India hosts a diversity of various species of wild life. India is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian specie. India was considered to be the home for most of the rare species of animal life. However, volcanism and climatic changes 20 million years ago caused the extinction of many endemic Indian forms. Soon thereafter, mammals entered India from Asia through two zoogeographical passes on either side of the emerging Himalayas. As a result, among Indian species, only 12.6% of mammals and 4.5% of birds are endemic, contrasting with 45.8% of reptiles and 55.8% of amphibians. Notable endemics are the Nilgiri leaf monkey and the brown and carmine Beddome`s toad of the Western Ghats. However, atleast 2% of India`s wildlife population is designated as- threatened specie. These include the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger, and the Indian white-rumped vulture, which suffered a near-extinction.

This threat to wildlife, in the recent age, is due to the human encroachment. A number of National parks and protected areas have also been established in the country to protect this treasure of India. The system of national parks and protected areas, first established in the year 1935. India`s first National Park was Hailey National Park, now Jim Corbett National Park, established in 1935. It later exapnded and then finally in the year 1972 India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard crucial habitat. India has over 500 animal sanctuaries, referred to as Wildlife Sanctuaries. Among these, the 28 Tiger Reserves are governed by Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Some wildlife sanctuaries are specifically named Bird Sanctuary, eg. Keoladeo National Park before it attained National Park status. Many National Parks were initially Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Apart from the wilderness in India, this country is also home to various household animals. Cattle being the most important animals for the Indian population. Also, hens, chickens, pigs, camels, horses form an important part in various regions of India. Also animals like elephants, which were born in the wild, are sometimes caught by men and tamed.

Indian Wild animals:
India has one of the world`s largest ranges of species. From Northern Himalayan Mountains to far Southern Lakshwadeep`s corals and from Kuttch`s Deserts in Western India to Eastern India`s rain forests, there are plenty of the rarest of rare species that you will find only in India. However, due to over population and other factors, India`s natural wealth is being wasted. Some of the species are on the brink of extinction and some of them are critically endangered.

Endangered Wild Animals:
An endangered species is a population of an organism, which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either (a) few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. The high rate at which species have become extinct within the last 150 years is a cause of concern. While species have evolved and become extinct on a regular basis for the last several hundred million years, recent rates of extinction are many times higher than the typical historical values.

Four reasons for concern about extinction are:
1. loss of a species as a biological entity;
2. destabilization of an ecosystem;
3. endangerment of other species;
4. loss of irreplaceable genetic material and associated biochemicals

When one species goes extinct, population increases or declines often result in secondary species. An unstable spiral can ensue, until other species are lost and the ecosystem structure is changed markedly and irreversibly.

The critically endangered Siberian Tiger, a rare subspecies of tiger. Tigers, as a whole, are an endangered species. The Asian Elephants are victims to the ever famous `ivory poaching`. But the most important cause of the decline of the Asian elephant has been the loss of habitat. They have also been affected by persecution due to the crop damage they are perceived to cause. In 1879, India passed the Elephants` Preservation Act. This act decreed that no wild elephant shall be killed or captured unless in a person`s self-defense, or because of damage being caused. One of the big cats, the golden leopard with black marks, has been reduced to as low as 14,000 in number, in India. The loss of habitat as well as human population pressure on wildlife reserves in India is a matter of concern for leopard populations in India. There have been a number of incidents in recent years where leopards have entered Indian cities from nearby wildlife sanctuaries. The lion-tailed macaque has never been common. By 1971 it was known to occur only in the southern third of India, generally in the Western Ghats. In 1984 it was thought to occur in scattered locations in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The major reason for its decline appears to have been habitat loss due to the spread of agriculture and teak, coffee, tea and other plantations. Formerly it was extensively captured for the pet trade, zoos and research, as well as for use in Oriental medicine. At the turn of the twentieth century the Bengal tiger population in India was estimated to be about 40,000. In 1972, however, the first Indian tiger census was conducted, revealing the existence of only 1,827 tigers. The struggle to save the Indian tiger remains difficult as poachers kill the endangered animal to meet an international demand for tiger parts.

Pet Animals :
A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons.

Usefulness of Animals:
Ever since the dawn of time man and animals have co-existed in the same environment. Scientifically, man himself is classified as an animal with similar needs. Although animals have killed man and man has hunted animals alike, theirs is a symbiotic relationship between both. Different types of animals occupy various strata in the food chain of which man is invariably a part. Man relies on animals for food. Most people eat chicken, beef, mutton and pork as well as eggs and milk. Animals also help in dispersing the seeds of fruits and vegetables in excretion. This helps to ensure that there is continuity in the abundance of plant life. The circle of life is held in place by the animals, i.e. animals eat the plants, the animals help the plants reproduce and man eats both the animal and the plant. When animals die, their decaying bodies also provide nourishment for the plants, which in turn nourish the human beings. In vegetable farms, most organic fertilizers also come from decaying animal and plant matter.

The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress. There is now a medically-approved class of "therapy animals," mostly dogs, who are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction.

Besides food, man also relies on animals for his livelihood either directly or indirectly. Farmers also use animals, eg. oxen, to plow their land. In India hundreds of thousands of people train animals to perform on the streets. Monkeys, cobras and donkeys provide a source of income for their owners and entertainment for the public. The circus works on this concept. The zoo and the Night Safari also use animals to entertain as well to collect revenue from the tourist industry to pump into the economy. Policemen also use animals like dogs for sniffing out drugs or carrying out search and rescue. Medical students often use animals in the laboratory sessions to effectively understand concepts of anatomy. In scientific research, animals are used as guinea pigs to test a product before it is used on humans. Unfortunately, Man has taken animals for granted, destroying wildlife and exploiting it unnecessarily for his own selfish reasons. No matter what the animal: carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, they all play a crucial role in the existence of man.