“The book of nature has no beginning, as it has no end. Open this book where you will, and at any period of your life, and if you have the desire to gain the knowledge, you will find it of intense interest, and no matter how long or how intently you study the pages, your interest will not flag, for in nature there is no finality.”- Jim Corbett People have been fascinated by wildlife. And when there is a country like India, which is home to rich biodiversity, it would not be surprising to get amazed by the variety of animals that walk on this very Soil.
On March 3rd, World Wildlife Day, we brought some interesting facts about India’s wildlife.
- Around 8% of the World’s biodiversity is found on Indian Soil, just 2% of the globe’s landmass.
2. India is one country that has varied geography stretching from the mountains to seashores, rich forest cover to deserts, plateaus and hills, and not to forget the coral reef.
3. 33% of the plant species are only found in India.
4. 3% of the World’s mangrove vegetation is in India, with the highest number of plants and animals. The Sunder bans in West Bengal is home to Royal Bengal tigers.
5. Tigers and Lions are both natives of the Indian Soil. We find Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest of Gujarat. The Nandan Kanan Zoological Park (Bhubaneswar, Odisha) is famous for the white tiger.
6. We consider India a mega-diverse country out of 17 recognised worldwide. We have 4 biodiversity hot spots out of 35 spread across the world map. The Himalayas, the Indo-Burma region, the Western Ghats, and the Sundaland include the Nicobar group of islands.
7. We find the Kharai Camel that can swim only in Kutch Gujarat.
8. 12% of the World’s bird species are found in India. The Flamingo breed in the Rann of Kachchh.
9. 69 species of birds, 156 species of reptiles, and 110 species of amphibians are only found in India.
10. 50 000 species of plants are predominantly found in Indian soil, making India the 10th amongst the plant-rich countries.
11. 8000 km of coastline has made India rich in aquatic plants species. Nearly half of the World’s aquatic plants are found in India.
12. The celebrated one horn Rhinoceros is found only in India. They are protected in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam and Jolda para, West Bengal.
13. It protects crocodile species of gharial and alligators in The National Chambal Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh).
14. The Elephant is an animal of an equatorial sub-tropical forest. In India, we find it in Assam, Kerala and Karnataka’s jungles, where there is heavy rain and high temperature. The National Parks of Dehing Patkai and Kaziranga in Assam, Periyar in Kerala and Mysore and Bhadra forest areas in Karnataka are essential habitats of the elephant.
15. Hangul the Kashmiri Tag is found in Jammu and Kashmir’s Dachigam National Park.
16. Endangered species of the great Indian Bustard is safe in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) and Malwa.
17. Wild Ass natural habitat is the Rann of Kachchh.
18. Ostriches are also found in India. These well protected in the Desert National Park, Jaisalmer.
19. The Himalaya has rare pandas and snow leopards in its deepest jungles. Other dominant animals are Sakin, Hill Goat, Tapir and Wild Sheep.
20. Every year hundreds of Siberian crane visit The Keoladeo (Ghana) Bird Sanctuary to spend winters. It is India’s largest bird sanctuary.