Chhota-Nagpur Dry Forests - A Global Ecoregion
Most intact large mammal communities of any dry forests on the Indian subcontinent
Snapshot: Ecoregion 55
Size:
122,000 sq. km (49,000 sq. miles)
Habitat type:
Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
Asia: Eastern India
Conservation Status:
Critical/Endangered
Quiz Time!
Is it true that Sloth bears are very aggressive in nature?
Answer:
Sloth bears are quite aggressive and probably more dangerous than the tigers and leopards, especially mother bears protecting their young.
About the Area
Unlike the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats - where the Chohota-Nagpur dry forests are located, are not a mountain range or escarpment, but rather broken and weathered relicts of a peninsular plateau, marked by a series of isolated hills.
The area served as a refuge during the last Ice Age, and thus contains numerous rare and endemic species. Several important tiger reserves occur in this ecoregion and it also includes some of the last populations of Asiatic elephants.
Local SpeciesThe endemic Cycad (Cycas beddomei) is a critically endangered species. These forests are dominated by teak with species such as Tectona grandis, Shorea robusta, Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia alata, Lagerstroemia parviflora, and at higher elevations - Phoenix robusta.
Amongst the mammals found here are the endangered Tiger (Panthera tigris), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Sloth bear (Ursus ursinus), Leopard (Panthera pardus), Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), and Chinkara (Gazella bennettii).
Threats
Logging, clearing, overgrazing, quarrying, mining, monocultures, and hydroelectric projects all pose threats to the ecoregion.
Resources
• NationalGeographic.com
