Top 10 Endangered Wild Animal Species of India

Endangered species of wild animals found in India are Asiatic Lion in Gir Forest Nilgiri Tahr and Lion Tailed Macaque at Western Ghats of India and many more. In the beyond 50 years, the planet has experienced rapid growth of human population, improvement and urbanisation, deforesting masses of million acres of forests throughout the globe along the way. Top 10 Endangered Wild Animal Species of India.

As a result, many top species have become endangered and are dropping extra habitats and food throughout the day. According to a 2020 analysis, the 6th mass extinction of wildlife on Earth is accelerating with extra than 500 species of land animals on the point of extinction, and will possibly to be misplaced in the next 20 years. 

Here are the Top 10 Endangered Wild Animal Species of India:

Gharial

Gharial is one of the top endangered wild animal species of India. The gharial is a sort of long-nosed crocodilian which is local to the Indian sub-continent and which possesses a distinctive boss-formed protuberance on its nose. Although once found in Pakistan, Myanmar, Bhutan and elsewhere, it’s a far thought now to be extinct everywhere besides India and Nepal. 

Gharials percentage the hard hide of their relatives and it’s far for this reason, alongside habitat pressures such as development and agriculture, that they’re facing extinction. They are hunted for their skin and different parts, which are used decoratively and in traditional medicines, while their nests are also usually raided for their eggs which are eaten by certain tribes. Now they have also come in the list of top endangered wild animal species in India.

• Animal website: https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/threatened_species/gharial/

Lion Tailed Macaque

Lion tailed macaque are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. Endangered to the small and severely fragmented rainforests of Western Ghats of South India, the lion-tailed macaque is a  best recognisable monkey identifiable by its silver-white mane that surrounds its head. 

Estimates place the total wild population of the macaque around 4,000 individuals, and is projected to decline more than 20% in the next 25 years should threats like hunting, roadkills and habitat loss persist. These uncommon primates are mostly shy and tend to stay in the higher canopies of rainforest, which continues to dwindle due to deforestation and land clearing.

 The species’ smooth access to human food is also converting their behaviours, driving the animal to spend less time foraging for meals. Overall they have become one of the top endangered wild animal species In India. 

• Animal website: https://apenheul.com/primates-abc/lion-tailed-macaque

Kashmiri Stag

The Kashmir stag are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. It is found in dense riverine forests in the excessive valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh. Over the years, the population become between 3000 and individuals, however, since then habitat destruction, over-grazing by domestic 5000 livestock and poaching have reduced the population dramatically.

 The Kashmiri purple stag has been listed as a critically endangered species through the IUCN for decades and is among the top 15 species of excessive conservation priority by the Indian Government. As a result, the species is now largely restricted inside a 141 sq km area in Dachigam National Park.  Many ongoing conservation drives try to tackle these issues to help protect this one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Animal website: http://www.wildkashmir.org/hangul.html

Indian Bison

Indian bison or gaur are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. It is a bovine local to South Asia and Southeast Asia and has been indexed as Vulnerable at the IUCN Red List since 1986.It is a strong and vastly built bovine with a high convex ridge at the forehead between the horns.  There is an outstanding ridge on the back. The ears are very large. They are found in the southern area and Southeast Asian areas of India. 

They are in large part limited to evergreen forests or semi-evergreen and wet deciduous forests however additionally arise in deciduous forest regions on the periphery of their range. Their habitat is characterized by large, relatively undisturbed woodland tracts, hilly terrain under an elevation of 1,500 to 1,800 m, availability of water, and an abundance of forage in the shape of grasses, bamboo, shrubs, and trees.

 The worldwide population turned into assessed at a limit of 21,000 mature people in 2016. It has declined by over 70% during the last three ages and is extirpated from Sri Lanka and in all likelihood Bangladesh. No wonder they are the top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Website: https://www.indiabison.com/

Asian Elephants

The Asian elephants are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. They are distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India within side the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo within side the east. Asian elephants are the continent’s top biggest terrestrial mammals. 

Asian elephants are highly intelligent animals characterised through strong best family bonds, sophisticated types of communication and complex behaviour, such as tool use and the ability to sense grief and compassion.

 Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 per cent over the last 3 elephant generations, which is about 60–75 years. It is often threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching. 

In 2019, the wild population was estimated at 48,323–51,680 individuals.  Fewer than 50,000 wild Asian elephants are anticipated to continue to exist today, compared to around half 1,000,000 in their African cousins. Over the years the top asian elephants have become endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Company website: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/asian-elephant

Nilgiri Tahr

Nilgiri tahr are the top endangered wild animal species in India. This endangered mountain goat species only has about 2,500-3,000 people remaining in the wild. Much like the other animals on the list, wildlife poaching and habitat loss have led the nilgiri tahr to be contained within the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, covering much less than 10% of their former range.

 But for these mountain goats, weather change is expected to be an even larger threat. The animal lives in high-altitude mountainous grasslands and rocky cliffs of the Western Ghats and is projected to become unsuitable habitats for the goats as global surface temperatures rise. Overall nilgiri tahr is one of the top endangered wild animal species in India.

• Animal website: https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/threatened_species/nilgiri_tahr/

Great Indian Bustard

The great Indian bustard or Indian bustard is one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. The bustard found on the Indian subcontinent. It is a large ground bird with a top of about one meter. It is unmistakable with its black cap contrasting with the pale head and neck.  The crown of the head is black and crested and is puffed up by displaying males.

 The female is smaller than the male.  In 2011 Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered, mainly because it has been extirpated from 90% of its former range and the population become estimated at possibly fewer than 250 people in 2008. 

The main threats are searching and habitat loss. The rapid reduction of the population of India’s bustards, their endangered status, and the decline of grasslands led the Ministry of Environment and Forests to prepare species recovery programs in 2012 for 3 species of bustard. Overall they are top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Website: https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/priority_species/threatened_species/great_indian_bustard/

Tiger

Tigers are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. There’s no question about it, tigers are the best cat species within side the world. When it involves sheer mass, no different cat comes close. Big tigers top out at round 715 kilos within side the wild. 

The Royal Bengal Tiger located in India and Bangladesh is also a continental Tiger. Tigers stay a solitary life and are very hardly ever visible in groups. Tigers have been also recently considered to have best 6 living subspecies and three different subspecies that these days went extinct.

 There are best about 3000 left withinside the wild. Though this massive cat is an adaptable animal which can stay in various habitats which include forests, mangroves and wetlands, and has the ability to deal with warm or cold temperatures, Bengal tiger populations have plummeted over the years. 

The animal has been endangered following a long time of persistent poaching for its skin and body parts, trophy hunting, and severely decreased habitat from urban development. India’s tiger population was estimated at 2,603–3,346 individuals by 2018. The species now live in only 7% of their historical habitat range, with fewer than 2,000 individuals left in the wild. Therefore it is necessary to take steps to conserve and protect the one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Animal website: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/tiger

Snow Leopard

Snow leopards are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. They are best elusive cats that live in the mountains of significant Asia, consisting of Afghanistan and China. They can weigh as much as one hundred twenty pounds. Now, they can best be found in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the western and eastern parts of the Himalayas, with populace numbers down to about 500 in India.

 The snow leopard shows several variations in residing in a cold, mountainous environment. Unsurprisingly, this drop is the result of human interference, particularly animal poaching for its pelt and body parts, and a rapid decline of prey due to increasing domestic livestock, which depletes the high-altitude pasture lands. 

Conflicts between remote communities and snow leopards have additionally been a threat to the species, as well as hydroelectric and mining projects, which reduces the leopard’s natural habitat. Overall snow leopards are the top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Animal website: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/snow-leopard

Wild Water Buffalo

The wild water buffalo also known as Asian buffalo are one of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. It is a large bovine local to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The moderately long, coarse, and sparse hair is directed forward from the haunches to the lengthy and slender head. There is a tuft at the forehead, and the ears are comparatively small.

 Its head-to-body period is 240 to 300 cm with a 60 to 100 cm long tail and a shoulder top of 150 to 190 cm. It is associated with moist grasslands, swamps, flood plains, and densely vegetated river valleys. They are likely grazers by of preference, feeding mainly on graminoids while available, together with Bermuda grass, and Cyperus sedges, however, they also eat other herbs, fruits, and bark, as well as browsing on bushes and shrubs.

 It has been listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List since 1986, as the remaining population totals less than 4,000. A population decline of at least 50% over the last 3 generations is projected to continue.The global population has been estimated at 3, 400 individuals, of which 3,100 live in India, mostly in Assam. Moreover they are the top endangered wild animal species found in India.

• Website: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/water-buffalo

Top endangered endemic species found in India:

FAQ related to top endangered endemic species found in India:

What are some endangered species of India?

1. The Great Indian Rhinoceros
2.  Gharial, 
3. The Hoolock Gibbon, 
4. Ganga River Dolphin, 
5. Chinkara

Which is the most endangered animal in India?

Blackbuck, or Indian antelope

What are the 5 most endangered animals in India?

1. Bengal Tiger
2. Gharial
3. Asiatic Lion
4. Red Panda
5. One Horned Rhinoceros.

Which animal is very rare in India?

Nilgiri Tahr

What is the top 5 rarest animal in the world?

1. Pangolins
2. The Giant Squid
3. Boto/Pink River Dolphin. 

Who protects wildlife India?

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was passed by the Indian government to protect wildlife in India. 

What are the major endangered species of India?

1. Asiatic Lion, Gir Forest
2. Kashmir Stag, Kashmir Valley
3. Lion-Tailed Macaque, Western Ghats
4. Purple Frog, Western Ghats
5. Sangai Deer, Loktak Lake. 

What are the 7 categories of endangered species?

1. Data Deficient 
2. Least Concern 
3. Near Threatened 
4. Vulnerable 
5. Endangered 
6. Critically Endangered 
7. Extinct In The Wild

Conclusion

As for the conclusion these are some of the top endangered wild animal species found in India. These species are some the best nature created creatures but due to human intervention and for greed in their habitat for their skin and body parts also for hunting and poaching as a form of pleasure, these animals have now become endangered and only few of them are left in National parks and in natural habitats.