In News
- The Bustard Specialist Group (BSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature wrote to the Assam government on the urgent need to prevent land-use changes at Kokilabari Seed Farm in the state to protect Bengal floricans and other species.
About The Bengal Florican
- Scientific Name:
- Houbaropsis bengalensis
- Habitat:
- The species is found in very small numbers only in India and Cambodia.
- About a hundred of them are present in Nepal and the species is extinct in Bangladesh.
- It is an iconic species of topmost conservation priority and it exhibits transboundary movements.
- It has a very small, rapidly declining population largely as a result of the widespread loss of its grassland habitat.
- Threat:
- Its migration exposes it to threats such as land-use changes, collision with power transmission line at the boundary area of India-Nepal and probable power-line collisions.
- Conservation Status :
- IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
- Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972
- Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aid in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreements.
Image Courtesy: ebird.org
Source: DTE
