give a brief account on wildlife sanctuaries and national parks
Answers
Our country, India, has a rich natural heritage of fauna – 89,000 animal species, 1200 species of birds, 2500 species of marine and freshwater fish and 5 to 8 per cent of the world’s amphibians, reptiles and mammals are found in India.
The wildlife in the different natural habitats are varied and rich. They include :
(i) The majestic Indian lions found in the Gir forest of Gujarat, the last remaining habitat of Asiatic Lion. India is the only country in the world that has both lions and tigers.(ii) Tigers found in the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, the Sunderbans of West Bengal and Himalayan region.(iii) The large Asian elephants of the hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka and Kerala.
Wildlife sanctuaries are established by IUCN category IV protected areas. India has 543 wildlife sanctuaries referred to as wildlife sanctuaries category IV protected areas. Among these, the 50 tiger reserves are governed by Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Some wildlife sanctuaries are specifically named bird sanctuary, e.g., Keoladeo National Park before attaining National Park status.
Many of them being referred as a particular animal such as Jawai leopard sanctuary in Rajasthan. Many National Parks were initially wildlife sanctuaries.The conservative measures taken by the Indian Government for the conservation of Tigers was awarded by a 30% rise in the number of tigers in 2015.
Wildlife sanctuaries - are the areas reserved for the protection of animals only. killing(poaching) and capturing of animals is strictly prohibited.
In a sanctuary, the following activities are allowed to an extent that these do not affect the wildlife:
* harvesting of timber
* collection of minor forest products.
National park - an area which is strictly reserved for the protection of wildlife is called a national park. A national park preserves flora,fauna,landscape(natural environment ) and historic objects of an area. Activities like grazing,hunting,forestry and cultivation are banned here. No private ownership is allowed.