Category Wildlife

What is the another name of Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park?

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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Which youngest mountain range in the country separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan plateau?

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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How do birds protect themselves from predators?

Birds are not too far behind mammals when it comes to smelly arsenals.

The green wood hoopoe of Africa pointedly lifts its tail at attackers and releases a foul fart smelling of rotten eggs. Its young take it a step further. They let their (liquid) faeces fly at the same time.

The babies of its next-of-kin, the Eurasian hoopoe, can fire-faecal-like fluid bullets to more than 60 cm.

Fulmars are seabirds that eat anything, from fish to rubbish. That gives the yellow vomit their chicks shoot out its distinctive bouquet. Adult fulmars simply spit stomach oil at intruders.

Smelling bad not only earns these birds the respect of their enemies but also keeps their skin and feathers free of pests. A study found 17 anti-microbial compounds in the wood hoopoe’s excreta.

 

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How do insects protect themselves from predators?

Insects have their very own cornucopia of odours, some of them toxic.

Millipedes secrete a smelly, caustic liquid to make themselves unpalatable. The liquid can burn the skin and eyes. In some species, the liquid contains hydrogen cyanide, a poison that is strong enough to kill a mouse. Lemurs and capuchin monkeys have been observed rubbing millipedes on their skin to get rid of parasites!

The bombardier beetle gets its name from the hot, lethal chemical spray that it shoots out from the tip of its abdomen. The beetle stores two chemicals in separate compartments. When it releases them, they react together, heating up to almost boiling point. The beetle sprays in a rhythmic ‘machine gun’ mode to prevent overheating.

 

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Which are the creatures that are malodorous?

There are some creatures that don’t use smell as active defence but are still malodorous because of the food they eat or the parasites they carry around.

Slow-moving sloths are colonized not only by green algae, but by beetles, moths and mites. These ‘residents’ make the sloth one of the worst-smelling animals on the planet.

Scarab beetles – up to a thousand have been found on a single sloth – live in the fur near their elbows and behind their knees, and the beetle larvae feed on their dung. Three species of mites dwell inside its bottom. Moths crawl around in the fur, feeding on secretions in the skin and the algae.

The hoatzin of the Amazon rainforest is called the stink bird. It gives off the smell of manure because it is the only bird in the world that lives almost exclusively on leaves. The leaves ferment in its stomach, leading to extremely smelly gases.

The sperm whale is another accidental stink bomb. It feeds on giant squid. The squid’s beak can piece the whale’s intestines so it excretes a waxy goo mixed with rotting squid called ‘ambergris’ to protect itself. Ironically the whale’s poop, like the musk deer’s musk, costs the earth because it is used as a base in expensive perfumes!

 

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Why Skunks evolved their smelly spray?

The most notorious of all stink bombing critters is the skunk. It is a striking black-and-white animal found only in America (the stink badger found in a few Southeast Asian islands is a relative). It can afford to strut about in a natty suit because it has a not-so-secret weapon.

It pays not to get within 2 metres (10 feet) of a skunk. That’s the distance it can spray an incredibly evil-smelling oily liquid from scent glands in its backside right into your face. Skunk spray is full of sulphur-containing chemicals that temporarily blind you and make you choke. The smell is very difficult to get rid of.

Predators avoid skunks like the plague allowing it to go peacefully about its nocturnal foraging even though it stands out like a beacon.

 

Picture Credit : Google