RESTRICTED ZONE ANIMALS &

THEIR CONSERVATION

BY, PRITHISH CH. NATH DEPT. OF LIFE SCIENCE ROLL NO.:- 26 ASSAM UNIVERSITY, SILCHAR

INTRODUCTION Restricted Zone animals are those which are found only in

particular geographical regions and nowhere else in the world. The regions where such animals inhabit are known as restriction sites.

Restricted Zone animals specifically are those whose breeding zones are less than 50,000 sq. km .

As these animals are found in a particular geographical area, and potentially most sensitive to habitat perturbations; this makes them incredibly unique and more vulnerable to extinction.

They became restricted due to habitat loss due to factors such as

Climatic changes Influx of predators Human activities

DISTRIBUTION The tropical regions support wide concentration of plant

& animal species with restricted range. The maximum concentration of Restricted Zone Animals

are found in hot spots. Hot spots are those areas where the maximum concentration of restricted zone animals are found.

There are a total of 35 hot spots in the world out of which 3 are found in Indian subcontinent.

These are The Himalayan Region Western Ghats & Sri Lanka Indo-Burma Region

Restricted Zone Animals of Himalayan region

S0me of the Restricted Zone animals of Himalayan region are:-

1. Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)2. Himalayan Wild Yak (Bos grunniens)3. Himalayan Blue Sheep (Psuidois nayur)4. Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus)5. Musk Deer (Moschus sp.)6. Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)7. Himalayan Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)

RESTRICTED ZONE ANIMALS OF WESTERN GHATS & SRI LANKA

Western Ghats which covers an area of 1,600 Km from the north border of Gujarat to the southern tip of India has a variety of restricted zona animals.

Some of the Restricted Zone Animals found in these areas are:-

Nilgiri Tahar (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii) Lion -tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus) Gaur (Bos gaurus)

RESTRICTED ZONE ANIMALS IN INDO-BURMA REGION

The Indo-Burma region encompasses an area of 23,73,000 sq. Km of tropical East-Asia. The Restricted Zone Animals found in this region are:-

Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhinsis) Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viveriinus) Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) Giant Ibis (Thaumatibis gigantae)

SOME OTHER ANIMALS OF RESTRICTED ZONE ANIMALS

Some of the Restricted Zone Animals found in the other parts of the world are:-

1. Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Restricted to Australia Primarily leaf-eaters

Contd…

2. Northern Hairy-Nose Wombet (Lasiorhinus krefftii)

Restricted to Australia One of the rarest land mammals

Contd…

3. Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus sp.) Restricted to the cloud forests of Papua &

Guinea

Contd… 4. Asiatic Lion (Pantera leo persica) Restricted only to the Gir forest of Gujarat

CAUSES OF DEPLETION OF RESTRICTED ZONE ANIMALS

Causes for the depletion of Restricted Zone Animals are: 1.Natural calamities such as flood.

2. Human activities such as poaching which yields huge amount of money through illegal trade.

Other human activities such as:-a) Alteration of Forest cover for the plantation of other

crops such as tea, coffee,etc.b) Tourism:- Increased tourism causes the need of more

roads and thus increase pollution & accidents.c) Mining:- Increased mining causes flattening of hills

and raising of forests, and silt/waste covering land farms also destroys habitat.

CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

Conservation is the practice of protecting, managing and maintenance of wildlife, their habitat and ecosystem.

The conservation strategies are:- Ex-situ conservation In-situ conservartion Establishment of laws Other sources

Contd… 1. Ex-situ conservation:- It is the conservation of

wild species outside their natural habitat. These includes Zoos Gene Bank Cryopreservation Captive Breeding

Contd…

2. In-situ conservation:- It is the conservation of endangered plant/animal species in their natural habitat.

This includes National Parks Wildlife Sanctuaries Biosphere Reserves

Contd…

3. Conservation by establishing laws:- GOI has adopted several wildlife conservation laws to protect wildlife.

These are:- Wildlife Protection Act,1972 Forest Conservation Act,1980 Environment Protection Act,1986 National Biodiversity Act,2002

Contd…

4. Other Resources:- Such as- Initiative by NGOs Mass awareness programmers Protection of wildlife in Sacred Grove by

tribal groups. Eg. :-Bishnoi community in Rajasthan protecting wildlife.

CONCLUSION

As Restricted Zone Animals are found in particular geographical regions only, they are incredibly unique and more vulnerable to extinction. So proper measures must be taken to prevent them from extinction.

REFERENCE

Www.conservationindia.comMaheshwaran Gopoinatah-Fauna ecosystem

of india, Eastern HimalayasWWF-IndiaLinder, H.P.(1995) setting conservation

priorities: The importance of endemism and phylogeny in South African Orchid genus Herschelia conserv. Biol.9, 585-595