Geography · Ch 5 — Natural Vegetation
Wildlife
Wildlife
The photograph shows a herd of elephants moving through a shallow river, with calves keeping close to the adults. The water is calm and low enough that the animals can wade across on foot, their bodies partly submerged. On either side of the watercourse, the banks are lined with grass and scattered trees, giving the scene the look of a riverine forest edge rather than a dense, closed canopy. The elephants are captured mid-crossing, some with trunks raised or resting, others stepping carefully over the riverbed.
What the image conveys is not just a charming wildlife moment but a lesson in habitat. Elephants are among the largest land mammals, and they need enormous amounts of food and water every day. A river like the one shown provides drinking water, lush forage on its banks, and a corridor for movement between feeding grounds. The presence of calves in the herd also signals that this is a functioning breeding population — a sign that the habitat is, at least for now, healthy enough to support the next generation. …
Wildlife is not just the animals you see caged in a zoo — it is a living natural heritage. India holds an extraordinary share of the earth's biodiversity: roughly 4–5 per cent of all known plant and animal species on the planet are found here. That figure is remarkable for a single country, and the reason behind it is the sheer diversity of ecosystems that India has preserved and supported through the ages. Different climates, soils and landforms have given rise to a wide range of habitats, and each habitat supports its own community of life.
That rich heritage, however, is under serious threat. Over the years, human activities have disturbed wildlife habitats, and as a result, animal and bird numbers have dwindled significantly. Some species now stand at the brink of extinction. The decline is not accidental — it follows from a set of identifiable pressures that the book lists clearly.
The first pressure is industrial and technological advancement. As industry grew, the exploitation of forest resources accelerated rapidly. Trees were felled at a pace the forests could not sustain. Second, more and more land was cleared for agriculture, human settlement, roads, mining and reservoirs. Every new field, town, highway and dam ate into what was once wild habitat.
Third, pressure on forests mounted from the daily needs of local people — lopping branches for fodder and fuelwood, and removing small timber. This is not large-scale industrial clearing, but its cumulative effect on the forest is severe. Fourth, grazing by domestic cattle has had an adverse effect on both wildlife and its habitat. Livestock compete with wild herbivores for food and degrade the vegetation that wild animals depend on.
Fifth, hunting. What began as a sport among the elite — where hundreds of wild animals could be killed in a single hunt — has now turned into rampant commercial poaching. The motivation shifted from recreation to profit, and the scale of killing became far harder to control. Sixth, the incidence of forest fire adds to the destruction, wiping out habitat and the animals that cannot escape in time. …