Wildlife Sanctuaries

(Good morning respected teachers and all my dear friends. I am

Abhinav and I am going to talk on the topic Wildlife sanctuaries
.
First of all,)

What is a wildlife sanctuary?

(Basically,) A wildlife sanctuary is a place of refuge where
abused, injured and abandoned captive wildlife may live in peace
and dignity for the remainder of their lives. (In simple words it
provides protection to the wildlife)

But what is a true wildlife sanctuary?

True wildlife sanctuaries do not breed or exploit the
animals for commercial activites such as for the use of
animals for entertainment or sport, sale or trade of
animals, their offspring or animal parts and by-products.

A true sanctuary respects the integrity of individual animals,

providing safe, healthy, and secure refuge in
enclosures specifically designed for the
unique animals whom they support.

Aim/ Mission of wildlife sanctuaries.

So, The main objective of establishing these wildlife
sanctuaries is to safeguard various endangered species of
India from extinction in their natural habitat, in other
words its main objective is to protect the endangered
species from extinction. For example, Corbett Tiger
Reserve (in Uttarakhand) for Bengal Tiger, Pobitora Wildlife
Sanctuary (in Assam) for Indian Rhinoceros, Chinnar Wildlife
Sanctuary(in Kerala) for Nilgiri Tahr, Gir Wildlife Sanctuary (in
Gujarat) for Asiatic Lion, etc.

The another aim of wildlife sanctuaries is to promote the

sustainable use of the natural resources of the area and to
promote the social and economic development of the area’s
communities.

The last and One of the most

important missions of sanctuaries is caring for the animals
and educating the public. The ultimate goal of
many sanctuaries is to change the way that humans think
of, and treat, non-human animals.

History of wildlife sanctuaries

So now, let us talk about the oldest wildlife sanctuaries.

The oldest wildlife sanctuary in India is the Senchal Wildlife

Sanctuary which was set up in 1915 in the Darjeeling
District of West Bengal, India. It covers an area of
38.6 km2 (14.9 sq mi).

The Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary, is believed to be the first

sanctuary in the world. But there are no proper borders
demarcating the sanctuary and no measures have been
taken to protect its biodiversity. However, the Government
has now taken steps to restore this sanctuary to its former
state, in connection with the 2550th Buddha Jayanthi
celebrations. It was made 2500 years back. It covers
35000 hectares of land. It comprises trees such as palu,
weera, teak, ebony and milla. It is a home to mammals
such as elephants, deer, sambhur and bears.

Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

No region on earth can compete with India in terms of
unmatched variety of flora and fauna. India's wildlife is
rich and diverse. Almost 24.1 6% of India's land is under
forest. With its incredible variety of terrain, some of the
species found in India are indigenous, and are found
nowhere in the world; such as sloth bear, blackbuck,
chausingha and nilgai.

To protect this huge biodiversity there are more than 500 wildlife
sanctuaries and 103 National Parks in India.

They cover about 1,16,800 Sq km (comprising around 4%

of India's total surface area.)

Landforms in the national park are protected from development,

extinction, and pollution and provide a natural habitat for wildlife.

Some of the known wildlife sanctuaries are Gir Wildlife Sanctuary

(Gujarat), Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala), Bhadra Wildlife
Sanctuary (Karnataka), etc.

(Here is the map of all the wildlife sanctuaries in India)

(These are all the wildlife sanctuaries present in India.)

But now Why these wildlife Sanctuaries Are So
essential/important?
Wildlife sanctuaries are essential to protect and conserve the wildlife. The
term ‘wildlife’ not only caters to wild animals but also takes into account all
undomesticated life forms including birds, insects, plants, fungi and even
microscopic organisms. For maintaining a healthy ecological balance on this
earth, animals, plants and marine species are as important as humans. But,
sadly today, many of the animals and birds are getting endangered. The
natural habitats of animals and plants are being destroyed for land
development and farming by humans. Poaching and hunting of animals for
fur, jewellery, meat and leather are other great factors contributing to wildlife
extinction. If soon, no stringent (pronunciation: strin. Jent.) steps are taken to
save wildlife, it would not be long when they will find a place only on the list
of extinct species. And that would not be all! The extinction of wildlife
species will certainly have a fatal impact on human race as well. So, for us as
humans, it becomes a great responsibility to save the wildlife, our planet and
most importantly, our own selves.

Thank you!