INDIA - A MEGA DIVERSITY NATION.

India is one of the world's most culturally diverse countries. It is also is home to a large variety of wildlife. It is also considered a biodiversity hotspot with its various ecosystems ranging from the Himalayas in the north to the evergreen rain forests in the south; it has deserts west to the marshy mangroves east. 

India is one of the world's mega diversity countries, ranked ninth globally in terms of higher plant species richness. At the ecosystem level, India is also well equipped with 10 distinct biogeographic zones. 

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India is considered the center of origin for the following crop species pigeon pea, eggplant cucumber, possibly cotton, and sesame. But for millennia, numerous other crop species have been introduced to India and adapted to localized conditions. As a consequence of both the diver­sity of these conditions and of the various eth­nic populations living in India, the country has become an important center of diversity of a great many domesticated species, including vari­ous cereals, millets, legumes, vegetables, temper­ate and tropical fruits, fiber crops, medicinal and aromatic plants.

But it does not end here like all precious things have a threat of destruction. India’s biodiversity is threatened by the de­struction and degradation of ecosystems and by overexploitation of species.

MAJOR THREATS:- 

• Poaching of wildlife and over-harvesting of forest products
• Large-scale development projects such as min­ing and dam and road construction.
• Conversion of biodiversity-rich ecosystems, such as tropical forests to farmlands and in­dustrial and residential sites.

India has tremendous biodiversity, genetic as well as of species and ecosystems. The number of plant species in India is esti­mated to be over 45,523, representing about 11.8 percent of the world’s flora. These include over 17,500 flowering plants, of which 4,950 species are endemic to the country.

India is home to about 7.6% of mammals, 14.7% amphibians, 6% birds, 6.2% of reptiles. The country forest lands nurture about 500 species of mammals and 2000+ birds. The richness of Indian wildlife had been cherished since times immemorial. India had 4 of its mammals as its national symbols. 

Among amphibians found in India, 62% are unique to this country. Among lizards, of the 153 species recorded, 50% are endemic. High endemism has also been recorded for various insects, marine worms, centipedes, may­flies, and freshwater sponges.

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During the last 200 million years, as part of evolution, 100 to 1,000 species became extinct every century. In recent cen­turies, human activities have accelerated the extinction of species. Today the extinction rate is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the natu­ral rate before human intervention.

More than 700 species of vertebrates, inver­tebrates, and vascular plants have become ex­tinct since AD 1600. Untold numbers prob­ably become extinct without ever being iden­tified or described.

During the last few decades, India has cut down at least 50 percent of its forests, polluted over 70 percent of its water bodies, built or culti­vated over much of its grasslands, and de­graded many coastal areas.

Some of the habitats richest in biodiversity, such as tropical rainforests, are being destroyed because of human activities. The destruction of habitat could lead to the extinction of species that lived in that area, and they just can't live anywhere else. 

As citizens of any country, we need to follow the wildlife protection protocols to save the wild heritage.

 

Talking about some of the common animals... 

Mammals:- Sambar, Chital, Swamp deer, Barking deer, Blackbuck, Chinkara, Rhinoceros, Leopard, Asiatic Elephant, Jackal, Fox, Wolf, Royal Bengal tiger, bonnet macaque, rhesus macaque, langur are most common forms.

Birds:-  were hornbills, parakeets, barbets, bulbuls, flycatchers, flamingo, and pelicans. 

Reptiles:- Monitor lizards, water monitor, Russel's viper, Tortoise, charials, and house lizards. 

Amphibians:- tree frog, bullfrog, and toads, etc. 

India had wide varieties of Insects, like grasshoppers, battles, ants, bees, and butterflies. 

Crabs, shrimps, fishes, whales, sharks, and dolphins are also very common marine fauna.