Environment and Ecology
Conservation of Lesser-Known Species in Tamil Nadu
▪ March – 3 – World Wildlife Day
▪ theme- ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet’
▪ Tamil Nadu Forest Department has launched multiple conservation efforts for species like:
✓ Slender Loris (India’s first sanctuary was created for this species , located in Karur and Dindigul districts).
✓ Dugong (a marine mammal – Thanjavur and Pudukkotai districts/Palk Bay region).
✓ Nilgiri Tahr (Tamil Nadu’s state animal-Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Parambikulam Wildlife
Sanctuary, and Eravikulam National Park).
Important Species & Conservation Efforts
▪ Eurasian Otter (Near Threatened – IUCN)
✓ Found along the Tamirabharani River.
✓ Plays a crucial role as a keystone species in maintaining ecosystem balance.
✓ Research by ATREE (Agasthyamalai Community-Based Conservation Centre) highlights their presence.
▪ Freshwater Turtles of the Cauvery River
✓ Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii).
✓ Leith’s Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia leithii) – Endangered.
▪ Grey Slender Loris & Pangolins in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
✓ Research led by Keystone Foundation, involving indigenous communities like Urali and Sholiga tribes.
✓ Documented in Ozhudurukka Paradu Mekka – The Hidden Forest Creatures, highlighting threatened nocturnal mammals.
Gangetic Dolphins
Context :
▪ The first estimate of Gangetic dolphins, the only riverine dolphins in India, has found 6,327 of them in the Ganga and its tributaries.
▪ Acoustic hydrophone method used for the survey.
About Gangetic dolphins
✓ Scientific Name: Platanista gangetica
✓ IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
✓ Habitat: Freshwater rivers – Ganga and its tributaries, Brahmaputra and its tributaries, Beas.
✓ Special Feature: Blind, uses echolocation for movement.
✓ National Aquatic Animal of India.
✓ Largest number found in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam.
Conservation Initiatives
✓ Project Dolphin (2020) – Part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
✓ Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 – Schedule I species (highest protection).
✓ Namami Gange Programme – River rejuvenation to protect dolphin habitat.
✓ Gangetic Dolphin Conservation Plan by Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
Two New Species Of Jumping Spiders
▪ The University of Kerala has reported the discovery of two new species of jumping spiders, Epidelaxia falciformis and Epidelaxia palustris.
▪ This marks the first record of the genus Epidelaxia in India.
▪ The spiders were found in the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala – Western Ghats) during expeditions in late 2022 and early 2023.
▪ These spiders thrive in the dense foliage of the Western Ghats.
▪ The scientist’s work published in the February 2025 issue of Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed journal
