Type: Species

Few captive-bred pygmy hogs, the world’s rarest and smallest wild pigs, were released in the Manas National Park of western Assam under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP).

Pygmy Hogs

• The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is a native to alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas at elevations of up to 300 m (980 ft).
• Today, the only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan.
• As the population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• It is designated as a Schedule I species in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and offences against them invite heavy penalties.

About Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP)

• The PHCP is a collaboration among Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust of UK, Assam Forest Department, Wild Pig Specialist Group of IUCN and Union Environment Ministry.
• It is currently being implemented by NGOs Aaranyak and EcoSystems India.
• Six hogs — two males and four females — were captured from the Bansbari range of the Manas National Park in 1996 for starting the breeding programme.
• The reintroduction programme began in 2008 with the Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary (35 hogs), Orang National Park (59) and Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary (22).

Now answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.Consider the following :

1. Star tortoise
2. Monitor lizard
3. Pygmy hog
4. Spider monkey

Which of the above found in India?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

A species of frog lives in the rainforests of New Guinea that appears to be made from chocolate — just like the magical sweets popular in the wizarding world of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter.

Litoria mira

• The cocoa-colored frogs have turned out to be a new species — and an addition to our knowledge of the animal kingdom.
• It has a well-known relative — the common green tree frog of Australia called Litoria cerulean.
• Litoria Mira can be distinguished from all other Litoria by its unique combination of moderately large size, webbing on hand, relatively short and robust limbs, and a small violet patch of skin on the edge of its eyes.

Odisha’s blackbuck population has doubled in the last six years, according to figures from the latest population census.

Blackbucks in Odisha

• Blackbucks are found only in the Ganjam district in the southern part of the state, which is where the census was carried out.
• It is known in Odisha and Ganjam as Krushnasara Mruga.
• The people of Ganjam believe the sighting of a blackbuck in a paddy field is a harbinger of luck for them.
• It used to be sighted in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary in Puri district till 2012-13, but now has vanished from the area.
• The blackbuck is a Schedule-1 animal according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 1992) and is considered as ‘Vulnerable’ according to the Red Data Book.

Reasons for their rise

• Improvement of habitats, the protection given by the local people and forest staff were some of the reasons for the increase of the population.
• The people of Ganjam had been enthusiastically protecting the animal like the Bishnois of western Rajasthan and the Vala Rajputs of Saurashtra.

Answer this PYQ:

Q.With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
2. The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Back2Basics: Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• WPA provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds, and plant species, in order to ensure environmental and ecological security.
• It provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds, and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically important protected areas in the country.
• It provides for various types of protected areas such as Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks, etc.
• There are six schedules provided in the WPA for the protection of wildlife species which can be concisely summarized as under:

About red-eared slider

• The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) derives its name from red stripes around the part where its ears would be and from its ability to slide quickly off any surface into the water.
• Native to the U.S. and northern Mexico, this turtle is an extremely popular pet due to its small size, easy maintenance, and relatively low cost.

Reports about threat

• Between August 2018 and June 2019, a team of herpetologists from NGO Help Earth published the finding in ‘Reptiles & Amphibians’, journal of the U.S.-based International Reptile Conservation Foundation in August 2020.
• But the alarm was raised experts from Mizoram University’s Department of Zoology published another report in the same journal in April this year.

How is it a threat?

• They grow fast and virtually leaves nothing for the native species to eat.
•  People who keep it as pets become sensitive about turtle conservation but endanger the local ecosystem, probably unknowingly, by releasing them in natural water bodies after they outgrow an aquarium, tank or pool at home.
• Much like the Burmese python that went to the U.S. as a pet to damage the South Florida Everglades ecosystem, the red-eared slider has already affected States such as Karnataka and Gujarat, where it has been found in 33 natural water bodies.
• Preventing this invasive species from overtaking the Brahmaputra and other river ecosystems in the Northeast is crucial because the Northeast is home to more than 72% of the turtle and tortoise species in the country, all of them very rare.

Way forward

• Although the red-eared slider is traded legally, the time has come for the government to come up with regulations against keeping invasive as pets.
• There is a need to create awareness among pet traders for maintaining a database of red-eared slider buyers.
• They can be contacted to hand over the turtles to the repository insulated from any wetland or natural water body.