pride |thumb |thumb |thumb |thumb from
A. O. Hume's work. Last seen in 1876 |thumb |thumb |thumb |thumb The
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with its headquarters in
Kolkata (the capital of
West Bengal) and 16 regional stations, is responsible for surveying the faunal resources of India. Possessing a tremendous diversity of climate and physical conditions, India has a great variety of
fauna, numbering 89,451 species. The mammals include the
Indian elephant, the
gaur or erroneously the
Indian bison - the largest of existing
bovines, the great
Indian rhinoceros, and the
wild water buffalo.
Deer and
antelopes include the
barasingha, the
sangai,
chital,
sambar deer,
Indian hog deer,
Himalayan musk deer,
Indian muntjac,
northern red muntjac,
Indian spotted chevrotain,
Kashmir stag,
Tibetan antelope,
blackbuck,
chausingha,
goa,
Indian gazelle, and
nilgai. There are also wild donkeys like
Indian wild ass and
kiang, and
caprines like
Bhutan takin,
Mishmi takin,
red serow,
Himalayan serow,
red goral,
Himalayan goral,
markhor,
Siberian ibex,
Nilgiri tahr,
Himalayan tahr,
urial,
argali, and
blue sheep. These
caprines are generally found in the
Himalayas of
Himachal Pradesh,
Ladakh, and
Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), as well as the
Dooars forest and the
Terai region, floodplains at the base of the
Himalayas. A notable exception is the
Nilgiri tahr, which is
endemic to the
Nilgiri Hills of
Tamil Nadu. There are several big cats; the
Asiatic lion,
Bengal tiger,
Indian leopard,
snow leopard,
clouded leopard,
Turkestan lynx and
caracal. Lesser cat species include
fishing cat,
Asiatic wildcat,
jungle cat,
Pallas's cat,
Bengal cat,
marbled cat,
Asian golden cat,
rusty-spotted cat, and
leopard cat. There are also canines such as
Ussuri dhole,
Indian jackal,
Indian wolf,
Bengal fox,
Tibetan wolf, and
Tibetan fox. Another
carnivore is the
striped hyena. Several birds, like
greater flamingos,
Brahminy ducks,
white-breasted waterhen,
pheasant-tailed jacana,
Eurasian spoonbills,
lesser flamingos,
purple herons,
great and
cattle egret,
Indian pond herons,
oriental magpie-robins,
Nicobar pigeons,
Indian mynas,
Indian rollers,
slaty-breasted rails,
greater coucals,
black-bellied terns,
Indian pittas,
Indian paradise flycatchers,
sarus cranes,
Siberian cranes,
demoiselle cranes,
great hornbills,
rose-ringed parakeets,
vernal hanging parrots,
knob-billed ducks,
painted storks, and
Asian openbills are found in the various habitats of the country. The
Indian peafowl is the national bird of India.
Pheasants include
red junglefowl,
grey junglefowl,
Himalayan monals,
satyr tragopans, and
kalij pheasants; the
great Indian bustard is also common in
grasslands.
Predatory birds include the
Northern goshawk,
shikra,
black kite,
white-bellied sea eagle,
golden eagle,
peregrine falcon,
Indian vulture,
slender-billed vulture, and
white-backed vulture. The
house crow and
Indian jungle crow are some crow species in India.
Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse is a
sandgrouse found in India. There are several species of small mammals in India. These include the
Asian house shrew, the
northern and
greater hog badger, the
Chinese ferret-badger, the
honey badger, the
Indian pangolin, and the
Chinese pangolin.
Arboreal small mammals include the
Nilgiri marten,
small-toothed palm civet,
Asian palm civet,
small Indian civet,
large Indian civet,
binturong, and
red panda. The bears of India are
sun bear,
sloth bear,
Himalayan black bear, and
Himalayan brown bear. There are also many
primates in India. The
apes of India are the
gibbons;
western hoolock gibbon and
eastern hoolock gibbon.
Macaques include
rhesus macaque,
bonnet macaque,
lion-tailed macaque,
Northern pig-tailed macaque,
stump-tailed macaque,
Arunachal macaque,
white-cheeked macaque and
Assamese macaque among others. The various species of
langurs include
purple-faced langur, the
Nilgiri langur, the
Gee's golden langur and
capped langur. There is also the
Phayre's leaf monkey and
slender loris. The
suids in India are
Indian boar and the critically endangered
pygmy hog. There are
lagomorphs like the critically endangered
hispid hare, the
woolly hare and the
black-naped hare. The
Royle's pika and
Himalayan marmot are some of the montane small mammals. There is also the large
Malabar giant squirrel,
Indian palm squirrel,
Indian giant flying squirrel,
Indian gerbil, porcupine species
Indian crested porcupine, and hedgehog species
bare-bellied hedgehog and
Indian hedgehog. Another predator in India is the
spotted linsang, a civet-like creature. Many animals are domesticated in India, and seeing them in the streets of villages and even cities is common. Bovines include the
zebu, which descended from the extinct
Indian aurochs, the
domestic water buffalo, the
gayal, which is a domesticated gaur, and in the northern regions
domestic yak, which descended from the also native
wild yak.
Dromedary camel can be found in desert states like
Rajasthan,
Gujarat, and
Punjab.
Mongrel dogs are a common sight in most cities of India. Other small mammals found throughout urban areas are several species of mongoose, as well as the
Himalayan mole and
white-tailed mole. These mongoose species are
ruddy mongoose,
Indian grey mongoose,
Indian brown mongoose,
small Indian mongoose,
stripe-necked mongoose, and
crab-eating mongoose. Smaller rodents include the
little Indian field mouse,
house mouse,
flat-haired mouse, the
greater and
lesser bandicoot rat,
black rat, and
Malabar spiny dormouse. There is a diverse array of bats, such as the
Indian flying fox,
lesser short-nosed fruit bat,
Kolar leaf-nosed bat,
Indian roundleaf bat,
wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat, and
great woolly horseshoe bat. The
desert locust is infamous for destroying crops. Rivers and lakes harbour
mugger crocodiles and
gharials. The
saltwater crocodile is found along the eastern coast and in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A project for breeding crocodiles started in 1974, has been instrumental in saving the crocodile from extinction. Snakes include
king cobra,
Indian cobra,
monocled cobra,
Indian rock python,
reticulated python,
Sri Lankan green vine snake,
Brahminy blind snake,
white-lipped pit viper,
Salazar's pit viper,
bamboo pit viper,
Russell's viper,
saw-scaled viper and
Indian krait, with aquatic species including
beaked sea snake,
annulated sea snake,
yellow-bellied sea snake, and
yellow-lipped sea krait. The cobras are an important part of Indian culture. India's coasts are home to sea turtles; these include the
leatherback sea turtle,
green sea turtle,
hawksbill sea turtle,
loggerhead sea turtle, and
olive ridley sea turtle.
Indian softshell turtles,
Indian peacock softshell turtles,
red-crowned roofed turtles, critically endangered
northern river terrapins,
Indian pond terrapins,
Assam roofed turtles,
keeled box turtle,
tricarinate hill turtle,
Cochin forest cane turtle, and
Indian flapshell turtles are found in mangrove vegetation, lagoons, and freshwater and brackish bodies. Tortoises include the
Indian star tortoise,
Asian giant tortoise,
elongated tortoise, and
Travancore tortoise. The
Asian water monitor,
desert monitor,
yellow monitor, and
Bengal monitor are the monitor lizards in India; there are also several gecko species, like the
golden gecko,
common house gecko, and
Tokay gecko, and the only chameleon,
Indian chameleon. Other lizards range from
garden lizards,
Pondichéry fan-throated lizards, and
spiny-tailed lizards to
Kashmir rock agamas,
Haridwar agamas, and
Roux's forest calotes. Frogs include
purple frog,
Chunam tree frog,
Malabar gliding frog,
Indian balloon frog,
Indian black microhylid frog,
common Indian cricket frog,
Indus Valley bullfrog, and
Indian green frog, alongside toad species such as
Asian common toad,
marbled toad,
Amboli toad, and
Malabar torrent toad. A notable newt is the
Himalayan newt; it is the only salamander in India. There are also caecilian species, like the
yellow-striped caecilian and
Bombay caecilian. Fish are a major part of the Indian economy. The fish include
tilapia,
Atlantic pomfret,
hilsa,
barramundi,
rohu,
largetooth sawfish,
Pearse's mudskipper,
giant oceanic manta ray,
leopard torpedo, among thousands of others. Hilsa and barramundi are important in the
fishing industry of India, especially in
West Bengal, as are
long-whiskered catfish,
reba carp,
Indian knifefish,
bronze featherback,
fringescale sardinella,
fourfinger threadfin,
catla,
climbing perch,
Gangetic ailia,
Indian river shad,
Bombay duck,
Mola carplet,
walking catfish,
mrigal carp,
goldspot mullet,
butterfish,
greenback mullet,
pabdah catfish,
swamp barb,
pool barb,
olive barb,
Asian stinging catfish,
striped snakehead,
long whiskers catfish, and
paradise threadfin. These also include sharks, such as
pelagic and
common thresher sharks,
great white shark,
shortfin and
longfin mako sharks,
scalloped and
great hammerhead sharks,
tiger shark, and
sand tiger shark.
Bull sharks and
Ganges sharks are also found in freshwater areas and brackish areas such as the
Sundarbans National Park, part of the world's largest mangrove forest, the
Sundarbans.
Common remora and
white suckerfish are commonly found attached to these sharks. Coral reefs in India are rich in fish such as
royal angelfish,
emperor angelfish,
Indian yellowtail angelfish,
ocellaris clownfish,
tomato clownfish,
Clark's anemonefish,
powder blue tang,
pea puffer,
white-spotted puffer,
milk-spotted pufferfish,
daisy parrotfish,
longnose parrotfish,
blue-barred parrotfish,
turkey moray,
giant moray,
Indian mud moray eel,
Chinese trumpetfish,
redtoothed triggerfish, and
blackwedged butterflyfish. Aquatic and coastal ecosystems are also home to invertebrates such as the
giant river prawn and
giant tiger prawn, as well as crabs such as
coconut crab,
red ghost crab,
Indo-Pacific horseshoe crab,
mangrove horseshoe crab,
orange mud crab,
fiddler crab,
blue swimmer crab, and
tree-spider crab, and lobsters such as the
mud spiny lobster and
flathead lobster, alongside bivalves including the
fan mussel,
black-lip pearl oyster,
pelagic gooseneck barnacle, and
black clam. Marine dolphins along the coast of India include
bottlenose dolphin,
common dolphin,
spinner dolphin,
striped dolphin, and
pantropical spotted dolphin among others.
Finless porpoise are found along the coast as well. The endangered
Irrawaddy dolphin is found in freshwater areas, such as
Chilika Lake, alongside the
Ganges river dolphin and
Indus river dolphin.
Blue whales,
humpback whales,
sperm whales,
dwarf sperm whales,
orcas,
common minke whales,
Bryde's whales,
Cuvier's beaked whales, and
pygmy killer whales are the most common whales. The semi-aquatic mammals in India are otters. The species of otters are
Asian small-clawed otter,
Eurasian otter, and
smooth-coated otter. The increasingly endangered
dugong is found throughout coastal estuaries and brackish water bodies. A notable dragonfly is the
Himalayan relict dragonfly. India is also known for its butterflies, such as
lesser grass blue,
common blue Apollo,
common mime,
common Mormon, and
common Pierrot. The
orchid mantis is an iconic mantis found in the Western Ghats of India.
Laboratory stick insects and
leaf insects are found in abundance.
Stegodon elephants,
Indosaurus,
Rajasaurus,
Himalayan quail, and
pink-headed duck are notable extinct animals from India. The Himalayan quail and pink-headed duck are only presumed extinct. However, there are other quails, such as
rain quail in India, and the pink-headed duck's relative, the
Indian spot-billed duck. Depletion of vegetative cover due to expansion of agriculture,
habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of toxic imbalance in community structure,
epidemics,
floods,
droughts, and
cyclones, contribute to the loss of flora and fauna. More than 39 species of mammals, 72 species of birds, 17 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians, two species of fish, and a large number of butterflies, moths, and beetles are considered vulnerable and endangered. ==Biodiversity==