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Wildlife of Punjab, India

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Agriculture in Punjab

The wildlife of Punjab, India is rich, with 396 types of birds, 214 kinds of Lepidoptera, 55 varieties of fish, 20 types of reptiles, and 19 kinds of mammals. The state of Punjab has large wetland areas, bird sanctuaries that house numerous species of birds, and many zoological parks. Wetlands include the national wetland Hari-Ke-Pattan, the wetland of Kanjli, and the wetlands of Kapurthala Sutlej. Wildlife sanctuaries include the Harike in the district of Tarn Taran Sahib, the Zoological Park in Rupnagar, Chhatbir Bansar Garden in Sangrur, Aam Khas Bagh in Sirhind, Amritsar's famous Ram Bagh Palace, Shalimar Garden in Kapurthala, and the famous Baradari Garden in the city of Patiala.[1]

Flora

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Punjab used to have large forests and jungles, such as the Lakhi and Macchiwara jungles, that were used by Sikhs during historical periods of open-genocide and active-oppression against them, such as under the Mughals.[2] However, much of its former forests were subsequently cut-down.[2]

Punjab has the lowest forest cover as a percentage of land area of any Indian state, with 3.6% of its total area under forest cover as of 2017.[3] During the Green Revolution, large tracts of jungles were cut-down in the state to make room for agriculture and forested areas were also cleared for road infrastructure and residential homes.[3] Various NGOs are working towards afforestation and reforestation of the state by launching educational drives, planting saplings, working towards regulatory changes, and pressuring organisations to follow environmental laws.[3] One NGO, EcoSikh, has planted over 100 forests, composed of native plant species, in the state using the Japanese Miyawaki methodology that are named 'Guru Nanak Sacred Forests'.[4][5][6] Native plant species are facing the risk of extirpation from the state but planting mini-forests throughout the land can help prevent this from occurring.[7] Prior to the Green Revolution, Butea monosperma (known as 'dhak' in Punjabi) trees were found in abundance in the state.[8]

Fauna

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Inlaid stone art (jaratkari) from the walls of the Golden Temple shrine in Amritsar depicting a predatory cat hunting a blackbuck antelope

A few of the rivers in Punjab have crocodiles, including reintroduced gharials in the Beas River after half a century of their extirpation from the state.[9][10][11] Indus river dolphins can be found in the Harike Wetland.[12] The extraction of silk from silkworms is another industry that flourishes in the state. Production of bee honey is done in some parts of Punjab. The southern plains are desert land; hence, camels can be seen. Buffaloes graze around the banks of rivers. The northeastern part is home to animals like horses. Wildlife sanctuaries have many more species of wild animals like the otter, wild boar, wildcat, fruit bat, hog deer, flying fox, squirrel, and mongoose. Naturally formed forests can be seen in the Shivalik ranges in the districts of Ropar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. Patiala is home to the Bir forest while the wetlands area in Punjab is home to the Mand forest.[13] The local subspecies of blackbuck, A. c. rajputanae, is facing the risk of extirpation from the state.[14][15][16]

Botanical gardens exist throughout Punjab. There is a zoological park and a tiger safari park, as well as three parks dedicated to deer.[13]

The state bird is the northern goshawk (baz) (Accipiter gentilis),[17] the state animal is the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), the state aquatic animal is Indus river dolphin (Platanista minor), and the state tree is the shisham (Dalbergia sissoo).[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Flora And Fauna Of Punjab". Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Singh, Jaspal (7 September 2023). Rejuvenating Punjab: New Economic World Order. Virsa Publications. pp. 159–160. ISBN 9788195904952.
  3. ^ a b c "In agri-rich Punjab, a fight to reclaim forest cover". The Times of India. 22 August 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  4. ^ Zutshi, Minna (26 October 2020). "EcoSikh's Guru Nanak Sacred Forests: A reason to cheer for Ludhiana district". The Tribune, India. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  5. ^ Singh, Gurjot (15 March 2022). "EcoSikh Completes Planting 400 Sacred Forests all across the globe on Sikh Environment Day 2022". SikhNet. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  6. ^ Banerji, Aparna (1 July 2019). "'Nanak jungles' to increase state's green cover". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. ^ Sharma, Seema (22 March 2019). "Punjab's native tree species disappearing from forest areas: Expert". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. ^ Zutshi, Minna (23 May 2018). "Ludhiana's Dhak Forest a treat for nature lovers". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ^ "24 gharials released into Beas". The Tribune. 6 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. ^ Gupta, Vivek (7 December 2020). "Gharials bounce back in Punjab but the real test is breeding". Mongabay-India. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. ^ Vasudeva, Vikas (18 December 2021). "Reintroduced gharials thriving in Beas reserve: experts". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  12. ^ Puri, Gurbax (16 April 2022). "Tarn Taran diary: Harike, an abode for birds, rare Indus dolphins". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Animals and Birds in Punjab". Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  14. ^ Srinivasulu, C. (2012). South Asian mammals : their diversity, distribution, and status. Bhargavi Srinivasulu. New York, NY: Springer. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-4614-3449-8. OCLC 794056010.
  15. ^ Biodiversity and environment. B. N. Pandey, G. K. Kulkarni, National Symposium on Recent Advances in Animal Research with Special Emphasis on Invertebrates. New Delhi: A P H Pub. Corp. 2006. p. 172. ISBN 81-313-0042-0. OCLC 297209812.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. ^ Vasudeva, Vikas (17 February 2019). "Caught down the wire: Punjab's blackbuck fight for existence". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Lost in flight: State bird of Punjab missing from the state!". Hindustan Times. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  18. ^ "State Profile – About Punjab". Punjab Government. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
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