The Great Indian Bustard, a bird species once found in abundance across the grasslands of India, is facing the risk of extinction.
The 2011 Red List of birds, released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has enlisted the bird in the Critically Endangered category, the highest level of threat. The population of the species is estimated to be just 250.
Besides the Bustard, the list has enumerated 15 species from India as critically endangered and 16 as endangered ones. There are 55 vulnerable ones and 65 near-threatened bird species in the country. Some of the critically endangered Indian varieties include the Himalayan Quail, Pink-headed Duck, White-bellied Heron and Christmas Island Frigatebird. The vulture species found in India namely the White-backed, the Indian, the Slender-billed and the Red-headed are also in the critical list, says Dr. Nameer.
The list has classified 189 species worldwide as critically endangered, 381 as endangered with very high risk of extinction and 683 as vulnerable with high risk of extinction. It has also listed 843 species as near-threatened. A total of 2,096 species were treated as global conservation priorities. The threat status of 62 species could not be properly assessed following deficiency of data.
Picture Credit : Google
