Bengal Floricans

In News 

  • The Bustard Specialist Group (BSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature wrote to the Assam government on the urgent need to prevent land-use changes at Kokilabari Seed Farm in the state to protect Bengal floricans and other species. 

About The Bengal Florican 

  • Scientific Name: 
    • Houbaropsis bengalensis
  • Habitat: 
    • The species is found in very small numbers only in India and Cambodia
    • About a hundred of them are present in Nepal and the species is extinct in Bangladesh.
  • It is an iconic species of topmost conservation priority and it exhibits transboundary movements.
  • It has a very small, rapidly declining population largely as a result of the widespread loss of its grassland habitat. 
  • Threat
    • Its migration exposes it to threats such as land-use changes, collision with power transmission line at the boundary area of India-Nepal and probable power-line collisions.
  • Conservation Status : 
    • IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
    • Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972
    • Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aid in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreements.

                                            Image Courtesy: ebird.org

Source: DTE

 
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