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diversity ranging almost to National tunes is the experience of a single province
of India, the West Bengal. The montane Alpine pastures gradually grade into the
coasts of Bay of Bengal. The rainfall varies from more than 7000 mm. in the wet
North Bengal Dooars to less than 1500 mm. at the Dry lateritic South Western Bengal.
The demographic distribution evidently reveals a wide variation of pressures in
this most thickly populated state of India (767 Nos./sq.km). The Bengal Biosphere
thus represents an aggregate mosaic of veritable association of Flora, Fauna,
Rock, Soil and climate represented in its wilderness over 88,000 sq.km. area extending
over high Himalayas to Bay of Bengal.  For
example there are three species of otters available in India, in different Biogeographic
zones, viz. a) Common otter in wetland b) Smooth Indian otter in rivers and c)
Small clawed otter in hills. Surprisingly all these three species are available
in West Bengal over its varying biomes.
The forest area of West Bengal
till seventies suffered rapid shrinkage. With the onset of social forestry South
Bengal responded excellently. The gradual habitat build up of wilderness even
formed corridors starting to attract herds of wild elephants of Bihar. The unique
Biogeographical variations in Bengal is represented by forests of a) Tropical
b) Subtropical c) Temperate types, with eight different subtypes. The variation
of plants species thus ranges from conifers, Oaks, Rhododendrons of temperate
regions to Wet laurel forests of subtropical region to Alluvial Sal forests of
tropical climate. The mangroves of the World heritage Sunderbans delta exhibits
globally highest mangrove diversity. |
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 | |  The
Bengal wilderness is also home of an array of highly endangered species like the
Great one horned Rhino, Red Panda, Pigmy Hog, Bengal Florican, Black Necked Crane,
Great pied Hornbill, Goliath Heron, Estuarine Crocodile, Salvator Lizards, Olive
Ridley Marine Turtle, rare Batagur terrapin, let alone being the habitat for most
of the cats of India, e.g. Bengal Tiger and Leopard, the Big cats and the Clouded
Leopard, Marbled Cat, Leopard Cat, Golden Cat and Jungle Cat, the lesser cats.
The non-forest areas in West Bengal also harbour a substantial population
of wildlife. The otters, the civets,  the
fishing cats, varieties of snakes and the most interesting Wetland eco-system
is represented mainly outside the reserved forest areas. Excellent varieties of
fresh water aquatic plants of economic and aesthetic importance, the waterfowls
of wet lands comprising of both Resident and Migratory character exhibit excellent
locational variations in their assemblages. While the Mergansers and migratory
Black Storks invade North Bengal Wet Lands, the Ruddy Shelduck and spoonbills
wade at Central Bengal, the rare migratories like Red Crested Pochards congregate
at lateritic wetlands. | | |
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