Key Concepts & Self-Assessment15 Key Facts
Review key IUCN Red List Categories, Red Data Book & Endangered Species of India exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
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#1
The IUCN Red List, established in 1964, assesses global species extinction risk across nine standard objective categories.
#2
The term threatened specifically includes three IUCN status levels: Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU).
#3
India's Critically Endangered species include the Great Indian Bustard, Gharial, Hangul (Kashmir Stag), and the Pygmy Hog.
#4
Species listed under Endangered status include the endemic Nilgiri Tahr and the Western Ghats Lion-tailed Macaque.
#5
Global wildlife trade is governed under CITES Appendices, integrated into Indian statutory law via the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
#6
The nine IUCN Red List categories are Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC), Data Deficient (DD), and Not Evaluated (NE).
#7
Under IUCN Criterion A, a taxon is categorized as Critically Endangered if its wild population declines by 90% or more over 10 years or three generations.
#8
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), with fewer than 150 wild individuals remaining primarily in Rajasthan's Thar Desert, faces mortality from high-voltage transmission power lines.
#9
Project Tiger was launched by the Government of India on April 1, 1973, from Corbett National Park, expanding from nine initial reserves to 55 tiger reserves governed by the NTCA.
#10
Project Elephant was initiated in 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to protect Asian elephant populations, manage human-elephant conflict, and conserve migratory elephant corridors.
#11
The Indian One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) was downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2008 following recovery efforts centered in Kaziranga National Park.
#12
The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica), classified as Endangered, survives exclusively in the Gir Forest National Park and surrounding landscapes of Saurashtra, Gujarat.
#13
The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, streamlined Indian protection schedules from six down to four, aligning domestic penalties with CITES Appendices I and II.
#14
The Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and is protected in India under Project Snow Leopard across five Himalayan states and union territories.
#15
The Indian Vulture crisis was caused by feeding on livestock carcasses treated with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, which induced fatal renal failure and prompted India's 2006 veterinary ban.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, established in 1964, provides the global benchmark for assessing species extinction risks. The framework classifies wildlife across nine objective categories, ranging from Least Concern to Extinct. In conservation policy, the term "threatened" specifically includes three designations: Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered. A taxon is declared Critically Endangered when its population declines by ninety percent or more over ten years, requiring urgent habitat preservation and captive breeding programs to prevent complete loss.
In UPSC Prelims and State PSC exams, examiners regularly test the conservation status of flagship Indian fauna. Remember that the Great Indian Bustard, Gharial, Hangul (Kashmir stag), and Pygmy Hog are classified as Critically Endangered. A common question trap confuses these with Endangered species like the Nilgiri Tahr and Lion-tailed Macaque. For biodiversity test revision, note that CITES controls commercial wildlife trade across three appendices, which India implements domestically through the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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