Habitat of Wild Animals

Habitat of Wild Animals is a place in which a particular organism or species lives. Factors influencing the habitat of the wild animals are variable in nature and act on different intensities, in general.

Classification of Habitats

It is to be noted that the habitat of wild animals vary from each other. For example, the habitat comprising the thick leaf canopy at the top of the tree is more different from the habitat that can be noticed at the ground level.

Classifications of different habitats are made on the basis of multiple factors like size, biosphere, biogeographic zones and ecological sub-units etc.

Size based habitat types

There are two types of habitat based on the size of the concerned area:

(a) Macro Habitat

This comprises larger areas than the micro habitat. Control of the factors in macro habitats is more difficult as the case with land-use patterns, velocity of wind, amount of rain in an area etc.

(b) Micro Habitat

This is the one associating with a small area (few square centimeters as the case with the area under a fallen tree trunk or a stone material found in the forest).
Micro habitats may be easily managed by forest managers, unlike the macro habitats.

Biosphere based major habitats

Four types are seen as the major habitats in the biosphere in general:

(a) Marin habitat

Marin habitat is being used widely by marine mammals, fish, coral reeves etc. inhabit these areas. This is the largest in the biosphere.

There are two forms are there in the marine habitat:

Benthic forms: These are the animals and plants that inhabit the bottom of the sea.
Pelagic forms: These are the animals and plants that inhabit the open sea .

Marine mammals like dugong, whales, dolphins, sea otters etc. are given more significance in general in case of the marine habitat.

(b) Estuarine habitat

Estuarine habitat uniquely represents the confluence of fresh water with sea. Hence, as per the waves or tides, the salinity in this habitat may reveal many variations. It is a commonly found observation that in case of high tides, the salinity is maximum.

But at the low tides and at periods of high rain fall, there is often an increase in the fresh water level.

(c) Fresh water habitat

Fresh water habitats are small and are some what easily accessible and comprises plankton and nekton inhabiting them.

(d) Terrestrial habitat

Terrestrial habitats are comparatively a larger type of habitat in general but at the same time lesser than the marine habitat. This type of habitat is a complicated one in general. The biotic communities reveal so many variations among themselves and finally they constitute the different biomes.

Global sources based classification of habitats

Deserts
Grasslands
Deciduous forests
Coniferous forests
Evergreen forests
Tropical rain forests
Mediterranean scrub
Mountains
Polar regions
Oceans

Biogeographic zones as habitats

Islands (0.3)
Coasts (2.5)
Western Ghats (4.0)
North-east (5.2)
Trans-Himalaya (5.6)
Himalaya (6.4)
Desert (6.6)
Gangetic plain (10.8)
Semi-Arid (16.6)
Deccan peninsula (42.0)

*Figures in parenthesis indicate per cent of total geographical area of India: 3287263 sq.km.

Habitats based on ecological sub-units

Habitats based on ecological sub-units type of classification helps to understand the wild fauna available in different eco systems prevailing in our country.

Wide variety of habitats are available in India and hence the biodiversity of this country is a unique one. India is considered as one of the mega biodiversity nations in the world.

(a) Desert region

Desert region habitat comprise trans-Indus districts of Punjab, Western Sind and Baluchistan valley and forms the eastern limits of a great desert region extending through Iran, Iraq and Arabia to the desert parts of North Africa.

Wild animals of desert are different from the ones that are seen in general at the other regions.

Desert regions are found in many parts of the world like Sahara of North Africa etc.

(b) Tropical rain forest region

Heavy rain fall areas are contained in Tropical rain forest region.

Examples of Tropical rain forest region are:

North-eastern regions.
Himalayan slopes consisting of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
Western Ghats of the south India including the Malabar Coast (Dense forest gorges called as the Sholas are seen in Nilgriis which is an off shoot of the Western Ghats).

(c) Tropical evergreen forests or Indo-Malayan sub-region

The fauna of this region has similarities between both Indian as well as Malayan and Indo-Chinese fauna.

(d) Himalayan mountain region

Animals of Himalayan mountain region are mostly the Palaearctic type. Variations are seen even within the Himalayan mountain regions, as the case with eastern parts, higher altitudes in the western Himalayas from Kashmir including Ladakh and Kumaon and Himalayan foothills covering the eastern frontiers of Kashmir and Assam.

(e) Peninsular Indian sub-region

Animals of Peninsular Indian sub-region are mostly the Palaearctic type. Variations are seen even within the Himalayan mountain regions, as the case with eastern parts, higher altitudes in the western Himalayas from Kashmir including Ladakh and Kumaon and Himalayan foothills covering the eastern frontiers of Kashmir and Assam.