Category Animal Records

Do the names Sudan, Martha, and George ring a bell? And, what is common to them? Sudan, a male northern white rhinoceros; Martha, a passenger pigeon and George, a Hawaiian tree snail were all the last of their kind (none of them is alive today). Thankfully, the world has been alive to the concerns of extinction for a while now. Which explains concerted conservation efforts globally to ensure we do not forever lose species as an unfair consequence of our own actions. Population decline in several species has been reversed, while some have been stopped from going extinct. But should our focus be only on species teetering on the edge of extinction and whose numbers are plummeting? Come, let’s find out.

Nature is limitless. Or, is it? Even as recently as the 19th Century, extinction at sea was deemed impossible. “given the reproductive capacity of marine organisms and the impracticality of overfishing”. Species such as the passenger pigeon, the northern cod (a type of fish), the plains bison, the American chestnut (a deciduous tree), and the eastern white pine were once considered super-abundant, and their decline/disappearance, inconceivable. But the reality in all these cases has been different. And points to the fact that common species face decline and extinction too.

It’s wise to remember that several species on the brink of extinction started off as abundant or common. Abundance offers only a “partial buffer” against extinction, and the focus should be on the rate of decline because abundant species “are not immune to decimation”. For instance, a study of North American birds uncovered that “three billion birds on this continent within the past two generations” were lost. The focus on common species is as important as on rare ones because “the shifts in abundance of common species can translate into sizeable shifts in ecosystem functioning”.

 Take the case of birds. Given the amount of “insects they eat, the flowers they pollinate and the seeds they disperse”, a sudden and drastic decrease in the population of a common species can spell disaster in an ecosystem. Apart from this, studies show that encounters in the natural world-even a butterfly in a garden- improve the mental health of humans. When common species go, so will our chance of such encounters.

While rare species do require the attention they get,” the extinction of Commonness” should be prevented. And this can be done when we “monitor nature closely, guard against complacency and invest for the long term.”

Picture Credit: Google 

While the arrival of cheetahs from South Africa certainly dominated headlines in 2022, several other species too were in the spotlight in our country for various reasons. Let’s take a look at a few of them

Tiger

As a keystone species, the tiger continues to get national attention, and rightly so. Our country is home to over 50 tiger reserves, and this year, two more got added to that list. The 52nd tiger reserve is in Rajasthan-Ramgarh Vishdhari, spread across Bundi, Bhilwara, and Kota districts over an area of more than 1,500 sq.km. The State’s fourth tiger reserve – after Ranthambore, Sariska, and Mukundra, it is expected to be a major corridor connecting tigers of Ranthambore and Mukundra reserves. The country’s 53rd tiger reserve is in Uttar Pradesh-the Ranipur Tiger Reserve in Chitrakoot district, spread over nearly 530 sq.km. This is the State’s fourth tiger reserve after Dudhwa, Pilibhit, and Amangarh. The new reserve in the Bundelkhand region is just 150 km from the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

Elephant

While Project Tiger is perhaps the most popular in the country, there are other projects looking at protecting specific species. One of them is Project Elephant. Set up in 1992, the initiative has been pivotal in the creation of several elephant reserves across the country. In October, the newest addition to the list – Terai Elephant Reserve at Dudhwa-Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh – was approved by the Union government. When it becomes a reality, it will be the country’s 33rd elephant reserve, and according the government, “will help in conserving trans-boundary migratory elephant population”.

Dugong

The year 2022 is seen as a watershed moment in the conservation of a vulnerable marine species-the dugong. Tamil Nadu notified India’s first ever dugong conservation reserve in the Palk Bay area of the Gulf of Mannar, which lies between Sri Lanka and the southern tip of India. The move, though seen as long overdue, is vital for the animal as much as it is for the local communities. Keeping with dismal global records, India’s dugong population too has been declining. It is believed that there could be just around 200 dugongs left in our waters. These marine mammals, also called sea cows, can be spotted in our country near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and off the coast of Tamil Nadu in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. It’s in the Palk Bay, on approximately a 450-sq km. area, that the reserve will come up.

Turtles

It’s not just large creatures that were in the news in 2022. Even smaller ones such as tortoises and turtles got global attention. To be precise, at the 19th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) held at Panama City in November. According to the Union government. “At CoP 19, India’s proposal for induction of fresh water turtle Batagur kachuga eamed wide support of the parties in CoP 19 of CITES It is said that CITES also recorded the works done “in the area of conservation of tortoises and fresh water turtles and efforts made in combating wildlife crime and illegal trade of turtles in the country” At the event, India “reiterated its commitment regarding conserving tortoises and fresh water turtles in the country”

Great Indian bustard

The one bird species that’s often in the news in our country is the great Indian bustard. It was no different in 2022. Though the news about the bird is often worrisome, this time around it appeared to offer some hope for the species, and consequentially, conservationists. One of the reasons for the bird’s fatality is through overhead power lines hit. The Supreme Court had initiated many steps to protect the species, including setting up a three-member committee to assess the feasibility of laying high-voltage underground power cables in Rajathan and Gujarat, States where the birds are sighted today. In such a scenario, late in 2022, the country’s top court asked the union government why it should not consider the idea of establishing Project Great Indian Bustard on the lines of the country’s successful Project Tiger.

Picture Credit : google 

The Etruscan shrew is the mammal having the smallest mass. It weighs only about 1.8g on average. It is also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew or the white-toothed pygmy shrew and are characterized by very quick movements. These animals exhibit very fast metabolism and can eat about 1.5-2 times their own body weight per day. Their heads are relatively larger than their bodies.

Etruscan shrews are usually found in warm and damp habitats that are covered by shrubs. They use these habitats to hide from potential predators and often avoid open terrain such as grasslands and scrubby deciduous forests due to the threat of being hunted. They are mostly found in Europe and North Africa, all the way till Malaysia. They have also been located in the Maltese islands in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. They arrange their nests in various natural shelters, crevices, and abandoned burrows of other animals as they themselves cannot dig burrows very skillfully.

These animals are solitary and territorial. They use chirping noises and signs of aggression to protect their territories. They live rather interesting lives as they are constantly in motion when they are awake and not hiding, and when they are not eating, they constantly groom themselves. They hide from their predators very often, but such hiding periods are short and usually only last less than half an hour. When they move, they make clicking sounds, which stop as they rest.

Picture Credit : Google