Type: Species

Why in the News?

The Assam Forest Department is conducting DNA profiling of 2,500 rhino horns using the Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS) to aid wildlife forensics and curb illegal trade.

What is Rhino DNA Index System (RhODIS)?

• Overview: It is a wildlife forensic tool designed to combat rhino poaching through DNA profiling.
• Development: It was originally developed by South Africa and later adapted for use in India.
• Working: The system helps build a genetic database of individual rhinos by collecting DNA from horns, tissues, dung, or blood samples.
• Utility: Each rhino has a unique DNA profile, making it possible to match confiscated horns with individual animals or poaching locations.
• Implementing Agency: In India, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is responsible for RhODIS genetic analysis under the RhODIS India program.
• Applications of RhODIS: The system plays a vital role in linking seized rhino horns to poaching incidents, providing admissible forensic evidence in court cases, tracking illegal wildlife trade routes and criminal networks, and monitoring genetic diversity and population health over time.

About One-Horned Rhinoceros:

• Overview: The Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a herbivorous megafauna species native to the Indian subcontinent.
• Distinctive Features: It is also called the Indian rhinoceros and is characterized by its single black horn and thick, armor-like skin.
• Conservation Status: It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, in Appendix I of CITES, and under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (India).
• Major Habitats in India: Its primary habitats include Kaziranga, Pobitora, Manas, and Orang National Parks in Assam; Jaldapara and Gorumara National Parks in West Bengal; and the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh.
• Population Growth: Its has increased from around 1,500 in the 1980s to over 4,000 in 2024, with Assam alone holding 80% of the global population. Kaziranga National Park houses the largest population, with 2,613 rhinos as per 2022 data.
• Primary Threats: Major threats include poaching for horns driven by illegal wildlife trade and false beliefs about medicinal value, as well as habitat degradation due to floods, encroachment, and climate change.
• Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (Project Rhino):  It was launched in 2005, aimed to spread the rhino population across seven protected areas.

Why in the News?

The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has granted approval for diverting 142.76 hectares of forest land in Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka.

About Lion-Tailed Macaque:

• Scientific Classification: The Lion-Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus), also known as the Wanderoo or Bearded Monkey, is an primate species endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
• Distribution: It is found primarily in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
• Physical Characteristics: Recognized by a silver-white mane surrounding a black face and a lion-like tuft at the end of its tail, the body is covered in glossy black fur, and both sexes look similar.
• Habitat and Behaviour
  • Preferences: The species inhabits tropical evergreen rainforests, and is also found in monsoon forests and shola-grassland ecosystems.
  • Habitat: It is arboreal (tree-dwelling) and diurnal (active during the day).
  • Elevation Range: Typically lives at altitudes between 600 and 1,800 metres above sea level.
  • Human Avoidance: Known for being shy, it tends to avoid human contact, staying high in the forest canopy.
  • Social Structure: Lives in social groups of 8 to 20 individuals, usually led by a dominant male.
• Behaviour:
  • Dietary Habits: Primarily frugivorous, eating fruits, but also consumes leaves, stems, flowers, buds, fungi, and occasionally insects and small animals.
  • Communication System: Possesses a rich vocal communication system with over 17 distinct vocalizations.
  • Territorial Behavior: Males use loud calls to mark territory and warn intruders.
• Conservation Status:

• • IUCN Status: Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
  • Legal Protection: Appendix I of CITES; Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• Population and Conservation Efforts:

• • Population: It is estimated at around only 2,500 individuals.
  • Key Protected Area: The Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka hosts the largest known population in any protected area, with around 700 individuals.
• Ecological Importance:
  • Serves as an indicator species for rainforest health.
  • Plays a vital role in seed dispersal, contributing to forest regeneration.

Why in the News?

The Great Hornbill (Malamuzhakki Vezhambal)—Kerala’s State bird and a symbol of forest biodiversity—was spotted far outside its usual habitat.

About the Great Hornbill (Malamuzhakki Vezhambal)

• Overview: The Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) is the largest hornbill species found in India.
• Attributes: It is known for its striking yellow casque on the upper mandible, which is hollow and used in vocalisation and courtship.
• Official Recognition: It is the State Bird of Kerala (as well as Arunachal Pradesh) and is revered in many indigenous cultures for its majestic appearance.
• Conservation Status: It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN and is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Habitat: It primarily inhabit evergreen and moist deciduous forests, especially in the Western Ghats, the Himalayan foothills, and Northeast India.
• Prey Behaviour: They are frugivorous, feeding mainly on figs and other forest fruits, but they may occasionally consume small mammals, birds, and insects.
• Ecological Significance:  They are known as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of the forest’, they play a key role in seed dispersal of tropical trees, indicating the health and balance of their forest ecosystems.

Why in the News?

The elusive dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog, has been rediscovered in Assam’s Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKAL) after being thought locally extinct.

About Dhole:

• Overview: The dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog, is a carnivorous mammal from the Canidae family.
• Habitat: Historically, dholes inhabited southern Russia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia but are now limited to South and Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and China.
• Clusters in India: In India, dholes are found mainly in the Western and Eastern Ghats, the Central Indian Landscape, and the Northeast.
• Key States: According to a 2020 study, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh lead in dhole conservation efforts.
• Social Behaviour: Dholes live in packs of up to 30 but may also hunt solo or in pairs depending on prey availability.
• Ecological Role: As predators, dholes help regulate prey populations and maintain ecosystem balance.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix II (not necessarily threatened with extinction but may become so if trade is not closely controlled).
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule II (considered important for conservation and are granted a high degree of protection).