Not many are aware of the fact that the Royal Bengal Tiger, which is today the national animal of India, was, in 2000 BC, the emblem of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization at Mohanjodaro, This is an interesting fact because it emphasizes the importance of wildlife in Indian history and tradition. In fact, myth commonly associates various animals and birds with various Indian deities, for example The elephant (Lord Ganesh) the monkey (Hanuman) the swan(the carrier of Goddess Saraswati), and so on,

The kind of wildlife one comes across varies according to the differences of climate and geographical factors of each region. At one time dense forests around Mathura and Vrindavan in the north near Delhi made an almost impenetrable barrier between north and south India. Many of these forests have since denuded, and there wild life has also been severely depleted.

A major contributing factor was the indulgence of British-incahoots with local rulers-in the sport of hunting or shikar in the early part of this century. As a result, many species faced a serious threat of extinction. Gradually after independence, many of these hunting reserves were made protected sanctuaries where hunting was banned, and some were further upgraded to the status of a National Park. Efforts were made to ensure the preservation of endangered species, Project Tiger, started in 1973, was a concentrated effort to protect the Indian national animal.

This effort to protect the tiger also ensured the protection of the other species in the same regions, such as the endangered species of deer-chausingha, barasingha, nilgai, deer, these sanctuaries are a haven for myriad other animal including the sloth beer, the leopard, the Indian otter etc. Some of the other well known sanctuaries/national park in Assam for the Periyar\wildlife Reserve in Kerala for the elephant India is also the home of over 2000 species of birds. Some of these are migratory birds such as the famous Siberian Crane, which migrates to the, Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary (at Bharatpur) and is an extremely endan species.