Before they are gone - Endangered species that need our attention!

The natural world is an intricate and ever-evolving realm that functions similarly to a giant organism, with each of its elements, living and nonliving, acting as its various organs. Birds, animals, trees, water, soil, and all of its components exist in a precarious balance, forming delicate relationships with one another that collectively work towards maintaining this balance, much like the various organ systems in our bodywork towards keeping us alive. Over the course of time, several species have gone extinct for various reasons. Many of these species died out as they did not possess certain adaptations that enabled them to thrive in constantly changing environments, in a process known as natural selection. Those that possessed these genetic mutations to adapt, survived, and thrived in these new environmental conditions, thus undergoing the process of evolution to become new species, the species that we see living in the world around us today.

At certain times in the past, due to various geological events such as volcanic eruptions, the rate of extinction was greater than the rate at which newer species were being formed. These events, resulting in the mass extinction of species, have been retrospectively called Extinction Events. These events caused several species to get wiped out, resulting in a significant loss of biodiversity. Researchers have determined that we are currently undergoing the Sixth Extinction, a mass extinction event mainly propelled by human activity. Some of these activities include overhunting of species or introducing non-native species in environments where they become invasive and cause other species to die out. The biggest factor, however, is industrialisation and a significant boom in population, which is resulting in gross overconsumption of the Earth’s resources. This in turn is resulting in rapid climate change known as Global Warming, as well as habitat loss for various birds and animals. Ultimately, these factors result in conditions that are unfavourable for these forms of life to survive.

We are currently losing biodiversity all around the world, primarily because of human activity, and we have only recently realised the magnitude of an impact our activities can have on the life that exists, or once existed, on planet Earth. The Asiatic Cheetah is currently the only known species recorded to have become extinct in India singularly due to human activities. While it has not completely been wiped out, it now only survives in Iran. Its population declined due to hunting and capturing by Mughals and the British Raj, as well as due to habitat loss. Industrial activities not only destroyed the habitat of the Asiatic Cheetah but also resulted in the conversion of fertile grasslands into arid desert lands, depriving many animals, such as gazelles, of grazing opportunities that served as prey for the Asiatic Cheetah. More and more species are being classified by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as endangered or even critically endangered, almost nearing extinction.

Spreading all the way from Gujarat to Kerala and traversing the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, The Western Ghats of South India are geological relics of an ancient era, formed during the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, over 150 million years ago. This mountain range, covered with lush jungles, is home to most of India’s flora and fauna, of which several species are endemic to this region and found nowhere else in the world. It has come to be known as one of only eight biodiversity hotspots in the world, housing over 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1,814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6,000 insects species, and 290 freshwater fish species, currently recorded. It is highly probable that there are many more undiscovered species that call this lush rainforest biome their home. Of the species that are endangered globally, at least 325 of them can be found in the Western Ghats.

Some species of endangered primates make their home among the canopies of the Western ghats. The Lion-tailed Macaque, known for its distinctive white mane and tail resembling that of a lion, was at once considered critically endangered. They are threatened by habitat destruction, primarily by the spread of agricultural plantations which has fragmented and isolated their range of habitat. Public concern led to their viable habitats becoming protected land in the form of sanctuaries. That, coupled with gradual rehabilitation through zoo breeding programs has slowly helped reduce their threat. Other primates classified as endangered or vulnerable include the Nilgiri Langur and the Slender Loris, both threatened not only due to habitat destruction but also poaching, as their flesh is widely believed by superstition to have magical properties. Other endangered mammals include The majestic Bengal Tiger, endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Its population has been found to be dwindling due to habitat destruction and fragmentation as well as poaching and illegal trade. While Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India criminalizes hunting or killing of endangered species, this legality does little to cull poaching and instead only serves to vilify indigenous tribes living in Indian rainforests that may attack tigers that invade their villages. The Malabar Large spotted civet is a critically endangered mammal, endemic to the Western Ghats, threatened by habitat loss and poaching. The iconic Indian Elephant is also considered to be endangered, with its wild population has declined by almost 50 percent since the 1940s. The most prominent threat to them includes habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation due to our expanding population, resulting in a significant loss of range of their habitat. This also has led to a sharp increase in human-elephant conflict. Furthermore, the poaching of elephants for ivory from their tusks also poses a serious threat. Several species of amphibians, especially frogs that are globally endangered, are found here. One of them, known as the Kottigehar dancing frog, is found only in Kottigehara, in the Chikkamagalur district of Karnataka. It is threatened by habitat loss. Other endangered species that live in Karnataka include the Black Buck, Indian Brown Mongoose, Kolar-leaf nosed bat, Travancore flying squirrel, and the Spotted eagle. These are just a few names among many more species that are increasingly being classified as vulnerable or endangered.

While extinction and evolution might be natural processes, the rate at which extinction is currently occurring, especially as collateral of human activity, is highly unnatural and potentially cataclysmic. Due to the precarious nature of environmental balance, there are several consequences to this widespread loss of biodiversity that currently remain unforeseen to us. Besides the loss of diversity, our actions are affecting the environment in many other ways that will undoubtedly prove to be catastrophic in time. From smaller individual actions to help protect the environment like being mindful of our consumption, to spreading awareness about large-scale actions that are harmful to our planet, it is imperative for us to wake up. Apart from being respectful to other forms of life, we must pay heed to our actions, or they may very well result in dire ecological consequences at a point in the future when it might be too late. We must protect these creatures before they are gone.

Blog Authored by Prashanth Raghuram, Volunteer @ PfA