Flora & Fauna Rajasthan
¤ The Vegetation
The Flora & Fauna in Rajasthan is sparse as expected in the desert
land. Most of the forest is of dry deciduous type. It has a small
range of slow-growing thorny trees, shrubs and grasses that has
adapted itself to the harsh conditions.
Most commonly found tree species are the ubiquitous khejri (Prosopis
cineraria) and various types of acacia. Forest cover, just over 9% of
the state, has dry teak forest, dry mixed deciduous forest, bamboo
brakes and subtropical hill forests. The khejri held sacred by the
Bishnoi community of Jodhpur, is extremely drought resistant, due to
its deep root system. It is a multipurpose tree – its thorny
twigs are used to form barriers between fields to keep animals away
from the crops, its leaves are dried and used as fodder, its fruits
are eaten ripe and when unripe it is cooked and eaten as sangri. The
utility list goes on further, the wood is used for furniture and the
branches as fuel.
Another tree that dots the arid desert land is the rohira (Tecoma
undulata). Its pods have medicinal value that provides relief to
abscesses while its wood is used to make furniture. Several types of
grasses include the sewan (Lasiurus sindicus), dhaman (Cenchhrus
ciliaris), boor (Cenchrus jwarancusa) and bharut (Cenchrus
catharticus). The bharut also serves as food for the poor at times of
drought. The shrub Calligonum polygonoides, locally known as phog
serves several purposes. It stabilises sand dunes, its wood is used
for construction, the branches make camel fodder and its pods known as
lasson are eaten as vegetables. Other shrubs like the leafless khair
(Capparis decidua), ak (Calotropis procera) and thor (Euphorbia
caduca) also have various uses. Khair provides strong and durable wood
that is resistant to white ants and lastly also produces a fruit that
is edible both fresh and preserved. The other two – ak and thor
secretes a juice that is taken as a cough balm while the leaves of
thor known as papri is eaten as a vegetable.
¤ Wildlife National Parks
The National Parks of Bharatpur and Ranthambore have nearly 280 and
306 species of plants respectively including herbs that have medicinal
values.
Fauna :
 Irrespective
of its unfriendly terrain, Rajasthan gives shelter to a variety of
animals and birds. Antelopes and gazelles are widely available in the
Jodhpur district where they are worshipped by the Bishnoi tribes. They
are mainly responsible for the steady population of the chinkara or
Indian Gazelle in this desert zone. Chinkaras are slimmer than the
blackbuck and can survive without water for very long periods. They
live in smaller herds and thrive mainly on wild grasses and various
types of shrubs.
The nilgai or the bluebull or bluecow are abundant on the open plains
and in the foothills of the Aravalli. The blue cow is actually not a
cow it is an antelope, the largest in India. It earns its name through
a vague resemblance to the domesticated cow; and although the two
species are not related, the nilgai has benefited from the same
veneration as the familiar 'sacred cow'. As a result its numbers are
increasing and in some areas it is regarded a nuisance, but it is
still tolerated because of its name.
The Tiger Attraction :
The Tiger once found along the Aravalli can now be seen only in the
Ranthambore and Sariska National Parks while the leopard with its
original residence in the rocky crags of the Aravalli can also be
found in parts of Jaipur and Jodhpur districts. The jungle cat and the
Indian desert cat are widely spread in the Keoladeo Ghana National
Park and the Thar Desert respectively. Rajasthan also abounds in
jackals, desert foxes, gerbils, bandicoot, langurs, rhesus monkeys,
bats, boars, bears, mongoose, jerboa, voles, mice, hares, wide variety
of insects and reptiles, seems no one is missing from the animal
world.
Aerial Population :
Around 450 species of birds have been identified in Rajasthan, which
include the birds of forests, wetlands, grasslands and the desert. The
Aravalli Range houses the orioles, hornbills, kingfishers, swallows,
mynas, parakeets, robins, warblers, flycatchers, doves, quails,
drongos, barbets, peacocks, and woodpeckers among others. Keoladeo
Bird Sanctuary is India’s most important bird sanctuary and
includes the wetlands of eastern Rajasthan. Migratory species like the
spoonbills, herons, cormorants, storks, openbills, ibis and egrets pay
a visit in the winter. Waterfowls here include common marbled,
falcated and Baikal teal, pintail, gadwall, shoveler, coot, wigeon,
bar-headed geese and greylag geese. The Siberian cranes are the winter
guests while the sarus are the permanent inhabitants of the park.
Resident species of the park are the moorhens, egrets, herons, storks
and cormorants. Several types of birds of prey also find their home in
the sanctuary. They include the eagles (greater spotted, steppe,
imperial, Spanish Imperial, fishing), vultures (white-backed and
scavenger), owls (spotted, dusky horned and mottled wood), pallid,
sparrowhawk, marsh harrier, goshawk and kestrel.
Famous Bird Sanctuaries :
The Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Churu, Sorsan near Kota, Sonkalia near
Ajmer and the surroundings of the Indira Gandhi Canal abound in birds
of the grasslands. They include various species of the lark –
short-toed, crested, sky and crowned finch lark. Various types of
quails, shrike, mynas, partridges, drongos and migratory birds like
the lesser floricans (monsoon only) and houbara bustard (winter) can
be spotted in the grassland area quite frequently.
Water holes in the Thar attract flocks of imperial, spotted, pintail
and the Indian Sandgrouse in the early mornings. Birds of prey are
pretty obvious in this desert region. The eagles (steppe and tawny),
buzzards (honey and long-legged), goshawks, peregrine falcons and
kestrels have stiff competition among themselves while hunting for
food.
The Game of Shikar :
The word shikar, which is more of a royal hobby, stirs up images
of a band of macho, rifle bearing Rajputs in hot pursuit of an elusive
deer, boar or tiger. A retinue of attendants with dogs straining at
the leash followed them while an advance party of drumbeaters led the
way to flush out the prey from its den. The tiger was the greatest
trophy a hunter could take home and which is why many of Rajasthan’s
best miniatures depict tiger hunts.
The princes and chieftains of Rajasthan hunted with fanatic glee and
this, not conservation, compelled them to maintain vast wildlife
preserves. The sanctuaries of Rajasthan were born from these. Hunting
was considered an important portion of a Rajput prince’s
upbringing till the first half of the century. They were encouraged to
excel in this game of shooting and children as young as 10 years old
would participate in this pastime.
¤ Damage Done To The Most
Sanctuaries During British Rule
But it was during the British period when the real damage was done.
Here’s an evocative paragraph from James Tod’s Annals and
Antiquities of Rajasthan: "With the sovereign and his sons all
the chiefs sally forth, each on his best steed, and all animated by
the desire to surpass each other in acts of prowess and dexterity. It
is very rare that in some pass or recess of the valley the hog is not
found; the spot is then surrounded by the hunters, whose vociferations
soon start a drove of hogs. Then each cavalier impels his steed, and
with lance or sword, regardless of rock, ravine, or tree, presses on
the bristly foe. The ground soon reeks with gore, in which not
infrequently is mixed that of horse or rider." Elaborate hunting
expeditions were organised mainly for the big cats, but almost
anything that came into their path was aimed at, be it a wild boar or
a spotted deer, but the biggest looser was the tiger.
¤ Massive Hunting of The Most Endangered Species--The Tigers
Over the last few centuries, killing a tiger has been a symbol of
manhood for some of those who rule India, and countless important
people have roamed the forests trying to prove themselves. Tiger
experts Valmik Thapar believes that as many as 20,000 tigers were shot
in India between 1860 and 1960.
¤ Postscript
Today hunting is illegal in India, but due to its association with
royalty, shikar has come to be considered a worthy pursuit and in
spite of the many efforts by the government it continues. As recently
as the autumn of 1998, an Indian actor, Salman Khan who featured in
People magazine as one of the world’s 50 best-looking men, was
accused of hunting chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) in Jodhpur. The case has
been taken up enthusiastically in the courts by conservationist and
the Bishnois for whom the chinkara is sacred. So far there have been
no convictions.
¤ Unique links
Rajasthan offers the most extra ordinary examples of people’s
participation in conservation as reflected by the history of the
Bishnoi and Vala communities. These communities are the primary reason
that desert wildlife still exists on the subcontinent.
The Bishnois follow, with great devotion the tenets of the seer
Jambhoji, who laid down twenty-nine bishnaus (commandments). The
Bishnois derive their name from bish which means twenty and noi which
means nine, and they are possibly the pioneers of the green movement
anywhere in the world. Jambhoji was born in 1451 and at the age of 34
he was enlightened by a divine vision; his mission was to transform
the desert into a lush, fertile and prosperous land. He started
preaching his doctrine in 1485. The 29 points of his message became
the pillars of his religion. Two of the 29 commandments prohibit the
feeling of green trees and killing of animals. His followers do not
cut trees or kill animals; they even stop others from doing so. In the
year 1778 a senior officer from Jodhpur State arrived to cut down
khejri trees, which were needed for burning lime. The first to
challenge him was a woman, Mata Amrit Devi, who hugged one of the
trees and was promptly decapitated. Her three daughters followed suit
and were also axed. Many others followed them, until 363 Bhishnoi lay
dead. This mass slaughter led to a royal order that prohibited the
cutting of any tree in Bishnoi village. A temple as later constructed
at Khejarli in memory of the 363 dead, and every year thousands of
Bishnoi arrive to commemorate the sacrifice of their ancestors. The
forest department on 12 September 1978 planted 363 khejri trees in
memory of the dead.
¤ Bishnoi Tribe's Love For Wildlife
 The
blackbuck is a much revered animal among the Bishnoi tribals who
inhabit the area. Many men of the community have died in their efforts
to counter armed poaching gangs and women have been known to
breast-feed black bucks fawns. There is this unusual tale of
compassion and love for wild animals that one hers of. Once a
blackbuck fawn was injured by poachers who wanted to make away with it
in their jeep. The Bishnois rescued it and the fawn which was only a
few days old was brought home by a young man. His wife who had borne
him a child only few a days ago felt so moved by the plight of the
fawn that she thought, "Maybe Jambhoji has ordained another son
in my house". She breast-fed the fawn along with her own son and
both of them would sleep with her on the same bed. The fawn grew up
and when it was able to fend for itself, they released it in the
forest. It kept on visiting its foster mother and the house it grew up
in even after attaining adulthood.
The Bishnoi bury chinkara that die and even erect stones to mark
their graves. A community store is maintained by the Bishnois to feed
the blackbuck. Every month, each family donates a kilogram of bajara
(Pennisetum glaucum R. Br.) to this store. In the evening, blackbucks
are fed from this store. The bucks roam the plains throughout the day
and in the evening they draw nearer to the Bishnoi hamlet for their
food. Herds ranging in strength form 50 to 500 may be seen here.
Another example of a community which has taken upon itself the task
of conserving the natural world and all its inhabitants are the people
of Kheechan village. The BBC book 'The Land of the Tiger' talks of
this unusual link between the villagers and their feathered guests. In
this small village of Kheechan, right in the centre of the Thar
Desert, the people feed thousands of demoiselle cranes between
September and March. Here a chugga ghar (feeding home) stores the
grain used to feed the cranes. The high-pitched calls of the birds at
first light are the signal for one of the village men to scatter grain
all over the area. Soon the sky darkens as thousands of cranes arrive
to feast, often less than 5 meters from the village folk with whom
they have established a bond of trust over decades. Valmik Thapar, a
well-known conservationist, has this to say about the scene "When
I was in Kheechan the sight that confronted me was startling. The sand
dunes around the village had apparently changed colour, covered as
they were by hundreds of cranes. Every few minutes flocks of them were
either landing or taking off, and the ground around me and the sky
above were both so busy that my eyes had a difficult time keeping
track of the coming and going. The people of the village were in
continuous contact with the cranes, and at times I had to rub my eyes
to believe the spectacle of birds, man and village."
The kindness of the villagers has a high price- literally. It costs
several thousand pounds a year to provide the hundred tonnes of grain
required to feed the birds: a staggering sum if you consider that the
average per capita income in this community is less than forty pounds
a year. The villagers are also known to take under their care injured
and sick birds that are released into the wild after treatment. It is
not just at Kheechan that vast number of cranes is seen. In the
village of Shikarpur a small expanse of water regularly attracts over
two thousand demoiselles, which are zealously protected by the
inhabitants. Cranes traditionally symbolize good fortune, and most
areas of water in the desert are full of them.
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