My Science School

The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is a protected area of India consisting of 21 small islands (islets) and adjacent coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar in the Indian Ocean. It lies 1 to 10 km away from the east coast of Tamil Nadu, India for 160 km between Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) and Dhanushkodi. It is the core area of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve which includes a 10 km buffer zone around the park, including the populated coastal area. The park has a high diversity of plants and animals in its marine, intertidal and near shore habitats. Public access inside the park is limited to glass-bottom boat rides.

The dugong, a vulnerable marine mammal, is the flagship mammal of the park. It is an important habitat for the cetaceans: Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, finless porpoise, spinner dolphin, common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, melon-headed whale, and dwarf sperm whale. Larger whales include sperm whale, minke whale, Bryde's whale, sei whale, and critically endangered species including humpback whale, fin whale, and blue whale.

The islands are uninhabited except for Krusadai, Musal and Nallathanni islands where antipoaching sheds are operating. Along the coast near the park there are about 125 villages which support about 100,000 people who are mainly Marakeyars, a local community principally engaged in fishing.

 

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Vedanthangal is the oldest water bird sanctuary in the country. Vedanthangal in Tamil language means 'hamlet of the hunter'. This area was a favourite hunting spot of the local landlords in the early 18th century. The region attracted a variety of birds because it was dotted with small lakes that acted as feeding grounds for the birds. Realising its ornithological importance, the British government undertook steps to develop Vedanthangal into a bird sanctuary as early as 1798. This was established in 1858 by the order of the Collector of Chengalpattu.

The Vedanthangal Lake Bird Sanctuary features thousands of birds coming from various countries, some of which can be easily identified. Some easily found birds include cormorants, darters, grebes, large egrets, little egrets, moorhens, night herons, paddy birds, painted storks, pintails, pond herons, sandpipers, shovellers, terns, white ibises and many more. The migratory birds include garganeys and teals from Canada; snake birds and glossy ibises from Sri Lanka; grey pelicans from Australia; grey herons and openbilled stork from Bangladesh; painted storks from Siberia; spoonbills from Burma and the spot-billed duck. It is a good tourist spot.

The Vedanthangal lake is situated 122 m above sea level. It supplies water to 250 acres of agricultural land around the area. The west and south sides of the lake are bordered by a long bund, whereas the northern and eastern sides extend to the agricultural lands. Input of water into this lake is through four small canals. Maximum depth of the lake is 5 metres. The area receives an average annual rainfall of 1400 mm, mostly from the north-east monsoon.

 

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The Western Ghats or Sahyadri is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty nine properties including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were designated as world heritage sites - twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.

The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The dense forests also contribute to the precipitation of the area by acting as a substrate for condensation of moist rising orographic winds from the sea, and releasing much of the moisture back into the air via transpiration, allowing it to later condense and fall again as rain.  The largest city within the mountains is the city of Pune (Poona), in the Desh region on the eastern edge of the range. The Biligirirangan Hills lie at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats.

There are at least 139 mammal species. Of the 16 endemic mammals, 13 are threatened and amongst the 32 threatened species include the critically endangered Malabar large-spotted civet, the endangered lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr, Bengal tiger and Indian elephants, the vulnerable Indian leopard, Nilgiri langur and gaur.

 

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The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the four major rivers of peninsular India, known as the Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri.



The Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats, and have a complex geological history related to the assembly and breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Eastern Ghats are made up of charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, metamorphic gneisses and quartzite rock formations.



The southern tropical thorn scrub type forests consist of open, low vegetation that is characterised by thorny trees with short trunks and low, branching crowns that rarely meet to form a closed canopy.

The endemic fauna of the Eastern Ghats are Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) and grey slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus). The rare geckos found here are Indian golden gecko (Calodactylodes aureus), rock gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus aurantiacus), and Sharma's skink Eutropis nagarjuni.

 

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Olive Ridley sea turtles turned up for mass nesting this season, after having stayed away from the Rushikulya river mouth on the Orissa coast for two consecutive years. 

Operation Kachhapa has deployed 10 field assistants to monitor the nesting jointly with Forest Department staff. Steps have been taken to protect the nests from predators like dogs and jackals, and also against theft of eggs by local fishermen for consumption.

There are three mass nesting sites in Orissa State. The first, Gahirmatha, in Kendrapara district, is the world’s largest rookery for Olive Ridley turtles. The second, the Rushikulya river mouth rookery, has seen mass nesting since March 1994, when the phenomenon was first discovered at this site.

Operation Kachhapa, under whose aegis a patrol trawler has been provided to the State Forest Department for patrolling the sea in and around the mouth of the Devi river, is engaged in:

• Building awareness and education by putting up posters, stickers and holding meetings for local fishermen in the coastal villages


• Empowering the local fisherman community in nearly 120 villages by using travelling minstrels and handbills to enlighten them about marine fishing laws, and how their livelihoods are affected by illegal trawling


• Providing information to the media about sea turtle activity throughout the season


• Lobbying the government for protection of the turtles by coast guard patrols and Forest Department patrols


• Monitoring turtle mortality along the beach (two camps are run, one each at the Devi river mouth and the Rushikulya river mouth)


• Monitoring turtle nesting sites outside the Sanctuary


• Providing protection to turtle nests against predators.

 

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Kaziranga National Park of Assam is home to 1,855 adult Indian rhinos and also host one of the highest density of Tigers in India. Kaziranga is a World Heritage Site and hosts two thirds of the world’s great one horned rhinoceroses.

The park also combines high species diversity and recognized as an important bird area. Kaziranga also has significant populations of large herbivores include Elephants, Gaur, Wild water buffalo, 9 primate species, 4 species of wild cats and largest snakes of reticulated python and rock python along with longest venomous King Cobra snake.

Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal species. When compared with other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.

Kaziranga has flat expanses of fertile, alluvial soil, formed by erosion and silt deposition by the River Brahmaputra.[citation needed] The landscape consists of exposed sandbars, riverine flood-formed lakes known as, beels, (which make up 5% of the surface area),[citation needed] and elevated regions known as, chapories, which provide retreats and shelter for animals during floods. Many artificial chapories have been built with the help of the Indian Army to ensure the safety of the animals. Kaziranga is one of the largest tracts of protected land in the sub-Himalayan belt, and due to the presence of highly diverse and visible species, has been described as a "biodiversity hotspot". The park is located in the Indomalayan realm, and the dominant ecoregions of the region are Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, and the frequently-flooded Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Kaziranga is also surrounded by lush green tea plantations, most of them contributing heavily to Assam's economy.

 

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Corbett National Park, also called Jim Corbett National Park, natural area in southern Uttarakhand state, northern India. It was established as Hailey National Park in 1936 and was first renamed Ramganga in the mid-1950s, before the name was changed to Corbett later that decade in memory of Jim Corbett, a well-known British sportsman and writer. The park itself occupies an area of 201 square miles (521 square km). It is part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve, which includes adjacent protected areas and has a total area of 497 square miles (1,288 square km). It is India’s oldest national park.

The park was established mainly for the protection of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris); it is there that India’s Project Tiger was established in 1973 to provide havens for tigers in the country’s national parks. Among other mammals found in the park are langurs, sloth bears, Asiatic black bears, Indian gray mongooses, jungle cats, elephants, wild boars, chitals (spotted deer), barking deer, and nilgai (Indian antelope). Reptiles and amphibians include a variety of snakes (including cobras and pythons) and species of crocodiles (notably gavials and muggers). At least 600 resident and migrant bird species have been identified, including shikras (Levant sparrowhawks), Indian white-backed vultures, black partridges, golden orioles, red jungle fowl, black-crowned night herons, and peafowl.

The park has roads that facilitate tours of it via jeep or elephant, and there are numerous machans, or observation posts, from which wildlife can be viewed. 

 

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The Himalayan mountain range separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. This mighty mountain range lies across six countries in all – Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. They are bordered on the northwest side by the Karakoram Range and Hindu Kush range, on the northern side by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the southern side by the Indo – Gangetic Plain.

The Himalayas are also blessed with an extremely diverse range of flora and fauna. This exceptional natural wealth is a definite lure for botanists and zoologists who have over the years been conducting extensive studies and research on the rare species of flora and fauna found here. More than 600 million people depend on the Himalayas for their livelihood. Some of the major rivers of our nation like the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra have their point of origin amidst the snowy peaks of the Himalayan glaciers. Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists hold several mountains in these ranges as sacred spots and conduct pilgrimages on a regular basis. The Himalayas provide perennial rivers, protect Indian subcontinent from cold Arctic winds, support several exotic wildlife and are revered as our nation’s pride. They are among the best treasures that nature has gifted us.

 

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The Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered mountain goat species, their numbers dwindling due to lack of natural habitats and heightened poaching. However in Eravikulam National Park, Munnar Nilgiri Tahr finds its safe shelter along with other species of unique animals, birds and butterflies.

The male Nilgiri Tahr is larger and darker when compared to its female counterpart which is famous for its silvery saddle like patch on its back. The breeding season of the Tahrs is between June and August and the maturation period is approximately six months. As newly born calves are very susceptible to diseases and disturbances, human presence is absolutely not tolerated during such times. The offspring follow their mothers for first two months and go along with their mothers to the Rajamala Tourism Region. The approximate population of Nilgiri Tahr has shown slight progress in its number. Tigers, leopards and wild dogs are the main predators of this mountain goat.

Eravikulam National Park is very popular in Kerala especially for the way it has preserved the species of Nilgiri Tahr. It closes during the calving or birthing season of Nilgiri Tahr which is mostly from February to April, which is to give utmost care for this endangered species.

 

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The eastern Indian state of Odisha is known worldwide for seasonally hosting olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) en masse as they visit the seashore along the Bay of Bengal for mass nesting. This spring (March 2020), however, heralded a surprise for the marine conservationists and state forest department, who witnessed mass nesting of the species during the day after nearly seven years.

Local government officials taking care of the sea turtles told Mongabay-India that the daytime nesting along the Rushikulya rookery was recorded after seven years.

The olive ridley turtle is considered the most abundant sea turtle in the world, with an estimated 800,000 nesting females annually. The olive ridley is globally distributed in the tropical regions of the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They are listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red list and are also protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

This year nesting at Rushikulya has been a little delayed due to recent torrential rains in the region. It usually starts in the third week of February and continues until the first week of March, officials said. This year, mass nesting started from March 21 and has continued till March-end, even during the day.

 

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The Sundarbans forest is the only mangrove in the world that harbours Bengal tigers as the ecosystem’s apex predator. Occupying approximately 10,000 sq km, it is the largest tiger habitat in India and Bangladesh and home to more than 4 million people. With limited space and resources, these characteristics also make it one of the most significant human-tiger conflict hotspots.

The Bengal tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. It is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh. It used to be called Royal Bengal tiger.

The Bengal tiger's coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black; the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings. The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the tiger, which is reported in the wild from time to time in Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and especially from the former State of Rewa. However, it is not to be mistaken as an occurrence of albinism. In fact, there is only one fully authenticated case of a true albino tiger, and none of black tigers, with the possible exception of one dead specimen examined in Chittagong in 1846.

 

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The sangai or the Indian Eld’s deer resides as an isolated single population in the world’s only floating national park in Manipur ? the grassland-dominated Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP).

Culturally, the sangai finds itself imbedded deep into the legends and folklore of the Manipuris. Based on a popular folk legend, the sangai is interpreted as the binding soul between humans and the nature. The slaying of the sangai, an unpardonable sin, is conceived as the rude breaking up of the cordial relationship between humans and the nature. When humans love and respect the sangai, it is respecting nature. In the sangai, therefore, humans find a way of expressing their love for the nature. Socially, the sangai is the symbol of a prized possession of the state.

It is believed that the name sangai was coined from its peculiar posture and behaviour while running. By nature, the deer, particularly the males, even when running for its life stops occasionally and looks back as if he is waiting for someone and hence the name.

 

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Doyang, in Pangti village of Wokha district, witnesses one of the biggest congregations of these migratory birds because of which now Nagaland is a declared 'Falcon Capital of the World'. The Amur Falcon Conservation Week & Festivals will be held from November 8 to 10 every year and this year (2018) is its first edition. This indeed is a big and happy news when it comes to Amur falcon conservation. Nagaland and these falcons have come a long way from the days of rampant hunting to Nagaland's present-day status as a safe haven to these winter visitors. 

The main objective behind this initiative is not only to spread the word on the importance of wildlife conservation but also to highlight the fragile human-nature relationship and the need to understand it. The three-day event is a combination of wildlife conservation and many festivals that will highlight the rich culture, tradition and custom of the Lotha Nagas.

The event will also have a three-day music festival; water sports; food festivals (indigenous recipe contest, open air ethnic cooking competition to name a few); outdoor activities like angling, camping, trekking, cycling; adventure sports like off-roading, ziplining, mountain terrain biking competition. Focus will also be given on eco-tourism by promoting homestays, local guides, boating and workshops with experts in the field. 

 

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Kanha has become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot — Bhoorsingh the Barasingha — to present the hard ground swamp deer as the spirit of the reserve and spread awareness to save it from possible extinction. Barasingha, or swamp deer, is the state animal of Madhya Pradesh. The Kanha tiger reserve, spread over Mandla and Balaghat districts, is the only place in the world where the species exists.  They used Barasingha as a Mascot due to create a unique identity for Kanha, which makes it look distinct and help in spreading awareness and allows the younger generation to connect with all wildlife. Kanha National park is the last home to the Hard-Ground Barasingha (Swamp Deer). From a population of around 3,000 in 1938, their population dwindled to a near-extinction level of just 66 in 1970. Their current population is in excess of 400.

The Barasingha is a medium sized deer. It can grow to a height of 130 cm and weigh up to 180 Kg. The Barasingha have a predominantly brown coat with yellowish undersides; males (stags) develop a reddish tinge in summer and juveniles (fawns) are mottled with white. The coat of the male Barasingha becomes darker in color during the mating season. The antlers of an adult male Barasingha can grow up to 75cm long and can have more than 12 points. The Barasingha prefers tall grass and reed beds near rivers. Marshes or swampland is a Barasingha's preferred territory. The Barasingha is found in forested areas in the Gangetic and Brahmaputra basins in India.

 

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Despite heavy loss of habitat, the trumpeting call of the sarus crane – the world’s tallest flying bird with a height of approximately 1.8m and also the state bird of Uttar Pradesh— continues to echo in Gautam Budh Nagar, with the district recording a slight increase in their population, a recent forest department survey has revealed.

The bird is mainly found across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal and the north-eastern states.

With light grey plumage and a greenish crown, sarus cranes also have a distinctive red skin covering their head and upper neck.

The species mostly lives and breeds in and around wetlands as well as marshy areas, small lakes and cultivated land with the presence of water, like paddy fields.

 

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