User:Saravask/Flora and fauna

Fauna and flora

Main articles: Fauna of India and Flora of India

Now the world's rarest monkey, the golden langur typifies the precarious survival of much of India's megafauna.

India lies within the Indomalaya ecozone and was originally largely covered by dipterocarp-dominated dry broadleaf forests, with many species tolerant of the subcontinent's lengthy dry seasons and droughts. The wide variation in climate and terrain allows for significant biodiversity; for example, 65,000 animal and 45,000 plant species have been documented. Many ecoregions also exhibit high rates of endemism, such as the the shola forests of the Western Ghats, where 80% of amphibian species are endemic. Overall, 40% of plants are endemic. Notable Indian fauna include the Bengal tiger, red panda, binturong, caracal, and snow leopard; birds such as the great hornbill and Indian peafowl; and reptiles such as the gharial.

Many Indian species are descendants of the Gondwanan taxa related to lineages now characteristic of the South American, African, Malagasy, and Australian tropics. In the Early Cretaceous, India broke off from the supercontinent of Gondwana and crashed into the Laurasian landmass, sparking a mass exchange of species. Subsequent volcanism and climatic changes resulted in the extinction of many endemic Indian forms, though the emergent Himalaya worked to gradually isolate Indian biota and establish the region's lifegiving cycle of monsoonal rains. In recent decades, human encroachment has posed a threat to India's wildlife; in response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1935, was substantially expanded. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat; further federal protections were promulgated in the 1980s. Along with over 500 wildlife sanctuaries, India now hosts 14 biosphere reserves, four of which are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; 25 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.