Sometimes, ‘small’ can be ‘big’. The Andaman island rainforests may be much smaller in area when compared to the Western Ghats or the North-eastern rainforests of India. They do not have a rich distribution of large-sized animals either. But this should not be used as a measuring stick to determine the species abundance of the land.
Endemism is truly remarkable in this region, be it birds, reptiles, amphibians, or mammals.
Birds highly indigenous to this particular ecosystem are the Andaman crake, the Andaman serpent-eagle, the Andaman coucal, Andaman woodpecker, Andaman scops owl, Andaman drongo, and Andaman treepie.
Among the 45 reptiles recorded, 13 species are natives of this ecoregion, the most striking of which is the bright green, slender lizard called the Andaman day gecko. Seven out of the 12 amphibians listed are also indigenous to these islands.
As for its mammals, five small species are indigenous and listed as Vulnerable or Threatened under the IUCN Red List. They are the Andaman spiny shrew, Jenkin’s Shrew, the Andaman rat, the Andaman horseshoe bat, and the white-toothed shrew.
Sadly enough, the Andaman rainforests are prone to natural calamities such as cyclones and tsunamis. Artificial destruction resulting from clearing lands for agriculture and human habitation has also adversely impacted this beautiful land’s rich endemism.
Picture Credit : Google
