INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTRE

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK

Why in News

PM visits Kaziranga National Park in Assam It is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India.

 The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World

Heritage Site.

 It is the oldest park in assam.

 It is along the river Brahmaputra on the North and the Karbi Anglong hills on the South.

 It was declared a National Park in 1974.

SACRED GROOVES

Why in News

A notifi cation over the declaration of oran and ecological areas as deemed forest. It stated that as

per the directives of Supreme Court, oran, Dev-vans and Rundhs as forest lands will be given the

status of deemed forest.

 Sacred groves comprise patches of forests or natural vegetation-from a few trees to forests of

several acres that are usually dedicated to local folk deities.

 Sacred groves are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 as “community

reserves”

 Sacred Groves are found all over Rajasthan and are called by various names such as Vani in

Mewar, Kenkri in Ajmer, Oran in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, Shamlat deh and Devbani

in Alwar.

SHARAVATHI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

 Located in the Sharavathi River Valley

 Lies in the Western Ghats,

 mainly covered with evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the valleys

 Jog Falls

 Linganamakki Reservoir

 Honnemaradu Backwaters

 Sigandur backwaters and Chowdeshwari Temple

 Butterfl ies of diff erent kinds

 Wild Animals such as tigers, lion-tailed macaque, wild dogs, sloth bears, wild boars, jackals, deers,

Malabar giant squirrels, leopards

 Birds such as minivets, herons, woodpeckers, hornbills, and many more

 Reptiles such as Python, Rat Snake, Monitor lizard, crocodiles, and King Cobra

 The sanctuary plays a critical role in safeguarding the critically endangered lion-tailed macaque.

 This region is recognised as one of the world’s eight global biodiversity hotspots,

JIM CORBET PARK

Why in News

The SC condemned the illegal felling of over 6,000 trees to construct buildings.

 It is located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand.

 The Project Tiger was launched in 1973 in Corbett National Park (fi rst National Park of India), which

is part of Corbett Tiger Reserve.

 The national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered

Bengal tiger.

 It is named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment.

 The core area forms the Corbett National Park while the buff er contains reserve forests as well as

the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.

 The entire area of the reserve is mountainous and falls in the Shivalik and Outer Himalaya

geological provinces.

 Ramganga, Sonanadi, Mandal, Palain and Kosi are the major rivers fl owing through the Reserve

FOURTH MASS CORAL BLEACHING

Why in News

The World is on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event , US National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration.

 The world is facing a potential fourth mass coral bleaching

event, which could result in signifi cant damage to tropical

reefs, including parts of the Great Barrier Reef in

Australia.

 Coral bleaching occurs when corals expel the algae

living in their tissues due to heat stress, leaving them

vulnerable to starvation and disease.

 The last global mass coral bleaching event occurred from

2014 to 2017, during which the Great Barrier Reef lost

nearly a third of its corals.

 This year’s bleaching event is anticipated to be even worse, with reports of widespread bleaching

across the Southern Hemisphere.

What is coral bleaching?

 Coral bleaching happens when corals lose their vibrant colors and turn white.

 Coral are bright and colourful because of microscopic algae called zooxanthellae.

 The zooxanthellae live within the coral in a mutually benefi cial relationship, each helping the

other survive.

 But when the ocean environment changes—if it gets too hot, for instance—the coral stresses

out and expels the algae.

 As the algae leaves, the coral fades until it looks like it’s been bleached. If the temperature stays

high, the coral won’t let the algae back, and the coral will die.

INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTRE

 For research on conserving the endangered Gangetic

river dolphin.

 Located close to Ganga river in Patna.

 The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national

aquatic animal.

 It is a Schedule I animal under the Wild Life

(Protection) Act, 1972.

 It has been declared an endangered species by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 The Gangetic river dolphin is one of four freshwater dolphin species in the world.

 The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China (now extinct), the Indus river in Pakistan

and the Amazon river in South America.

 The dolphin is found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

 It is blind and fi nds its way and prey in river waters through echolocation.

 Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.

 Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, helping them save energy.

 If they sense danger, they can dive into deep waters.

 The dolphins swim from the no-current zone to the edges to hunt for fi sh and return