Tuesday, July 21, 2015

SAVE THE SPECIES OR FACE THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION





A disturbing news is flooding our social media these days. Our Facebook newsfeed often flashes the news of the sixth mass extinction. Many of us consider ignorance is bliss and the curious ones take a peek into the news and forget it later. All of us are busy running in the rat race. We have no time in the world for what matters most to us.

Yes, we are earning money but we also need to spend our money on something worthwhile. We are drinking and eating toxins everyday. We are breathing in poison. With the loss of green cover, we have only concrete malls as our destinations of relaxation. The world around us is in complete chaos and peace is difficult to attain under these circumstances.
The sixth mass extinction is no rumour unlike the 2012 doomsday theory. It has a scientific basis like the global warming. Yes, a mass extinction is not new to this Earth but what is unique this time is that a single species, us, have triggered this extinction. Never in Earth’s history has one species brought about so much damage as humans have managed to do. Volcanic eruptions, deadly asteroid collisions and other natural disasters have been held responsible for past phases of extinctions. This time one single species, the Homo sapiens have ushered in the same effect of mass extinction on our planet.

An innumerable number of wild species are on the brink of being wiped out. All over the world, there is a hue and cry over the need of conservation of species by the naturalists. Still, the majority of the world population remains unperturbed about the events. Most people are not aware of what we are losing out. The IUCN Red List keeps flashing the red signal of danger on the species and the list keeps growing every moment.

On this occasion, I decided to participate in the 'Save The Species' contest by Saevus to illuminate myself and others on the plight of some of  the species which demands immediate attention for conservation.


The Gharial or Gavialis gangeticus


When it comes to implementing species conservation efforts in the Indian scenario, the Gharial peaks the list. Enlisted in the critically endangered section of the IUCN Red List, the Gharial warrants utmost attention.

What is the Gharial?

The Gharial is a large fish eating crocodile of the order Crocodilia belonging to the family Gavialidae. Several unique features sets the Gharial apart from other Crocodilians.

Here the males have a bulbous growth at the end of their snout which resembles an earthen pot or ghara used in Indian households. Hence the name Gharial. The bulbous growth helps amplify the hissing noise made by the males into a buzz snort to attract females and ward off rivals.

Secondly, the Gharials exclusively feed on fish and crustaceans unlike most other crocodilians which feed on larger animals too. Gharials are equipped with incredibly long snouts with slim jaws and sharp teeth which is well-designed for catching fish. Their jaws are too small and delicate to handle larger preys. Gharials are also generally shy and passive animals and only show occasional aggressive behaviour during mating season and while defending their nests from other Gharials. Their movement is restricted and they mostly drag their bodies along the ground and come out of water only to lay eggs or bask in the sun. Unlike other Crocodilians, Gharials are not known to attack humans.

The Gharials are most active during the mating season (Jan-Feb). Nesting takes place during Mar-Apr and the incubation period is around 70 days. The sex determination takes place based on the incubation temperatures instead of genetics. The males sexually mature at 13 years while the females mature at 11 years of age.

Why is it on the IUCN Red List?

The Indian Gharial features on the critically endangered section of the IUCN Red List. Unfortunate statistics favor the position of the Gharial on this list. An approximate 98% reduction in population over a three generation period from 1946 to 2006, a reduction from a widely distributed species to scarcely distributed small subpopulations and a 58% drop in the mature adult population over a period of nine years (or one generation) scientifically seals the fate of this species as critically endangered.

The reasons for the decline of the species?


In the past, the Gharials thrived in the river systems of Northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and lowlands of Nepal and Bhutan.

A shocking decline has rendered this species regionally extinct in Myanmar, possibly extinct in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan.

Only the Girwa, Son and Chambal rivers in India and the Rapti Narayani river in Nepal have managed to hold on to a few surviving individuals of this species.

The main reasons for the decline of the species is attributed to human activities. Trophy hunting, collection of eggs for food, improper fishing techniques, hunting for indigenous medicines and skin have rendered the population of Gharials critically endangered.

However, though hunting is banned, worse fate awaits the Gharial in the present developing economies of India and Nepal. The entire ecology of the Gharial’s habitat is disturbed by the creation of dams, barrages, artificial embankments, sand-mining, irrigation canal construction, agricultural land expansion, etc.


Why conserve the species?

Interestingly, the Gharial is considered to be the vehicle of Mother Ganges (Ganga river deity) according to ancient Hindu mythology. Gharials were revered based on this aspect.Sadly, none of this reverence remains today in the fast growing economies of the developing nations. To conserve the Gharial one needs to be aware of the advantages related to its conservation.

Conserving the Gharial is not just about saving a single species. When one puts in the effort to save the Gharial, a keystone species of the freshwater riverine ecosystem of the Indian subcontinent, one is actually preserving the entire ecosystem for future generations.

Today, many other species like the Gangetic River dolphin, Mugger Crocodile, edible fish species like Mahseer and Hilsa and various waterfowl species, sharing the same habitat as the Gharial, are also in danger. So is the fate of the humans dependent on and living around these river systems.

We rely on these freshwater rivers for our enormous and growing needs. When species die off it signifies the loss of living conditions in these waters which is bound to affect us in the future too.

For example, in 2008, a mass die-off of around 110 Gharials occurred along a 35 kilometre long strectch of the Chambal river (one of the least polluted rivers in India) near the Chambal’s confluence with the Yamuna river (one of the most polluted rivers in the world). Autopsies revealed the gharials died of gout as a result of consuming contaminated fish coming from the Yamuna.

From this fact it is clearly evident that human lives are also at stake since the same fish is consumed by the human population living along the banks of the river.

Today, we are drinking contaminated water and battling health hazards related to it. An estimated 580 people die in India every day due to diseases related to water pollution. Our food in the form of aquatic edible species is almost getting depleted. For example, Hilsa, a fish considered to be a delicacy by many, has been consumed to an extent where India’s Hilsa yields have undergone a major drop from 80,000 tonnes in 2001 to a meagre 12,000 tonnes in 2012. Toxins are ingested by us upon consumption of fish with bioaccumulated toxic waste. The whole riverine ecosystem is getting unbalanced and may be the cause of future natural disasters that will eliminate thousands of humans.

So, saving the Gharial will save us. We will preserve their ecosystem and in turn ensure a brighter present and future for ourselves.

What are the conservation efforts undertaken to protect the species?

Since the 1970’s, conservation efforts have been initiated to protect the Gharial. However, a major success has not yet been achieved. This is attributed to the flaws in the past strategies which involved captive breeding programs followed by release in the wild. In 1975 the Indian Governement launched the Crocodile Project to protect the Gharial and other Crocodilia. After captive breeding 4500 Gharials were released in India and 890 in Nepal. Even though the captive breeding programs succeeded the subsequent release did not lead to a significant increase in Gharial populations primarily due to decrease in habitat of the species and increased mortality due to various stress factors induced by human activities. In 2007, the Gharial was declared critically endangered in the IUCN Red List.

Now, Gharial conservation is thus focussed on securing safe habitats for these animals and also involving local people in the conservation procedure to ensure long term solutions to the problem.

In December 2010, the former Indian Minister of Environment and Forests announced the formation of the National Tri-State Chambal Sanctuary Management and Coordination Committee for Gharial conservation on 1,600 km2 (620 sq mi) of the National Chambal Sanctuary along the Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

At present, various organizations like the Wildlife Institute of India, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Gharial Conservation Alliance, World Wide Fund For Nature and others are working jointly with the Indian Government to save the Gharials from becoming extinct.
 

 The Indian Hog Deer or Hyelaphus porcinus


Another wonder of nature the gentle and spirited Indian Hog Deer is aptly named based on its behaviour similar to a hog. It always moves with its head down unlike the traditional leaps of other forms of deer. The Indian Hog Deer is today endangered.

What is the Indian Hog Deer?

The Indian Hog Deer is smaller and stouter than the Chital. It is endowed with a dark brown coat with a reddish tinge, white inner ear and white undertail and antlers comparatively smaller than the Chital.

In India, the hog deer calls home the picturesque alluvial grasslands of the Terai forest region stretching from Corbett to Assam.

These shy, solitary animals are rarely found in groups. They peacefully graze on the grasses and reeds by the riverside or in open grasslands during early morning or evening and remain largely idle for the rest of the day. Males exhibit aggressive behaviour during mating to ward off other competitors. The young are usually born at the beginning of the monsoons when the grasses are tall enough to mask the young ones.

Why is it on the IUCN Red List?


A reduction of the hog deer population by 50% in the last three generations (in this case 21 years), sadly qualifies its classification in the IUCN Red List.

The Hog Deer was once abundant in the grasslands spreading from Pakistan into northern and north-eastern India towards South–east Asia as well as certain parts of China.

Today, there has been a disturbing decline in their numbers over most parts of their range. They became extinct in Thailand by the 1980's followed by re-introduction in that country. They also disappeared from Vietnam. Very small populations remain in Cambodia and Bangladesh. In China, their numbers are negligible.

India has been luckier in this regard and still manages to hold a better count of the Indian Hog Deer, creating hopes for the future. Still, with growing anthropological pressures, the bouncing back of the species to a healthy population seems a distant dream. In a few countries like Sri Lanka and Australia, this species have been newly introduced.

The reasons for the decline of the species?

The primary driving force for the loss of this species in the south-east Asian countries and China is the hunting of the animal and the thriving economy based on this practice. The hunting business serves a triple gain of bushmeat, parts of the deer for traditional medicines and trophies in the form of antlers. Cases of dogs accompanying hunting parties or normal tourists, killing the Hog Deer fawns  also occur frequently.

The damage caused to this species by hunting is further aggravated with the loss of habitat. The grasslands where the Hog Deer dwells favors human settlements and is thus encroached upon by humans. Agricultural land often replaces these grasslands.Natural calamities like frequent floods wash away large sections of the population of hog deers. For example, in 1998, floods in the Bhramaputra flood plain of the Kaziranga National Sanctuary decreased the number of species to half of its count prior to the flood.

Other problems such as invasion by plants like Mikania, Chromolaena odorata, Acacia catechu, etc., along with heavy grazing pressures by domestic livestock, has reduced the grassland area in many habitats. In the Chitwan National Park in Nepal the grassland area was severely reduced from from 20% to 4.7%.

Why conserve the species?

The Indian Hog Deer like other species of deer are part of the predator-prey hierarchy of the forest. It is the balance between the predator-prey that keeps the ecosystem stable and thriving with life.

The deer acts as the primary consumer of the ecosystem keeping the vegetation of the area in control by herbivory. It is excellent food for the jungle carnivores like tiger, leopard, dholes, etc. Healthy populations of natural prey are a necessity for big cat conservation.

Disappearance of the forest fauna such as the Indian Hog Deer will result in a loss of forest value and infiltration of human habitats into forest areas. Our last remaining forests will disappear and so will our hope for a brighter future.

Ecological instability will result and natural disasters will grasp the human race.

Thus, conservation efforts to sustain the hog deer populations will in the larger view contribute towards ecological sustainability.

What are the conservation efforts undertaken to protect the species?

In India and in most other countries where the Indian Hog Deer is found, protection status has been granted to this animal. In India, Hog Deer populations are distributed primarily in the protected forests of the country. Thus, loss of this species due to hunting is low in these habitats. The most important concern here is the growing pressures of human habitation, developmental activities, natural calamities like flood and diseases communicated from human bred livestock.

In many places, conservation efforts of the large carnivores and herbivores in these protected forests have benefitted the surviving Hog Deer populations. For example, the Indian one-horned rhino conservation in the Kaziranga forests of Assam have helped sustain other species sharing the same habitat such as the Hog Deer.


The Indian Wild Ass OR Equus hemionus khur


The Indian Wild Ass is another species which despite of its nature gifted ability to survive in the vast, harsh deserts of South and Central Asia, have been unable to thrive in the human created environmental havoc.

What is the Indian Wild Ass?

The Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) is a subspecies of the Asiatic Wild Ass or Onager. It possesses a sandy coat but the colour also varies from reddish grey, fawn to chestnut with a dark erect mane.

These assess are well known for their high speeds and can even outrun a jeep! They feed from dawn to dusk on grasses, fruits, crops, Prosopis pods and other forms of saline vegetation. Mating season is in monsoon. Male stallions wander solitarily or in small groups while families stay in herds.

During heat, the female mare separates from the herd to mate with the stallion who fights rivals to win her over. They then return to the herd and the mare gives birth to the young foal. Male foals leave the herd in a year or two while the young females continue to stay on in the herd.

Why is the Indian Wild Ass on the IUCN Red List?




The Indian Wild Ass precariously sits on the endangered section of the IUCN Red List. In the past, the animal occupied a widespread range covering vast arid areas of north-western India, Pakistan and further westwards with their habitat spreading over most parts of Central Asia.

Today, the habitat of this subspecies of the Asian Wild Ass has significanly shrunk to occupy only areas in the Little Rann of Kutch and some isolated populations in the Greater Rann of Kutch in the Gujarat state of India. The Indian Wild Ass has stopped existing elsewhere.

The reasons for the decline of the species?

Wild Ass populations have declined due to a number of reasons which continue to exist to this date. Habitat encroachment by human settlements, poaching for meat, salt extraction activities in their habitat, competitive overgrazing by domestic cattle, competition for water, civil unrest and wars in some parts of their habitat are all reasons attributed to their drastic decline.

Disease, drought and other stress factors have frequently affected and eliminated small populations of wild assess. Small populations are always more vulnerable genetically and demographically. For example, an outbreak of the dreaded disease, the African Horse Sickness, resulted in a major decline in the Indian Wild Ass populations during the 1960’s.

Why conserve the species?

In the little Rann of Kutch, the last safe refuge of the Indian Wild Ass, these gentle creations of nature co-exist with a number of other desert species of birds and animals such as the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, flamingos, sandgrouse, francolins, the Indian Wolf, the Desert Fox, the Nilgai and others.

So, conserving the Khur in its local habitat will also ensure safety for all the other species sharing the same habitat. In a desert which has little water and inhospitable soil, these large ungulates are a blessing. They are responsible for spreading the desert vegetation far and wide. The Khur feeds extensively on desert vegetation and pass the seeds through their digestive system. Thus, they help in seed dispersal.

Also, the damp, nutrient rich dung of these animals acts as manure for these otherwise nutrient deprived desert plants. Other herbivores of the ecosystem depending on desert vegetation for their food source thus indirectly benefit from these Wild Asses.

In creation, every species has its own important role to play and so does the Indian Wild Ass.

What are the conservation efforts undertaken to protect the species?

Strict measures to prevent hunting and poaching of the Indian Wild Ass has led to some success in conserving the species with almost a ten fold increase in the population since 1969.

In 1972, the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary was established over an area of 4954 km square in the Little Rann of Kutch of the Gujarat state of India. Significant increase in the Khur population occurred in this area following protective measures taken to save the species in the sanctuary.

However, presently several problems plague the conservation efforts. The increase in Khur population has led to increased competition for food and water in the desert environment. This has led to the migration of the animals into agropastoral lands outside the sanctuary followed by increased  cases of man-animal conflict.

Major irrigation projects and rapid developmental activities in the area have also caused unrest in the ecosystem of the Khur.

Rapid infiltration by an exotic plant Prosopis juliflora has created nuisance in the habitat of these wild asses. This plant rapidly replaces native vegetation and instigates water shortage in the area by rendering water sources inaccessible by blocking the water holes and also depriving the ground plants of sunlight.

Conservations efforts thus have to be improved with measures taken to ensure an increased number of protected natural habitats with wider distribution  for this species so that a single natural disaster does not render the species extinct. Also, the growth of the Prosopis needs to be curbed using scientific techniques. Relocation of human communities to avoid man-animal conflict and involvement of locals in conservation efforts will all aid in the process of Indian Wild Ass conservation.

" I am participating in the Save the Species contest for the book "Capturing Wildlife Moments in India" in association with Saevus Wildlife India,  read the reviews for the book "Capturing Wildlife Moments in India here "
   

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