Environment and Disaster Management › Species in news
हिन्दी — Read in HindiElephants and other land mammals
Elephants and India's other land mammals as species, from rhinos and wolves to primates, small cats and bats: their status, range and protection, and the counts and corridors they depend on. Prelims has asked about elephant herds, gestation and State populations.
Foundation note: The elephant
Showing 1 of 3 articles, those that changed from 1 to 30 September 2026.Show all
Rhesus macaque
Copy link to Rhesus macaquePrelims and Mains
The rhesus macaque is the common monkey of north Indian towns, and since 2022 it is no longer protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- It was listed in Schedule II of the Act until the amendment of 2022 removed it.
- With that, responsibility for managing monkeys passed from State forest departments to urban local bodies.
- Compensation for wildlife attacks, which in Himachal Pradesh covers only species under the Act, no longer applies to it.
What changed
20 Sep 2026New
- A woman in Shimla died after a macaque attack.
- Her family may not qualify for the ₹4 lakh that Himachal Pradesh pays for a death caused by a protected animal.
Mains: the case shows the dilemma of treating monkeys as vermin or as protected animals, with feeding by the public and fewer predators driving them out of forests.