CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to prevent species from going extinct. Major threats to wildlife include habitat destruction/degradation/fragmentation, over exploitation, poaching, pollution and climate change. The importance of conservation of wildlife can hardly be denied these days when hundred of animals and birds are on the verge of extinction. There is a inseparable relation between man, trees, birds and animals. One cannot live without the other. Man gets oxygen, fuel, medicines, honey and other important things from forests which are the natural habitat of birds and animals like tigers, lions, bears, deer and hosts of other beats. These animals which are mostly fierce and ferocious by nature keeping the illegal wood choppers away from the forest. Men, trees, birds and beats maintain the all important ecological balance in nature. In absence of wildlife, this balance will be seriously distributed and humanity will be at stake. The number of wild animals and birds is getting fast reduced day by day. Poachers encroach on the forest and go on killing animals for their hide, flesh, teeth and bones. And this has already resulted in the extinction of almost 135 rare species of birds and beasts over the last 500 years. The India Govt. has, however taken a number of measures to protect wildlife. Stringent laws prohibiting illegal poaching have been enacted and are being enforced. As many as 53 National parks and 248 Reserved Forests have been set up throughout the country for rehabilitation of wild animals and birds. In addition, wildlife institutions have been set up in Kanha and Dehradoon. But all these measures for proper protection of wildlife is not enough. What is more urgent and imperative for the safety and security of wildlife is the awareness among people at large. They first need to know and understand the fact that their very existence on earth largely depends on the survival of birds and wild animals.