In this Chapter you will know about the habit, habitat, feeding behaviour and identification of chelonains and crocodillian species along Ganga basin. You will also learn about their importance in the ecosystem and threats for them.

By the end of this chapter you should be able to identify the chelonians and crocodillian species of Ganga river basin.

Abbreviations involve in the chapter with meaning are as follows-

Meaning of Status as per IUCN red list

• Extinct (EX) – beyond reasonable doubt that the species is no longer extant.
• Extinct in the wild (EW) – survives only in captivity, cultivation and/or outside native range, as presumed after exhaustive surveys.
• Critically endangered (CR) – in a particularly and extremely critical state.
• Endangered (EN) – very high risk of extinction in the wild, meets any of criteria A to E for Endangered.
• Vulnerable (VU) – meets one of the 5 red list criteria and thus considered to be at high risk of unnatural (human-caused) extinction without further human intervention.
• Near threatened (NT) – close to being at high risk of extinction in the near future.
• Least concern (LC) – unlikely to become extinct in the near future.
• Data deficient (DD)
• Not evaluated (NE)

Meaning of Status as per Wildlife (Protection) act,1972 India

• Out of the six schedules, Schedule I and part II of Schedule II provide absolute protection and offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties.
• The penalties for Schedule III and Schedule IV are less and these animals are protected.
• Schedule V includes the animals which may be hunted. These are Common crow, Fruit bats, Mice & Rats only.
• Schedule VI contains the plants, which are prohibited from cultivation and planting.

Meaning of Status as per CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)

• Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered
• Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.
• Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.

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