{"id":342769,"date":"2025-07-14T18:05:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T12:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=342769"},"modified":"2025-07-14T18:05:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T12:35:45","slug":"gharial-sloth-bear-added-to-centres-critically-endangered-species-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/gharial-sloth-bear-added-to-centres-critically-endangered-species-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Gharial, Sloth Bear added to Centre\u2019s critically endangered species scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SCNBWL) has recommended the inclusion of gharial and sloth bear in the Centre\u2019s Species Recovery Programme.<\/p>\n<h2>Gharial, Sloth Bear added to Centre\u2019s critically endangered species scheme<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_342777\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-342777\" style=\"width: 541px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-342777\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=541%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"541\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=300%2C144&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=1024%2C491&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=768%2C368&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=1536%2C736&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?resize=1568%2C752&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Source-MoEFCC.png?w=1721&amp;ssl=1 1721w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 541px) 100vw, 541px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-342777\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; MoEFCC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>About Gharials<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a species of <strong>Asian crocodilian<\/strong> distinguished by their <strong>long, thin snouts<\/strong> which resembles a <strong>pot<\/strong> (<strong>ghara in Hindi<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong> They prefer to live in <strong>riverine habitats<\/strong> with deep, clear, fast-moving water and steep, sandy banks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Distribution:<\/strong> It was once found across <strong>Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>However, currently it survives in several severely fragmented populations in <strong>India and Nepal.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In India<\/strong>, Gharials are present in Chambal, Yamuna, Ganga, Son<strong>, <\/strong>Sharda, Girwa, Gandak, Ramganga, Mahanadi and Brahmaputra<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservation status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IUCN Red list:<\/strong> Critically Endangered<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972:<\/strong> Schedule I<\/li>\n<li><strong>CITES:<\/strong> Appendix I<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats:<\/strong> Construction of Dam, barrages, and water abstraction, entanglement in fishing nets, River bed cultivation and sand mining.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservation initiatives<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Project Crocodile<\/strong>: Indian government launched the <strong>Project <\/strong>with <strong>UNDP<\/strong> and <strong>FAO<\/strong> in <strong>1975<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>It included an <strong>intensive captive rearing and breeding programme<\/strong> intended to revive dwindling gharial population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>National Chambal Sanctuary<\/strong> (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) and <strong>Ken Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh)<\/strong> are wildlife sanctuaries in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>About Sloth bears <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sloth bears are <strong>one of the eight bear species<\/strong> found across the world.<\/li>\n<li>They are <strong>myrmecophagous<\/strong>, i.e. they find <strong>bugs and termites<\/strong> to be their most sought after meal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong> It is a forest-dwelling bears that inhabits tropical or subtropical regions of India and Sri Lanka.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Distribution:<\/strong> Around <strong>90% of the species\u2019 population<\/strong> is found in <strong>India<\/strong>. A small population of bears is also found in <strong>Nepal and Sri Lanka<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Characteristics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>They are very <strong>fond of honey<\/strong>, hence their alternative name of \u201choney bear\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>They <strong>do not hibernate<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Exploited as dancing bears by the nomadic Kalandar community members<\/li>\n<li>Human sloth bear conflict in States like Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra<\/li>\n<li>Habitat loss<\/li>\n<li>Poaching for body parts<\/li>\n<li>Hunted because of their aggressive behaviour and destruction of crops<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conservation Status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IUCN Red List<\/strong>: Vulnerable<\/li>\n<li><strong>CITES:<\/strong> Appendix I<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972:<\/strong> Schedule I<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\">About Endangered Species Recovery Plans (ESRP)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a <strong>targeted conservation initiative<\/strong> in India aimed at <strong>protecting, reviving, and ensuring the long-term survival of critically endangered and threatened species.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It operates under the broader framework of the <strong>Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH), a centrally sponsored scheme <\/strong>of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Implementing agency:<\/strong> Wildlife Institute of India (<strong>WII<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>So far, <strong>24 (with gharial and sloth bear) species<\/strong> including Snow Leopard, Asiatic Lion, Great Indian Bustard etc. have been identified under the Species recovery programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife (SCNBWL) has recommended the inclusion of gharial and sloth bear in the Centre\u2019s Species Recovery Programme. Gharial, Sloth Bear added to Centre\u2019s critically endangered species scheme About Gharials It is a species of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts which resembles a pot (ghara&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/gharial-sloth-bear-added-to-centres-critically-endangered-species-scheme\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Gharial, Sloth Bear added to Centre\u2019s critically endangered species scheme<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,956,12039,11834],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-342769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-schemes-and-programs","category-knolls","category-species-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342769\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}