Threatened Species of India

TigerPanthera tigris

Mammal

Almost every forest type from the mangroves of the Sundarbans and the shola grasslands of the Western Ghats to the terai and the cold forests of Arunachal.

India holds roughly 75 per cent of the world's wild tigers, about 3,682 at the last estimate, across 58 tiger reserves. An apex predator and umbrella species: protecting its range protects entire landscapes. National animal of India.

Madhya Pradesh · Karnataka · Uttarakhand · Maharashtra · Tamil Nadu · Assam · Kerala · Uttar Pradesh · Rajasthan · West Bengal · Bihar · Chhattisgarh · Odisha · Jharkhand · Andhra Pradesh · Telangana · Arunachal Pradesh · Mizoram · Goa

Asiatic LionPanthera leo persica

MammalEndemic · Gir landscape, Gujarat

Dry deciduous teak forest, thorn scrub and adjoining farmland and coastal tracts of the Saurashtra peninsula.

The only wild lions outside Africa, about 891 animals in the 2025 census. Smaller than African lions, with a distinctive longitudinal fold of skin along the belly and a sparser mane that leaves the ears visible. Note the assessment nuance: the subspecies is Endangered, while the species Panthera leo is Vulnerable.

Gujarat

Asian ElephantElephas maximus

Mammal

Moist and dry deciduous forest, grassland and plantations across four population blocks: the Western Ghats, the north east, central India and the northern Himalayan foothills.

National Heritage Animal of India. A keystone species that opens forest canopy, disperses large seeds and creates water holes. About 30,000 animals, some 60 per cent of the world population. Project Elephant was launched in 1992.

Karnataka · Kerala · Tamil Nadu · Assam · Uttarakhand · Odisha · West Bengal · Jharkhand · Chhattisgarh · Meghalaya · Arunachal Pradesh · Nagaland · Uttar Pradesh

Dhole or Indian Wild DogCuon alpinus

Mammal

Dense to open forest in the Western Ghats, central Indian highlands and the north east. Strongholds at Nagarhole, Bandipur and Periyar.

Hunts in packs and communicates with a distinctive whistle. Unusually among canids it has one fewer molar on each side of the lower jaw and lets pups eat first at a kill.

Karnataka · Kerala · Tamil Nadu · Maharashtra · Madhya Pradesh · Chhattisgarh · Odisha · Arunachal Pradesh · Assam · Andhra Pradesh

Red PandaAilurus fulgens

Mammal

Temperate broadleaf and conifer forest with a dense bamboo understorey, 2,200 to 4,800 m. Singalila and Neora Valley are the key Indian sites.

State animal of Sikkim. The only living member of its family, Ailuridae. Feeds almost entirely on bamboo despite being a carnivore, and has a false thumb, an enlarged wrist bone, for gripping stems. Singalila runs India's conservation breeding and release programme.

Sikkim · West Bengal · Arunachal Pradesh · Meghalaya · Nagaland

Golden LangurTrachypithecus geei

Mammal

Moist evergreen and riverine forest between the Sankosh and Manas rivers in western Assam. Manas, Chirang and Raimona hold the Indian population.

Described only in 1953. Regarded as sacred by local communities. The Indian range is bounded by rivers on three sides and Bhutan on the fourth, making it one of the most sharply delimited primate ranges anywhere.

Assam

Western Hoolock GibbonHoolock hoolock

Mammal

Closed-canopy tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest south of the Brahmaputra and east of the Dibang.

India's only ape. Moves by brachiation and almost never comes to the ground, which makes canopy gaps caused by roads and tea gardens a fatal barrier. Mated pairs sing loud duets at dawn. Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is the flagship site.

Assam · Arunachal Pradesh · Meghalaya · Nagaland · Manipur · Mizoram · Tripura

Lion-tailed MacaqueMacaca silenus

MammalEndemic · Western Ghats

Upper canopy of wet evergreen rainforest, 600 to 1,400 m. Silent Valley, Anamalai and Kudremukh are the strongholds.

Named for the tufted tail. The silver-white mane around a black face is unmistakable. One of the most arboreal macaques, rarely descending to the ground, which makes it exceptionally sensitive to forest fragmentation by plantations.

Kerala · Tamil Nadu · Karnataka

Nilgiri TahrNilgiritragus hylocrius

MammalEndemic · Western Ghats

Shola grassland mosaic and steep rocky slopes, 1,200 to 2,600 m. Eravikulam National Park holds the largest single population.

State animal of Tamil Nadu and the only mountain ungulate in southern India. The sole species of its genus. Adult males, called saddlebacks, develop a pale grey saddle. The 2025 synchronised census counted 2,668 animals. Project Nilgiri Tahr began in 2023.

Tamil Nadu · Kerala

Sangai or Manipur Brow-antlered DeerRucervus eldii eldii

MammalEndemic · Loktak Lake, Manipur

Phumdis, the floating mats of vegetation on Loktak Lake, inside Keibul Lamjao National Park.

State animal of Manipur and the flagship of the only floating national park in the world. Called the dancing deer for its springy gait on the unstable phumdi surface, an adaptation of the hooves to spongy ground. Distinct from the Barasingha, which is a different species.

Manipur

Pygmy HogPorcula salvania

MammalEndemic · Assam grasslands

Dense, tall, dry alluvial grassland of the Manas landscape.

The smallest wild pig in the world, about 25 cm at the shoulder. The only suid that builds a roofed nest. Once thought extinct, it was rediscovered in 1971. The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme has reintroduced captive-bred animals into Manas, Orang, Barnadi and Bornadi.

Assam

Wild Water BuffaloBubalus arnee

Mammal

Alluvial grassland, swamps and river floodplains. Kaziranga and Manas hold the bulk of the world population; a small relict herd survives in Indravati.

State animal of Chhattisgarh. The ancestor of the domestic buffalo and the bearer of the widest horn spread of any living bovid. Genetic swamping by hybridisation with feral domestic buffalo is now a leading threat.

Assam · Chhattisgarh · Arunachal Pradesh · Meghalaya · Madhya Pradesh

Himalayan Musk DeerMoschus leucogaster

Mammal

Subalpine birch, fir and rhododendron forest, 2,500 to 4,000 m. Kedarnath, Askot and the Valley of Flowers are key sites.

Has no antlers. The male carries downward-pointing tusk-like canines and a musk pod, one of the most valuable animal products in the world by weight, which drives relentless poaching. The pod is present only in males, but snaring kills both sexes.

Uttarakhand · Himachal Pradesh · Sikkim · Arunachal Pradesh · Jammu & Kashmir

Hispid HareCaprolagus hispidus

Mammal

Dense tall grassland of the terai and Brahmaputra floodplain, especially early successional thatch grass.

The 'bristly rabbit', named for its coarse, dark, bristle-like fur. Unlike most hares it digs no burrow and depends on undisturbed grassland, so annual grassland burning is a direct threat.

Assam · West Bengal · Uttar Pradesh · Bihar · Uttarakhand

Indian Hog DeerAxis porcinus

Mammal

Tall, wet floodplain grassland. Kaziranga, Dudhwa and Jaldapara are strongholds.

Runs with the head held low, pushing through grass rather than leaping over it, which is the source of its name. Unusually for deer it is largely solitary.

Assam · Uttar Pradesh · Uttarakhand · West Bengal · Arunachal Pradesh · Punjab

Bengal Slow LorisNycticebus bengalensis

Mammal

Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest of the north east.

The only venomous primate in India. A gland on the inner elbow produces a secretion that becomes toxic when mixed with saliva. Nocturnal, extremely slow-moving, and heavily trafficked for the pet and medicine trade.

Assam · Arunachal Pradesh · Meghalaya · Nagaland · Manipur · Mizoram · Tripura

Phayre's Leaf MonkeyTrachypithecus phayrei

Mammal

Semi-evergreen and bamboo forest of the north east. Sepahijala and the Trishna landscape are key sites.

State animal of Tripura, known there as the spectacled langur for the white rings around the eyes.

Tripura · Assam · Mizoram · Manipur

Arunachal MacaqueMacaca munzala

MammalEndemic · Western Arunachal Pradesh

High-altitude temperate forest and cultivated valleys of Tawang and West Kameng, 2,000 to 3,500 m.

Described in 2005, one of the very few primates discovered anywhere in recent decades. The name means 'monkey of the deep forest' in the local Monpa language. Lives at an unusually high elevation for a macaque.

Arunachal Pradesh

Indian PangolinManis crassicaudata

Mammal

Dry and moist deciduous forest, scrub and even farmland across peninsular and northern India.

The only mammal covered in keratin scales. Rolls into an impenetrable ball when threatened, a defence that works against leopards but makes it trivially easy for poachers to pick up. Eats ants and termites with a tongue longer than its body.

Madhya Pradesh · Maharashtra · Rajasthan · Gujarat · Odisha · Karnataka · Tamil Nadu · Andhra Pradesh · Telangana · Chhattisgarh · Bihar · Jharkhand · Punjab

Ganges River DolphinPlatanista gangetica

Mammal

Deep pools and confluences of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna and their tributaries, including the Chambal and Kulsi.

National Aquatic Animal of India. Functionally blind: it has no crystalline lens and navigates entirely by echolocation, swimming on its side with a flipper trailing the bottom. Vikramshila in Bihar is the dedicated sanctuary. Project Dolphin was announced in 2020.

Uttar Pradesh · Bihar · West Bengal · Assam · Jharkhand · Madhya Pradesh · Rajasthan

Indus River DolphinPlatanista minor

Mammal

The Beas river between Talwara and Harike, the only Indian population.

Rediscovered in the Beas in 2007 after being presumed locally extinct. The Beas Conservation Reserve, a Ramsar site, exists largely to protect it. State aquatic animal of Punjab.

Punjab

Irrawaddy DolphinOrcaella brevirostris

Mammal

Brackish lagoons and estuaries. Chilika Lake holds one of the largest single populations in the world.

Has a rounded head with no beak and can spit jets of water. Known to cooperate with fishermen by driving fish towards their nets.

Odisha · West Bengal

Blue WhaleBalaenoptera musculus

Mammal

Deep offshore waters of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, with a distinct northern Indian Ocean population.

The largest animal that has ever lived. The Arabian Sea population is non-migratory and genetically distinct, which is unusual for the species.

Kerala · Tamil Nadu · Maharashtra · Gujarat · Andaman & Nicobar Islands · Lakshadweep

Woolly Flying SquirrelEupetaurus cinereus

Mammal

Steep cliffs and caves in arid conifer zones of the north western Himalaya, 2,400 to 3,600 m.

The largest gliding mammal in the world, rediscovered in 1994 after 70 years without a record. Feeds largely on pine needles, a very unusual diet for a mammal.

Jammu & Kashmir · Himachal Pradesh