These wildlife notes for OPSC/UPSC (Part II) cover the categories of protected areas, the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, national parks and sanctuaries, Project Tiger and Project Elephant, biosphere reserves and flagship species, with a full Odisha section. Prelims asks mostly location and species matches, while mains uses the same material for conservation, human-wildlife conflict and forest rights answers. Forest types, forest cover and forest laws are in Part I.
Wildlife of India Notes for OPSC/UPSC: Conservation and Protected Areas
In-situ and ex-situ conservation
- In-situ conservation protects species in their natural habitat: national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and conservation reserves. Genetic diversity in national parks is maintained this way. UKPSC 2016
- Ex-situ conservation protects species outside their habitat: zoos, botanical gardens, gene banks and captive breeding.
- Biosphere reserves conserve whole ecosystems and genetic diversity while allowing sustainable use by local people. UP Lower Sub 2004
Categories of protected areas
| Category | Key feature |
|---|---|
| National park | Strict protection; grazing and private rights are not allowed; set up under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 |
| Wildlife sanctuary | Less strict; some activities may be permitted under conditions |
| Conservation reserve and community reserve | Added by the 2002 amendment of the Act, for government land and for community or private land |
| Tiger reserve | Declared under the Act on advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority; has a core (critical tiger habitat) and a buffer |
| Biosphere reserve | Not a legal category under the Act; a programme with core, buffer and transition zones, under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme |
- A tiger reserve, a national park and a biosphere reserve can overlap. Simlipal is all three.
- Check whether a name is a park or a sanctuary: Jaldapara is a sanctuary, while Gorumara and Corbett are national parks. SSC 2011
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is the central law for protecting wild animals, birds and plants. UPPSC 2015 UPPSC 2016 Species in Schedule I get the highest protection, with the tiger as the model, and hunting is banned except under narrow legal provisions. UPSC 2017
- Schedule I and part of Schedule II carry the strictest penalties. The Gharial, Indian wild ass and wild buffalo are Schedule I animals and cannot be hunted except under legal provisions. UPSC 2017
- Schedule VI (before the 2022 amendment) listed plants whose cultivation needed a licence. UPSC 2020
- The 2002 amendment created conservation and community reserves, and the 2006 amendment made the National Tiger Conservation Authority a statutory body.
- The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 rationalised the schedules from six to four, gave effect to the CITES convention on trade in endangered species, and added provisions on invasive alien species.
National Parks of India: Location and Famous Species
India has over a hundred national parks and several hundred sanctuaries. Jim Corbett (1936, then Hailey National Park) is the oldest national park. UPPSC 2017 CGPSC 2020
| Park or sanctuary | State | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Corbett | Uttarakhand | Tiger; India’s oldest national park (1936); Ramganga river |
| Kaziranga | Assam | One-horned rhinoceros; Brahmaputra; World Heritage Site SSC 2008 |
| Manas | Assam | Tiger, elephant, golden langur; biosphere reserve |
| Keibul Lamjao | Manipur | Only floating national park, on Loktak Lake; sangai deer UPSC 2015 |
| Namdapha | Arunachal Pradesh | Climate from tropical to arctic UPSC 2015 |
| Dachigam | Jammu and Kashmir | Hangul (Kashmir stag) |
| Great Himalayan | Himachal Pradesh | World Heritage Site (2014) UKPSC 2012 |
| Khangchendzonga | Sikkim | India’s first mixed World Heritage Site (2016) UP RO/ARO 2016 |
| Kanha | Madhya Pradesh | Hard-ground barasingha UPSC 2020 |
| Desert National Park | Rajasthan (Jaisalmer, Barmer) | Great Indian Bustard; has human habitation inside UPSC 2020 |
| Gir | Gujarat | Only wild home of the Asiatic lion |
| Eravikulam | Kerala | Nilgiri tahr (cloud goat) |
| Indravati | Chhattisgarh (Bastar) | Tiger reserve, wild buffalo UPSC 2007 |
| Gulf of Mannar | Tamil Nadu | India’s first marine national park, with coral reefs |
IMAGE (Map): Map of India showing major national parks, tiger reserves and biosphere reserves
Labels: Corbett, Kaziranga, Manas, Keibul Lamjao, Dachigam, Kanha, Gir, Eravikulam, Silent Valley, Simlipal, Satkosia, Bhitarkanika, Gulf of Mannar, Sundarbans
Caption: Major protected areas of India and their flagship species.
Find it: Wildlife Institute of India protected area map; search India national parks map
Matching questions pair a park with its state or species. Typical swaps: Simlipal belongs to Odisha, not Madhya Pradesh. Bandipur is in Karnataka, not Tamil Nadu. The hangul lives in Dachigam, not Periyar. Neyyar is in Kerala. UP Lower Sub 2009 UPPSC 2014 UPPSC 2010
Sanctuaries and marine parks to remember
- The Wild Ass Sanctuary is in the Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. UPPSC 2010
- The National Chambal Sanctuary lies in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and is the best place to see gharials. UPSC 2017 UPPSC 2020
- The Gulf of Kachchh was the first marine sanctuary. UPSC 1999 Rani Jhansi Marine National Park is in the Andamans (1996). UPPSC 2017
- Chakrashila (Assam) protects the golden langur. OPSC 2018 Chinnar is in Kerala, Brahmagiri in Kodagu (Karnataka), Bhimbandh in Munger (Bihar), Karikili in Tamil Nadu and Suklaphanta in Nepal.
- The Anamalai reserve (Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park) includes the Top Slip elephant camp.
- Sultanpur bird sanctuary is in Haryana, and Keoladeo (Bharatpur) in Rajasthan.
Project Tiger, Project Elephant and Species Programmes
Project Tiger
- Launched in 1973 with nine reserves, including Simlipal. MPPSC 2012 The National Tiger Conservation Authority has been statutory since 2006.
- Each reserve has an inviolate core (critical tiger habitat) and a buffer zone. Nagarjunasagar Srisailam has the largest core area. NDA 2018
- Monitoring tools: pugmark counts (older), camera traps, drones (Bandipur used them early) and the M-STrIPES software. UPPSC Mains 2008 UP RO/ARO 2014
- The all-India tiger estimation of 2022 gave an average of about 3,680 tigers, the largest wild tiger population in the world.
Project Elephant
- Launched in 1992. The Asian elephant was declared the National Heritage Animal in 2010.
- Elephant herds are led by a female. The gestation period can reach 22 months, and Karnataka has the highest elephant population. UPSC 2020
- Dalma (Jharkhand) and Manas are well known for elephants.
Other programmes
| Programme | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Project Lion and Asiatic lion | Gir is the only wild home; Palpur Kuno was prepared as the second home MPPSC 2008 |
| Cheetah reintroduction | Eight cheetahs from Namibia released at Kuno in September 2022 |
| Project Snow Leopard | Launched in 2019 for Himalayan landscapes |
| Project Dolphin | Announced in 2020; Gangetic dolphin is the National Aquatic Animal (2009) |
- Hangul is the Kashmir stag of Dachigam. Sangai is the brow-antlered deer of Keibul Lamjao. Barasingha at Kanha is the hard-ground form.
- The lion-tailed macaque lives in the Western Ghats rainforest, not in the Sundarbans.
- Gharial is found in the Chambal, and saltwater crocodile at Bhitarkanika.
Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites of India
A conservation area under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme with three zones: a legally protected core, a buffer where limited compatible use is allowed, and a transition zone where people live and work.
- India has 18 biosphere reserves, of which a dozen or so are in the UNESCO World Network. Those that joined include Nilgiri (2000), Gulf of Mannar (2001), Sundarbans (2001), Nanda Devi (2004), Nokrek, Pachmarhi and Simlipal (2009), Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2012), Great Nicobar (2013), Agasthyamala (2016), Khangchendzonga (2018) and Panna (2020). NDA 2017
- Gulf of Mannar is the largest by area. UPPSC Mains 2013 The Cold Desert reserve (Lahaul and Spiti) is in Himachal Pradesh. UPPSC Mains 2010
- Agasthyamalai includes the Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney sanctuaries and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. UPSC 2019
- Manas is in Assam, not Meghalaya, and Nokrek is in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. UPSC 2013
Natural World Heritage Sites
Kaziranga, Manas and Keoladeo (1985), the Sundarbans (1987), Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers (1988, extended 2005), Western Ghats (2012), Great Himalayan National Park (2014) and Khangchendzonga (2016, mixed). Ranthambore is a tiger reserve but not a World Heritage Site. CDS 2018
IMAGE (Diagram): Zonation of a biosphere reserve
Labels: Core zone, Buffer zone, Transition zone, Local communities, Research, Tourism
Caption: A biosphere reserve has a protected core, a buffer and a transition zone.
Find it: UNESCO MAB biosphere reserve zonation diagram; search biosphere reserve three zones
Human-Wildlife Conflict and Mains Analysis
- Causes: habitat loss, fragmented corridors, crop raiding, linear projects such as roads and railways, mining and encroachment.
- Measures: protecting elephant corridors (the Sathyamangalam link between the Eastern and Western Ghats is an example UPSC 2017), compensation for crop and life loss, early warning systems, voluntary relocation from core areas, and community reserves.
- Rights and conservation: the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and the idea of inviolate critical tiger habitats both aim at coexistence, and their balance is a standing mains theme.
- Eco-sensitive zones: buffer areas around protected areas that regulate polluting activities to cushion the protected area.
- Wetlands: Ramsar sites such as Chilika, Keoladeo and Loktak protect migratory waterfowl and fisheries.
Likely mains framings: discuss the success and challenges of Project Tiger; examine human-elephant conflict in India with measures; assess the role of biosphere reserves and eco-sensitive zones in conservation; explain why corridors matter for wildlife.
Wildlife and Protected Areas in Odisha
| Area | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Simlipal (Mayurbhanj) | National park, tiger reserve (one of the first nine, 1973) and UNESCO biosphere reserve (2009); famous for pseudo-melanistic (black-striped) tigers; part of Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve; sal forests and waterfalls such as Barehipani and Joranda |
| Satkosia (Angul, Nayagarh) | Tiger reserve on the Mahanadi gorge; gharial habitat |
| Bhitarkanika (Kendrapara) | Mangrove national park and sanctuary; saltwater crocodiles; Ramsar site (2002) |
| Gahirmatha (Kendrapara) | Marine sanctuary; world’s largest olive ridley turtle nesting beach |
| Chilika (Puri, Khurda, Ganjam) | Ramsar site (1981); Nalabana bird sanctuary; Irrawaddy dolphin; wintering ground of migratory waterfowl OPSC 2018 |
| Chandaka-Dampara | Elephant sanctuary near Bhubaneswar |
- Olive ridley turtles: mass nesting (arribada) occurs at Gahirmatha, Rushikulya (Ganjam) and the Devi river mouth (Puri), and Odisha enforces seasonal fishing restrictions and turtle excluder devices.
- Elephants: Odisha has three elephant reserves (Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi and Sambalpur) and faces significant human-elephant conflict.
- Nandankanan: the zoological park near Bhubaneswar (opened 1960) is known for white tiger and gharial breeding.
- Wetlands: Chilika, Bhitarkanika, Hirakud Reservoir and Ansupa and Tampara lakes are among Odisha’s Ramsar sites.
- Common PYQ trap: Simlipal is in Odisha, not Madhya Pradesh. UP Lower Sub 2009 Bhitarkanika is in Kendrapara, not West Bengal. UP RO/ARO 2016
Every winter lakhs of migratory birds come to Chilika from the Caspian and Siberia regions. At the same time the Gahirmatha and Rushikulya beaches host the arribada of olive ridleys, showing Odisha’s coast as a global conservation site.
Wildlife Practice Questions and PYQs
Which of the following National Parks is unique in being swamp with floating vegetation that supports a rich biodiversity?
- Bhitarkanika National Park
- Keibul Lamjao National Park
- Keoladeo Ghana National Park
- Sultanpur National Park
Show answer
(b) - Keibul Lamjao on Loktak Lake in Manipur is the world’s only floating national park. UPSC 2015
If you want to see gharials in their natural habitat, which one of the following is the best place to visit?
- Bhitarkanika Mangroves
- Chambal River
- Pulicat Lake
- Deepor Beel
Show answer
(b) - the National Chambal Sanctuary has the largest wild gharial population. UPSC 2017
Which one of the following protected areas is well-known for the conservation of a sub-species of the Indian Swamp Deer (Barasingha) that thrives well on hard ground and is exclusively graminivorous?
- Kanha National Park
- Manas National Park
- Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
- Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary
Show answer
(a) - Kanha saved the hard-ground barasingha from near extinction. UPSC 2020
With reference to India’s Desert National Park, which of the following statements are correct? I. It is spread over two districts. II. There is no human habitation inside the park. III. It is one of the natural habitats of Great Indian Bustard.
- I and II only
- II and III only
- I and III only
- I, II and III
Show answer
(c) - human habitation exists inside the park, so II is wrong. UPSC 2020
Which of the following are in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve?
- Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries and Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
- Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuaries and Silent Valley National Park
- Kaundinya, Gundla Brahmneswaram and Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuaries; and Mukurthi National Park
- Kawal and Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuaries and Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve
Show answer
(a) - these lie in the southern Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. UPSC 2019
Which among the following is one of the largest wintering ground for the migratory waterfowl in India?
- Ghana Sanctuary (Rajasthan)
- Chilka Lake (Odisha)
- Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary (Haryana)
- Dal Lake (Kashmir)
Show answer
(b) - Chilika hosts lakhs of migratory waterfowl each winter. OPSC 2018
Which one among the following is the correct order of tiger reserves situated from North to South in India?
- Corbett - Simlipal - Sariska - Periyar
- Periyar - Sariska - Simlipal - Corbett
- Corbett - Sariska - Simlipal - Periyar
- Periyar - Simlipal - Sariska - Corbett
Show answer
(c) - Corbett (Uttarakhand), Sariska (Rajasthan), Simlipal (Odisha) and Periyar (Kerala) is the north-to-south order. NDA 2017
Which of the following National Parks of India are declared as World Heritage by UNESCO? I. Keoladeo II. Sundarbans III. Kaziranga IV. Ranthambore
- I and II
- I, II and III
- III and IV
- All of these
Show answer
(b) - Ranthambore is a tiger reserve but not a World Heritage Site. CDS 2018