Telangana home to 86 rare flora, fauna

 

The list throws light on some species which are rare and are restricted to very small regions in the state like the Gunther's Toad, which has been sighted only in Ibrahimpatnam, or Andrographis nallamalyana, a medicinal plant recently discovered in a small part of Mahbubnagar which was earlier thought to be restricted to Andhra Pradesh. 

 

Dr C. Suvarna of the board said, “The importance of this list is to understand which species are locally threatened. It is possible that some species are locally threatened whereas they might be available in good numbers or even abundant elsewhere. These locally threatened species need strategic conservation efforts so that the biodiversity of Telangana is maintained. The list will soon be sent to the Union ministry of environment and forests and will also be shared with the Telangana forest department for taking further measures.” 

 

Dr C. Srinivasulu of Osmania University’s zoology department, who contributed names of threatened vertebrates to the list said, “This is the first step towards having effective conservation efforts for protecting the species which are threatened in Telangana from extinction. Studies and documentation of various aspects like the range of the threatened species and threats to their survival can be focused on these species so that conservation efforts can be planned accordingly.”