Important Animal Conservation Project of India

Year of Important Animal Conservation Project in India

About Project Tiger

✓ Project Tiger was launched in India on April 1, 1973.
✓ It was launched by Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
✓ Currently India has 51 tiger reserves.
✓ First Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger was Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve.
✓ Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve is located in Uttarakhand.
✓ Latest Tiger Reserve (53rd) – Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary (Chhattisgarh)

◘ Top 3 states in terms of number of Tigers

1. Madhya Pradesh (526)
2. Karnataka(524)
3. Uttarakhand (442)

About Project Elephant

✓ Project Elephant was launched in 1992.
✓ Launched by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests.
✓ There are 32 Elephant Reserves in India.
✓ First Elephant Reserve in India – Singhbhum Elephant Reserve of Jharkhand.
✓ Karnataka has the largest Elephant Population.

About Crocodile Conservation Project

✓ Initially the Crocodile Conservation Project was launched in Odisha’s Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary.
✓ It was implemented with the financial aid of the United Nations Development Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
✓ The country’s first gharial breeding center was built in Nandankanan Zoological Park.

About Project vulture

✓ Vulture Conservation Breeding Programme established by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

✓ To study the cause of death of vultures in India a Vulture Care Centre (VCC) was set up at Pinjore, Haryana in 2001.

About Project Manipur Thamin

✓ Thamin deer also known as Eld’s deer (Panolia eldii) or brow-antlered deer.

✓ It is an endangered species of deer endemic to South Asia.

✓ The Thamin deer are found in the southeastern parts of Loktak Lake of Manipur.

✓ To increase the population of deer, the Thamin Project was launched in 1977.

About Project Red Panda (cat- Bear)

✓ The project was started in 1966 at Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Wildlife Park.

✓ Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is located in Darjeeling, West Bengal.

✓ Red Panda is found in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and the Himalayas around Darjeeling.

About Project Hangul (Kashmiri-stag)

✓ Hangul or Kashmiri stag is a critically endangered species found mainly in the Dachigam National Park (Srinagar) and adjoining areas in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Conservation of Gangetic river dolphin

✓ The Ministry of Environment and Forests notified the Ganges River Dolphin as the National Aquatic Animal.

✓ Dolphin in India is found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

✓ The Ganges Dolphin is among the four ‘obligate’ freshwater dolphins found in the world.

✓ The other three freshwater dolphins are…

1. ‘Baiji’ (Yangtze Kiang)
2. ‘Bhulan’ of the Indus (Pakistan)
3. ‘Boto’ of the Amazon River.

✓ The Government of India has initiated programmes for the conservation of dolphins in Uttar Pradesh.

✓ According to the Ministry of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change there are about 1,272 dolphins in Uttar Pradesh and 962 in Assam.

✓ Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Bihar.
✓ The National Mission for Clean Ganga celebrates 5th October as National Ganga River Dolphin Day.

Important Days Related to Animals

• International Tiger day – 29 July
• World Elephant day – 12 August
• World Rhino day – 22 September
• World Crocodile day – 17 June
• National Dolphin Day – April 14
• International Snow Leopard Day – 23 October

• International Vulture Awareness day – First Saturday of September [3rd September in 2022]

• International Red Panda Day (IRPD) – Third Saturday of September [17 September 2022]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)