By Kanika and Bhavna
The Ganga River rises in Uttarakhand, India, and runs through northern India, eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. With a length of around 2510 km, it is one of the largest rivers in the subcontinent. It is home to billions of living things, including humans and other terrestrial, aquatic, and amphibious creatures. The Ganga is India's most sacred river; we bathe in it to wash our sins away, yet we also harm it. With our irresponsible behaviour, we are destroying life's immemorial history. And it's past time for us to speak up for our mother, Maa Gange!
MH Vatavaran, in collaboration with WWF India, under Project ECHO, held a virtual session on Denizens of Ganges on February 28, 2022 at 4 PM through Zoom, to raise awareness about Ganga and provide more thorough information about its fauna.
Mr. Nikhil John was the prominent speaker of the day. With great enthusiasm, 139 people attended the workshop.
Mr. Nikhil began the discussion by discussing the flora and fauna that thrive in and around the Ganga. Alpine Forests, Grassland Forests, Riparian Habitat, and Mangrove Forests were among the four types of forest cover he discussed. He then engaged the audience in an interactive discussion on the mammals that live near the Ganges River by asking for the names of the mammals he displayed on the screen and providing information about them. Dolphins, Royal Bengal Tigers, Asian Lions, Indian Gray Wolf, Golden Jackal, Red Fox, Antelope, Deer, and Civet were among them. He also explained the main difference between antelope and deer i.e., antelope has permanent horns while only male deer have horns, which they shed and grow annually.
Following this, he talked about the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature) which included following categories:
Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.
Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.
Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.
Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered soon.
Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
Then, he shed light on the different animal adaptations.
The speaker then took the audience on a journey through the fascinating world of the Ganges' reptiles, fish, and birds. In addition to this, he taught students how to distinguish between reptiles such as crocodiles, alligators, and gharials.
Mr. Nikhil concluded his presentation by discussing several methods for saving wildlife, as human survival is linked to animal survival. The following points were highlighted by him:
Spread awareness
Say no to the illegal trade in wildlife.
Be a responsible tourist
Conserve water
Biodiversity loss can have a significant direct impact on humans. Thus, it’s our responsibility to conserve wildlife as there is no human survival possible without them.
Now is the moment to take green action!
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