Wildlife Sanctuary Uses and Importance

7/29/2019 Wildlife Sanctuary Uses and Importance

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Animal sanctuary

An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be

protected for the rest of their lives.[1] Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do

not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining

each animal until his or her natural death. In some cases, an establishment

may have characteristics of both a sanctuary and a shelter; for instance, some

animals may be in residence temporarily until a good home is found and

others may be permanent residents. The mission of sanctuaries is generally

to be safe havens, where the animals receive the best care that the

sanctuaries can provide. Animals are not bought, sold, or traded, nor are they

used for animal testing. The resident animals are given the opportunity to

behave as naturally as possible in a protective environment.[1]

What distinguishes a sanctuary from other institutions is the philosophy that

the residents come first. In a sanctuary, every action is scrutinized for any

trace of human benefit at the expense of non-human residents. Sanctuaries

act on behalf of the animals, and the caregivers work under the notion that

all animals in the sanctuary, human and non-human, are of equal

importance.

A sanctuary is not open to the public in the sense of a zoo; that is, the public

is not allowed unescorted access to any part of the facility. A sanctuary tries

not to allow any activity that would place the animals in an unduly stressful

situation.

One of the most important missions of sanctuaries, beyond caring for the

animals, is educating the public. The ultimate goal of a sanctuary should be

to change the way that humans think of, and treat, non-human animals.

There are several national and international organizations that have taken the

responsibility of supervising numerous systems of non-profit animal



sanctuaries in order to provide a general system for sanctuaries to follow.

Among them, The American Sanctuary Association monitors and aids in

various facilities to care for exotic wildlife.[2] Their accredited facilities

conform to high standards and rigid application processes to ensure that the

animals under their care are enthusiastically cared for and maintained.

Needs and Uses of Wildlife Sanctuary

There are a number of reasons to establish a wildlife sanctuary. In many

cases, a government creates a sanctuary for the purpose of protecting

endangered species with a limited territorial range. Since it is not always

possible to relocate animals or breed them in captivity, protecting their

natural habitat can be very important. Endangered species in wildlife

sanctuaries are typically closely monitored, and if their populations grow

while under protection, some specimens may be captured for breeding in

conservation parks to ensure that the species survives.

A wildlife sanctuary may also be established for the purpose of maintaining

biodiversity, or preserving a nation's unique natural environment. For

example, several rainforest countries have wildlife sanctuaries which are

intended to preserve the rainforest as well as the creatures in it; since these

conditions could never be replicated somewhere else, it is necessary to

preserve them in situ. Many nations also recognize the value of their natural

environment and the local wildlife, and as a result they have made the

establishment of sanctuaries a priority.

Typically, human access to a wildlife sanctuary is restricted. If people are

allowed on the site, they must be escorted, to ensure that they do not disturb



the animals or damage the environment. Biologists and other researchers

may work at the sanctuary to learn more about the animals that live there,

but they also tend to adopt a minimal interference approach, to keep the

animals as wild as possible.

Some wildlife sanctuaries also offer wildlife rehabilitation. In these

instances, the sanctuary agrees to take in injured and abandoned wildlife and

nurse it back to health before releasing it into the sanctuary or sending it to

another location. Since the goal is often to keep the animals as wild as

possible, a number of techniques are used to prevent the animals from

becoming familiar with humans, such as using puppets for feeding so that

the young animals do not learn to associate humans with food.

Wildlife sanctuaries help to preserve and bring back endangered species by

giving them a natural environment to live in while they are in no danger of

predetors or humans. it also helps to keep some species from becoming

endangered. wildlife sanctuaries also educate people about the creatures so

that they can maybe help in preserving them



Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

India is home to several fabulous wildlife sanctuaries and national parks,

which makes this country a nature lover ’s paradise. The wildlife sanctuaries

in India are home to around two thousand different species of birds, 3500

species of mammals, nearly 30000 different kinds of insects and more than

15000 varieties of plants. Travelers from all across the globe come to India

to take a look at its rich wildlife and natural vegetation.

There are as many as 80 national parks and over 441 wildlife sanctuaries in

India, covering nearly 4.5% of the total geographical area of the country.

Scattered all across the country, these sanctuaries and parks attracts the

tourists with their beautiful landscapes, amazing rock formation and diverse

range of flora and fauna. Most of these sanctuaries were originally privatehunting grounds of the former Indian aristocratic families.

Paying a visit to India’s wildlife sanctuaries is something that one should not

rule out when on a holiday to this country. These sanctuaries and forest

reserves are home to several endangered species of animals and birds like

the Asiatic Elephant, the Royal Bengal tiger, the Snow Leopard and the

Siberian Crane. Many of the forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries of India

are famous for some particular specie of animals. For instance, the

Kaziranga in Assam is know for the Indian Rhinoceros, while Periyar inKerala is famous for its elephants.

While embarking on a wildlife tour, travelers can pay a visit to the national

parks in India. The Jim Corbett National Park, which is located in the

Himalayan foothills, is the first of its kind. The Dudhwa National Park is

another park made famous by its huge swamp deer population. Tiger

reserves are the best places to catch a glimpse of this big cat. The Kanha

National Park in Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest tiger reserves of India.

The wildlife sanctuaries of India also include the bird sanctuaries, like theone at Bharatpur in Madhya Pradesh. The different species of birds that one

can find over here is truly fascinating. Great Indian bustard, Himalayan

monal pheasant, lammergiers, choughs, white-bellied sea eagle, white

breasted swiftlet, fruit pigeons and griffon vultures are just some of the bird

species that you can get to see here.







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Wildlife Sanctuary Uses and Importance