Authors: Anusha Chaudhary  and Simran Prasad 

This is the first article of our two-part series called “ Wildlife Distributions and Extinctions.”

The key highlights are: 

  • Assessed range contractions and local extinctions of 25 mammals in India.
  • Carnivores like leopard, jackal and wolf had lower extinction probabilities.
  • Mouse deer and swamp deer had the highest chances of extinction.
  • Extinction probabilities were lower in wildlife reserves and for wildlife which were culturally tolerated.

India’s rapid economic and demographic growth has negative impacts on wildlife, especially large mammals. There are 410 species of mammals found in India. With rapidly declining populations, identifying the current distribution and extinction probabilities of large mammals is integral to future conservation efforts.

To assess the patterns of extinction, a team of scientists led by Dr. Krithi Karanth from Centre for Wildlife Studies, conducted research on 25 large mammals found in India. These included carnivores such as tiger, lion, hyena, wolf, and herbivores such as elephant, chital, sambar, muntjac, blackbuck, etc. To establish the historical presence of species over the past 200 years, location records were obtained from hunting journals, taxidermy logs and museums. The authors collected over 30,000 records for more than 100 mammal species across India. 

The analysis found that the presence of legally protected areas of wilderness lowered the chances of extinction for 18 mammal species. The study noted that a higher proportion of forest cover was associated with lower extinction probabilities for seven species. High human population densities were associated with high extinction probabilities for 13 species (chital, sambar, muntjac, mouse deer, gaur, elephant, Nilgiri tahr, brown bear, black bear, sloth bear, wild dog, tiger and leopard). Species such as wild pig, jackal and blackbuck, were not adversely affected by human density. A unique phenomenon of cultural tolerance towards animals, particularly in Western India, had lowered the extinction probability of herbivores like nilgai, chinkara and blackbuck. However, all 25 large mammal species displayed extinction probabilities over the past century.

The study explicated the importance of developing new protected areas and utilising conservation policy and management techniques to link existing protected areas. The implementation of efficient management strategies can enable the persistence of large mammals in human-dominated landscapes.  The results of the study can be used to identify the next steps that prevent further fragmentation of habitat ranges. Furthermore, outlining  factors that can reduce species extinction probabilities is essential in ensuring the success of future conservation efforts. 

Original article: The shrinking ark: patterns of large mammal extinctions in India (2010)  Krithi K. Karanth, James D. Nichols, K. Ullas Karanth, James E. Hines and Norman L. Christensen Jr. Proceedings of the Royal Society

You can access the original article here.