Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Endangered and extinct species

The endangered species that live within the Sundarbans are Royal Bengal Tigers, Estuarine Crocodile, River Terrapins (Batagur baska), Olive Ridley Turtles, Gangetic dolphin, Ground Turtles, Hawks Bill Turtles and King Crabs (Horse shoe). Some species such as hog deer (Axis porcinus), water buffalos (Bubalus bubalis), swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli), Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), single horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the mugger crocodiles or marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) started to become extinct in the Sundarbans towards the middle of the 20th century, due to extensive poaching and man hunting by the British.[22] There are several other threatened mammal species, such as the capped langurs (Semnopithecus pileatus), smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), Oriental small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea), and great Bengal Civets (Viverra zibetha).

Source: Wikipedia Online