Habitat havoc

Elephants | Last week four elephants died on rail tracks of Jalpaiguri. Their migration corridors are be-ing swallowed by rail, road & human settlements. 318 elephants were electro-cuted 2003-2012 because of power lines running in forests. There are 88 threat-ened elephant corridors across the country.

Tiger | Human encroach-ments devouring most tiger habitats. Trade in tiger parts for Chinese medi-cine still unchecked. 1706 tigers scattered in habitats across Karnataka, Andhra, Arunachal, Kerala, Ma-harashtra, MP, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bengal, TN & Assam. But their territory close to towns and cities.

Ganges river Dolphin | Originally found in the Gan-ges-Brahmaputra-Meghna & Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in Nepal, India & Bangladesh. But this vast area’s altered by over 50 dams & irrigation projects. Recent UP census found only 671 dolphins: Increas-ing effl uent discharge driv-ing it towards extinction. ONE-HORNED RHINO | Indi-an rhinos once fl ourished in forests alongside the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins, from Pakistan to the Indian-Burmese bor-der. Severe habitat destruc-tion has limited them to a few small pockets in Nepal, Bengal and Assam. 70% rhinos found in Kaziranga sanctuary.