Threatened Fauna of Jammu and Kashmir State

Abstract

The empirical assessment of species for assigning threat status guides priority setting in conservation efforts. This chapter has documented 71 threatened and near-threatened faunal species from the Jammu and Kashmir State. These include 33 species of birds, 26 species of mammals, 5 species each of reptiles and fishes and 2 species of amphibians. Among the birds, 3 species are critically endangered (CR), 4 endangered (EN), 11 vulnerable (VU) and 15 near threatened (NT), while among the mammals, one species is CR, 5 are EN, 8 VU and 12 NT. The threatened herpetofauna includes five reptilian (EN = 2; VU = 2; NT, 1) and two amphibian (EN = 1; VU = 1) species. Three fish species are assessed as threatened (CR = 1; EN = 1; VU = 1) and 2 as NT. Overall, the number of CR, EN and VU species is 5, 13 and 23, respectively, whereas the number of NT species is 30. The inclusion of majority of these species in CITES appendices and various schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972 (amended in 2006), points towards their threat status in this Himalayan State. The major threats to fauna of the State include loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat, poaching, livestock grazing, over-exploitation and human–wildlife conflict. This chapter also highlights the knowledge gaps about threat status of faunal diversity in the State and the appropriate steps required to be initiated in the immediate future.