An introduction about Wildlife of J&K- Jammu & Kashmir

An introduction about Wildlife of J&K- Jammu & Kashmir

The state of Jammu & Kashmir has a special responsibility towards the rest of the country and indeed the world at large.Owing to events that took place as far back as 25 million years, the region has been endowed with a truly unique variety of life forms. These creatures had to adjust to the very special environment created when the break-away island that was to form the Indian peninsula met with the Asian mainland in the cataclysmic birth of the Himalayas. The mountains, foothills and plain house a zoogeographic diversity ranging from Oriental to Palearctic flora and fauna. And it is the conservation of this diversity that is the principal responsibility of the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Wildlife Protection.

The animals that are to be protect are, of course, 'stars' in their own rights! Witness the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) , the common leopard (Panthera pardus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), the Himalayan black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) , the hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu), red fox (Vulpes vulpes ), markhor (Capra falconeri) , musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), yellow- throated marten (Martes flavigula ) and the shapu (Ovis orientalis) to name just a random shortlist! Above the mighty peaks soar grand raptors - golden eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos hodgsoni), lammergeiers (Gypaetus barbatus), black eagles (Ictinaetus malayenis), kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), hobbys (Falco subbuteo centralasiea), griffon vultures (Gyps himalayensis) and many more. Great stands of deodar (Cedrus deodara) and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) clothe high slopes, while oak (Quercus dilatates), walnut (Juglans regia), mulberry (Morus alba) and horsechestnut deliver their bounty of fruit and leaf fodder to the animals lower down. Alpine meadows come alive each year to the profusion of wild flowers and herbs which provide sustenance to a myriad insect forms which in turn feed birds, amphibians and reptiles. No one fully catalogued this rich diversity, and the state continues to provide a fertile field laboratory for scores of ornithologists, entymologists, botanists and zoologists. On numerous occasions luck fossil- hunters have been rewarded with discoveries of ammonites, starfish and even sharks, etched for eternity in the stones of silence- all evidence of the original submarine existence of the region.

For anyone who has visited Jammu and Kashmir, seeing is believing. But even for those are yet to come, the Department of Wildlife Protection out a simple promise the wildlife and the forests of jammu and Kashmir are alive and well and are receiving the protection they so richly deserve. In truth, our task is not being performed out of a sense of 'duty' to our follow creatures. We realise how vital the health of our woodlands is for the well -being of our people. Soil consevation, fresh water supply,sustainable fruit and fuel yields- all are dependent on the health of our 21,000 sq. km. Of forest land. 

The animals that are to be seen in forsets are the beneficiaries of several conservation ventures including high altitude sanctuaries and ambitious afforestation drives. Perphas the most heartening aspect of our endeavours is the fact that we have as our major supporters the youth of the state. Through nature clubs and countless lecture tours, students have become so deeply involved with our plans to develop and protect our natural wealth that we can justifiably claim success in rearing a fresh crop of conservationists who in a few short years, will take over from us to protect what in any event, their own heritage