EIACP PC Hub: Kerala
State of Environment and Related Issues

IUCN RED LIST INDIA | RED DATA LIST | RED BOOK PART-1

2015 IUCN Red List India [As of April 24, 2016]

1. ‘Critically Endangered’ Mammals of Kerala

(i) Malabar Civet (Viverra civettina)

 • It is endemic to India and was first reported from Travancore, Kerala.

 • It is nocturnal in nature and found exclusively in the Western Ghats.

 • Habitat: Wooded plains and hill slopes of evergreen rainforests.

 • Habitat/distribution: Western Ghats

. • Threats: Deforestation and commercial plantations are major threats.

2. Endangered Mammals

(i) Dhole/ Asiatic wild dog or Indian wild dog (Cuon alpinus)

• Distribution: They occur in most of India south of the Ganges, particularly in the Central Indian        Highlands and the Western and Eastern Ghats of the southern states.

• In north-east India, they inhabit Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.

• Threats: Habitat loss, depletion of its prey base, competition from other predators, persecution and     possibly diseases from domestic and feral dogs.

(ii)Lion-tailed macaque/ wanderoo (Macaca silenus)

• Endemic to the Western Ghats.

• Avoid human presence and they do not live, feed or travel through plantations.

• Habitat: Evergreen forests in the Western Ghats range.

• Threat: Habitat fragmentation due to spread of agriculture and tea, coffee, teak and cinchona, construction of water reservoirs and human settlements to support such activities.

(iii) Nilgiri langur/ Nilgiri leaf monkey (Trachypithecus johnii)

• Habitat: Hilly areas of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

• Threats: Habitat degradation, development activities, introduction of exotic tree species.

(iv) Nilgiri tahr

• The Nilgiri tahr is the largest of the three tahr species, inhabit montane grasslands of Western Ghats. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.

• Threats: Habitat loss, overgrazing, illegal hunting.

IUCN Red List India | Red Data List | Red Book Part-2

Vulnerable’ Mammals

(i) Gaur/Indian Bison

• The gaur (Bos gaurus), also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia

• Gaur are largely confined to evergreen forests or semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, but also occur in deciduous forest areas at the periphery of their range.

• The domesticated form of the gaur, Bos frontalis, is called gayal or mithun.

• Threats: Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation.

(ii) Nilgiri marten

• Endemic to the Western Ghats. Inhabits areas that are far from human disturbance.

• Threat: habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting for its fur.

• Only species of marten found in southern India.

Critically Endangered’ Birds

(i)Spoon Billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus)

                  India is home to some of the last existing wintering grounds of this species.

Habitat: Coastal areas with sparse vegetation. No breeding records further inland than 7 km from the seashore.

Distribution: Has been recorded in West Bengal, Orissa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Threats: Habitat degradation and land reclamation. Human disturbance also leads to high incidence of nest desertion.

Near Threatened’ Reptiles

(i) Sispara day gecko (Cnemaspis sisparensis)

Distribution: Endemic to Western Ghats, and found in Sispara, Nilgiris, Kavalai near Cochin.

Threats: Habitat conversion and modification.

Source: IUCN Red List India | Red Data List | Red Book Part-1 and 2