with an average of 4 to 8 members in each.
- Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Mammals
Mammals are the most developed class in the animal kingdom. They are over 200 million yeas old and lived even at the age of the dinosaurs. As their name reveals they feed their young with mammary glands. They give birth to live young and have hair compared to feathers or scales which other animal classes have.
Anatomy: From the anatomical point of view, their skeleton is in many ways similar to the human body. Their body is covered with a fur. They have got a bony skeleton. The spine can be divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and a tail part. The cervical consists of 7 parts / vertebrae (just like the humans), thoracic of 12-18 vertebrae and lumbar of 2-8 vertebrae. Sacral vertebrae are together fixed in the sacral bone. The number of vertebrae in the tail part may vary a lot. The first two vertebrae (atlas and axis) enable mammals to move their head to the sides (left / right) as well as up and down. Ribs are fixed to the thoracic vertebrae. They are also used as a great protection.
Physiology: Lungs consist of many small alveoli - this rapidly increases their inner surface. Diaphragm is between the thorax and the abdominal part. It also participates in breathing and is an inevitable inhaling muscle. The heart is made of four completely separated parts. There are two atriums and two ventricles. Deoxygenated blood flows through the right heart whereas the oxygenated blood flows through the left heart. So there are two separated blood circulations. The blood circulation starts in the right atrium and then the blood flows into the right ventricle. From the right ventricle the blood flows into the lungs where it is oxygenated. Consequently it flows into the left atrium and then into the left ventricle. From the left ventricle the oxygenated blood flows into the entire body to all organs. There it gives inevitable oxygen to tissues and last but not least the deoxygenated blood comes through veins into the right atrium. And in the right atrium it starts all over again. Mammals have got a constant body temperature, they are endothermic. They also do have sweat glands which enable them to cool themselves.
The alimentary canal starts with a mouth with teeth. Teeth have got different shape and different functions too. A food comes through the pharynx and esophagus into the stomach (gaster). Chemical digestion starts in stomach and is finished in duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Pancreas and gall bladder participate in digestion. Gall helps to digest fat and pancreatic enzymes proteins and sugars. Intestunum tenue (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) participates (apart from digestion) in resorption too. The concentration of indigestible food takes place in colon. Only water is digested there. The alimentary canal ends as an anus.
Mammals have got pair of kidneys, which excrete toxic and abundant fluid. They are placed in the lumbar area on the both sides. Nervous system is extraordinary developed. The frontal part has got the most impact over other brain parts. Sensory organs are well developed as well.
Anatomy: From the anatomical point of view, their skeleton is in many ways similar to the human body. Their body is covered with a fur. They have got a bony skeleton. The spine can be divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and a tail part. The cervical consists of 7 parts / vertebrae (just like the humans), thoracic of 12-18 vertebrae and lumbar of 2-8 vertebrae. Sacral vertebrae are together fixed in the sacral bone. The number of vertebrae in the tail part may vary a lot. The first two vertebrae (atlas and axis) enable mammals to move their head to the sides (left / right) as well as up and down. Ribs are fixed to the thoracic vertebrae. They are also used as a great protection.
Physiology: Lungs consist of many small alveoli - this rapidly increases their inner surface. Diaphragm is between the thorax and the abdominal part. It also participates in breathing and is an inevitable inhaling muscle. The heart is made of four completely separated parts. There are two atriums and two ventricles. Deoxygenated blood flows through the right heart whereas the oxygenated blood flows through the left heart. So there are two separated blood circulations. The blood circulation starts in the right atrium and then the blood flows into the right ventricle. From the right ventricle the blood flows into the lungs where it is oxygenated. Consequently it flows into the left atrium and then into the left ventricle. From the left ventricle the oxygenated blood flows into the entire body to all organs. There it gives inevitable oxygen to tissues and last but not least the deoxygenated blood comes through veins into the right atrium. And in the right atrium it starts all over again. Mammals have got a constant body temperature, they are endothermic. They also do have sweat glands which enable them to cool themselves.
The alimentary canal starts with a mouth with teeth. Teeth have got different shape and different functions too. A food comes through the pharynx and esophagus into the stomach (gaster). Chemical digestion starts in stomach and is finished in duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Pancreas and gall bladder participate in digestion. Gall helps to digest fat and pancreatic enzymes proteins and sugars. Intestunum tenue (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) participates (apart from digestion) in resorption too. The concentration of indigestible food takes place in colon. Only water is digested there. The alimentary canal ends as an anus.
Mammals have got pair of kidneys, which excrete toxic and abundant fluid. They are placed in the lumbar area on the both sides. Nervous system is extraordinary developed. The frontal part has got the most impact over other brain parts. Sensory organs are well developed as well.
Wild life in India
The wildlife of India is a mix of species of diverse origins.The region's rich and diverse wildlife is preserved in numerous national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country. Since India is home to a number of rare and threatened animal species, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these species.According to one study, India along with 17 mega diverse countries is home to about 60-70% of the world's biodiversity.
India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species.Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, also exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.India's forest cover ranges from the [[The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.tropical rainforest of India of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded the Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.
Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, to which India originally belonged. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with, the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic change 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms. Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya. As a result, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. Notable endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and carmine Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated threatened species.These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.
In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; further federal protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 500 wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 15 biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 25 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.
The varied and rich wildlife of India has had a profound impact on the region's popular culture. Common name for wilderness in India is Jungle which was adopted by the British colonialists to the English language. The word has been also made famous in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. India's wildlife has been the subject of numerous other tales and fables such as the Panchatantra and the Jataka tales.
India, lying within the Indomalaya ecozone, is home to about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species.Many ecoregions, such as the shola forests, also exhibit extremely high rates of endemism; overall, 33% of Indian plant species are endemic.India's forest cover ranges from the [[The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.tropical rainforest of India of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats, and Northeast India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these extremes lie the sal-dominated moist deciduous forest of eastern India; teak-dominated dry deciduous forest of central and southern India; and the babul-dominated thorn forest of the central Deccan and western Gangetic plain.Important Indian trees include the medicinal neem, widely used in rural Indian herbal remedies. The pipal fig tree, shown on the seals of Mohenjo-daro, shaded the Gautama Buddha as he sought enlightenment.
Many Indian species are descendants of taxa originating in Gondwana, to which India originally belonged. Peninsular India's subsequent movement towards, and collision with, the Laurasian landmass set off a mass exchange of species. However, volcanism and climatic change 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms. Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalaya. As a result, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. Notable endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and carmine Beddome's toad of the Western Ghats. India contains 172, or 2.9%, of IUCN-designated threatened species.These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.
In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; further federal protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 500 wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 15 biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 25 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.
The varied and rich wildlife of India has had a profound impact on the region's popular culture. Common name for wilderness in India is Jungle which was adopted by the British colonialists to the English language. The word has been also made famous in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. India's wildlife has been the subject of numerous other tales and fables such as the Panchatantra and the Jataka tales.
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