National and State Animals of India: A book review

National and State Animals of India:  Front cover

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The book, on the very first sight, took me back to the Lower Primary School days when I tried hard to memorize that Tiger is the national animal of India. Then, the thought hit me with a jolt that I don’t know anything beyond that. Frankly, I have lost touch with it since then. That is where I found the book very helpful and informative.

The book was published by Zoological Survey of India with the support of National Biodiversity Authority at the instances of India hosting the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad during 2012.

Apart from the detailed description on the common name, scientific name and regional names of the animals and birds for each state, it gives detailed description about their physical features, natural history, the present conservation status and distribution of the organisms. Moreover, the pictures published along with gives the reader a good chance to identify and familiarize with the animals and birds.

Blue bull/ Neelgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus): 
State Animal of National Capital Territory of Delhi

It was very informative to include in the introduction about the root thoughts of biodiversity conservation in India culture with suitable quotes from ancient Indian texts. Then, it is not just a compilation of facts available in Wikipedia.  You can have a look at the original notifications which have declared respective animals and birds in the appendix of the book.

As ZSI Director K Venkataraman points out in the preface of the book, “honoring and symbolizing different animals at the national and at the state level generates consciousness of the people….. and they become aware of their whereabouts and their responsibilities towards the wellbeing of such animals.” The book serves the purpose of generating such consciousness among the people, not only about the biodiversity icons in their own states, but also about other states.

Publisher: Zoological Survey of India

Price: Free

The book is available for free download.

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