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
