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Ecology & Environment

Threatened Species of India

Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable species.

IUCN statuses change, so keep them updated from current affairs.

Three categories mean threatened: Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable. What each of them means, and the categories either side of them, is set out below the list.

Vulnerable

7 species

  • Mugger CrocodileCrocodylus palustris

    Reptile

    Rivers, lakes, village tanks and reservoirs. Notably the Chambal, Vishwamitri in Vadodara and Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.

    Also called the marsh crocodile. Broad-snouted and the most adaptable of India's three crocodilians, tolerating even man-made tanks. Digs burrows to survive dry seasons. The Vishwamitri river running through Vadodara city holds one of the densest urban crocodile populations anywhere.

    Gujarat · Rajasthan · Madhya Pradesh · Odisha · Tamil Nadu · Kerala · Karnataka · Maharashtra · Uttar Pradesh · Bihar · Chhattisgarh

  • King CobraOphiophagus hannah

    Reptile

    Dense evergreen and moist deciduous forest, plantations and bamboo, in the Western Ghats, north east and the eastern Himalaya.

    The longest venomous snake in the world, up to 5.5 m. The only snake that builds a nest for its eggs and guards them. The genus name means snake-eater: it feeds almost entirely on other snakes. Agumbe in Karnataka is the best-known study site.

    Kerala · Karnataka · Tamil Nadu · Maharashtra · Goa · Odisha · Assam · Arunachal Pradesh · West Bengal · Uttarakhand · Meghalaya · Andaman & Nicobar Islands

  • Indian Star TortoiseGeochelone elegans

    Reptile

    Dry scrub, thorn forest and semi-arid grassland of the Deccan and the north west.

    The radiating star pattern on the shell is camouflage in dry grass. One of the most heavily trafficked tortoises in the world for the pet trade; moved to CITES Appendix I in 2019.

    Andhra Pradesh · Telangana · Tamil Nadu · Karnataka · Gujarat · Rajasthan · Odisha · Kerala

  • Travancore TortoiseIndotestudo travancorica

    ReptileEndemic · Western Ghats

    Moist deciduous and evergreen forest floor of the Western Ghats.

    One of very few forest-dwelling tortoises in India, and locally hunted for meat.

    Kerala · Tamil Nadu · Karnataka

  • Olive Ridley TurtleLepidochelys olivacea

    Reptile

    Coastal waters; mass nesting beaches at Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi river mouth in Odisha.

    Famous for the arribada, a synchronised mass nesting in which hundreds of thousands of females come ashore over a few nights. Gahirmatha is the largest known rookery in the world. Turtle excluder devices in trawl nets are the main mitigation.

    Odisha · Andhra Pradesh · Tamil Nadu · Kerala · Goa · Maharashtra · West Bengal · Andaman & Nicobar Islands

  • Leatherback TurtleDermochelys coriacea

    Reptile

    Open ocean; the most important Indian nesting beaches are on Little Andaman and Great Nicobar, including Galathea Bay.

    The largest turtle in the world and the only one without a hard shell, having instead a leathery, ridged carapace. It can regulate its body temperature above ambient, which lets it forage in cold water, and feeds almost entirely on jellyfish.

    Andaman & Nicobar Islands · Tamil Nadu · Kerala

  • Loggerhead TurtleCaretta caretta

    Reptile

    Coastal and offshore waters; only occasional nesting on Indian beaches.

    Has a very large head and powerful jaws for crushing hard-shelled prey such as crabs and molluscs.

    Gujarat · Maharashtra · Tamil Nadu · Andaman & Nicobar Islands

What the categories mean

IUCN Red List
  1. EXExtinctNo reasonable doubt the last individual has died.
  2. EWExtinct in the WildSurvives only in cultivation, captivity or as a naturalised population outside its range.
  3. CRCritically EndangeredFacing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
  4. ENEndangeredFacing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
  5. VUVulnerableFacing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
  6. NTNear ThreatenedClose to qualifying as threatened, or likely to qualify soon. Not itself a threatened category.
  7. LCLeast ConcernAssessed, and does not qualify for any category above. Widespread and abundant species sit here.

The three that mean threatened. This page lists those and nothing else.

Outside the scale

  1. DDData DeficientNot enough information to assess the risk. It is a statement about the evidence, not about the species.
  2. NENot EvaluatedHas not yet been assessed against the criteria.

Recent status changes

11 to know

Assessments that have moved. Some of these species are no longer threatened and so are not in the list above.

  • Greater Adjutant

    Downlisted from Endangered to Near Threatened in the 2023 Red List update, after the Hargila Army community programme in Assam raised nests in Kamrup from 28 in 2010 to more than 250. It should no longer be taught as Endangered.

  • Lesser Adjutant

    Downlisted from Vulnerable to Near Threatened in 2023.

  • Painted Stork

    Downlisted from Near Threatened to Least Concern in 2023.

  • Snow Leopard

    Downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2017. Many Indian study materials still say Endangered.

  • Fishing Cat

    Downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016.

  • Asiatic Lion

    The subspecies Panthera leo persica is assessed Endangered; the species Panthera leo is assessed Vulnerable. Both statements appear in print, so specify which you mean.

  • Himalayan Brown Bear

    Often listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered in Indian material. The IUCN assesses the species Ursus arctos as Least Concern and has not assessed the Himalayan subspecies separately. It is Schedule I under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, which is a different thing from an IUCN category.

  • Red Sanders

    Downlisted from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2018, though it remains heavily trafficked and CITES-listed.

  • Indian Wild Ass

    The species Equus hemionus is Near Threatened, not Endangered. The khur population in the Rann of Kachchh has grown steadily.

  • Blackbuck

    Least Concern since 2017, not Near Threatened. It remains Schedule I in India.

  • Black-necked Crane

    Downlisted from Vulnerable to Near Threatened in 2020.

What is being done

Species Recovery Programme

The Government of India runs targeted recovery programmes for 22 entries covering 32 species, under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme. Three of them are Least Concern on the Red List and are on the national list all the same, because a programme answers to what has happened in India rather than to the species everywhere.

The Species Recovery Programme →
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