Critically Endangered Species in India- The Jerdon's Courser (UPSC)

 What are Critically endangered species?

A species that has been designated as having a dangerously high risk of extinction in the wild is known as a critically endangered species. This indicates that they are in danger of going extinct entirely because their population has drastically decreased. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle, brown spider monkey, Chinese alligator, black rhinoceros, and many other species are examples of critically endangered species. The Red List of Endangered Species, maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), classifies species according to the degree of risk.

(A) BIRDS:

1) The Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus):

The Jerdon's Courser

The Jerdon's courser is a nocturnal, cursorial bird, mostly active at night, and like lapwings and other coursers, it prefers to walk, although it can fly quite well. Only the northern region of the state of Andhra Pradesh in peninsular India contains it. It is a signature species for the critically endangered scrub jungle.

It was first recorded by Thomas C. Jerdon, a British surgeon, in 1848 in erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh. The species was considered extinct until it was rediscovered in 1986 by Bharat Bhushan, an ornithologist at the Bombay Natural History Society who made use of local trappers to capture a specimen. The area of discovery was subsequently declared the Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Critically endangered.

HABITAT: Undisturbed scrub jungle with open areas.

DISTRIBUTION: Jerdon’s Courser is endemic to Andhra Pradesh. However, 19th-century records do attribute its presence in the neighbouring areas of the state of Maharashtra.

Threats: Include the clearing of scrub jungle, the creation of new pastures, the growing of dryland crops, plantations of exotic trees, quarrying, and the construction of the Telugu-Ganga Canal. Illegal trapping of birds is also a threat.