This document summarizes key concepts in wildlife physiology and ecology. It discusses the circulatory, respiratory, excretory, and nervous systems of mammals. It also covers wildlife habitat components, limiting factors, food chains and webs, ecological pyramids, carrying capacity, niche, and the effects of temperature, light, soil types, and productivity on animals and their distribution. Habitats provide wildlife with requirements like appropriate temperatures, fresh water, food sources, and places to raise young. Animal behavior is studied in ethology and can be instinctive or learned through experiences.

1. Wildlife Biology – Wild 1201 (2+1) Physiology

2. • Physiology – the branch of biology that studies how living
things function, especially with respect to the physical and
chemical phenomena that are used.

3. Mammals in general
• Primitive
• Specialized
• Advanced

4. Circulatory system
 Highly efficient
 Completely separated – systemic and pulmonary
 Four chambered – Double pump
 Venous at right and left arterial blood
 Hibernating and non hibernating
 20 beats/ minute to 1300 beats/ minute
 Altering the heart rate- 400 to 1000
 Erythrocytes- biconcave and non nucleated

5. Respiratory system
• Fills the thoracic cavity
• Trachea- bronchi-bronchioles- alveolar duct- alveoli
• Exchange of oxygen
• 300 million alveoli-
• Muscular action – increase the volume – decreases the pressure
• Forward and backward movement of ribs intercostal
• Muscular diaphragm
• Moves to celomic cavity at contraction

6. excretory system
• Removes excess, unnecessary materials from the body fluids of an organism
• Maintain internal chemical homeostasis and prevent damage to the body.
• The dual function of excretory systems
• The excretory organs along with the elimination of waste products also help in
performing the osmoregulatory function of the body.

7. CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS 'ON THE BASIS OF THE
EXCRETORY PRODUCTS

8. Ammonotelic animals
• The elimination of excess of nitrogen in the form of ammonia is known
as ammonotelism.
• Ammonia is a toxic substance which has a great solubility in water.
• The marine animals (non¬chordates) have 0.4 mg to 0.48 mg ammonia
per 100 ml of blood.

9. Ureotelic animals
• main excretory product is urea then phenomenon is ureotelism.
• The urea is mainly synthesised from ammonia and is less toxic than ammonia.
• e.g. man and all other mammals, aquatic animals like whales and seals, desert
animals such as camels, kangaroos, rats, amphibians, cartilagenous fishes,
reptiles (aquatic) etc.

10. Uricotelic animals-
• The main excretory product is uric acid.
• It is synthesised by ammonia in the liver.
• It is far less toxic than urea and ammonia.
• e.g. gastropod, reptiles, birds, insects etc. It is mainly an excretory
product of desert animals.

11. The Nervous System
• The mammalian nervous system is a complex biological organ, which enables many animals
including humans to function in a coordinated fashion.
• The nervous system is divided into central and peripheral nervous systems, and the two heavily
interact with one another.
• The central nervous system is divided into forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, and each division
performs a variety of tasks.
• Examining brain lesions,
• Microscopy,
• Electrophysiology,
• Electroencephalography
• Scanning technologies.

14. Wildlife habitat – Components and related concepts
• Habitat is the place where an organism or community lives
• Macro habitat and microhabitat
• Components of a wildlife habitat
• Food
• Cover- vegetative or other shelters
• Water
• Space- physical space to live

15. limiting factor
• A limiting factor is that factor which restrict the growth of an animal population,
when all other factors are favourable
• Concept of limiting factors is derived after the Leibig’s Law of the Minimum and
the
• Shelford’s Law of Tolerance: Any one or more of the environmental factors will be
dictating the max population size (max no. of individuals) of a species possible for
that area at that time
• Eg. shortage of welfare factors (food, water, minerals etc) or resistance offered by adverse
environmental conditions
• Management relevance: Many a times, attempting to remove the limiting factors
may lead to habitat degradation (through intense feeding, stamping, trampling etc.)

16. Wildlife Ecology: Ecological bases of wildlife management
• 1. Food Chain :the sequential transfer of energy in the form of food from one
organism to another through a process of eating and being eaten
• •Tropic levels: levels of nourishment; no. of steps in food /energy chain
• Management relevance: to save carnivore-save herbivores –plants-hence the substrate
has to be saved

17. • 2. Food web: A complex of interwoven food chains
• Management relevance: Each step is important in the intricate web of life. No species is to be
ignored.

19. • 3. Ecological pyramid(or trophicpyramid) is a graphical representation designed
to show the number, biomass or energy at each trophic level in a given
ecosystem.

20. • When energy is transferred to the next trophic level, typically only 10%of it is used to build new
biomass, becoming stored energy (the rest going to metabolic processes).

21. Territory, home-range and cruising radius
Most vertebrates restrict their activities to a definite area which may be termed the
home range.
 If all or part of the home range is defended against other individuals of the same
species, the guarded area is called a territory
If the extent of an animals movement as the outer boundary of a circle; half of this
is treated as cruising radius

22. • Carrying capacity (k): K of a land area is the max. no. of animals of it can
support on a sustained basis (infinitely for all times to come, without any
harm to itself)
• E.g: 50 ha grassland to asses the carrying capacity
Conservation relevance : the ability of our forests and
PA’s to support wildlife nos. is limited to their K
No of animals Is The objective
met
1
Surely yes
3
Surely yes
5
Surely yes
10
Surely yes
20
May be yes
25 some what yes
26 Some what no
27 NO

23. Point habitat and coverts
Certain entities, created for management, such as water holes, salt licks, machans,
observation blinds, camping grounds and patches of vegetation planted for wildlife
can be seen as points on a map; these are called point habitats
When three or more vegetation types come together, coverts are formed. coverts are
considered as special places for wildlife
Juxtaposition : is the measure of the proximity of different habitat units. Dissimilar
habitat units, if properly juxtaposed, increase the animal richness

24. • Habitat interspersion: intermixing and juxtaposition of different habitat types with in a
geographical area
• Increases the abundance of habitat generalist but decreases the abundance of habitat specialist
EG
MD
Teak forest
GL
DF

25. • In ecology, edge effects are changes in population or community
structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats.
• Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge
effects that may extend throughout the range.

26. Niche: functional status of an organism in an ecosystem or the role played by a
species in its natural habitat.
Possible because of various structural adaptations
Significance : it says what the animal does: Carnivore? Herbivore??
The range of environment it lives in– adaptation to light, temperature, moisture,
nutrients etc

27. Fundamental niche: occupied by species in absence of competition
Realised niche: occupied by species in the presence of competition

28. • Pinch period: It is the period during which the limiting factors are most active.
• Qualifiers: Any event or activity which affects the quality of a habitat, by
modifying it, is known as a qualifier.
Eg: rain, fruiting season
• Ecological equivalents: Similar niches may exist in different regions. These niches
may be occupied by organisms which show similar, but not identical habits,
adjustments or adaptations. Such animals are known as ecological equivalents.
Ecologically equivalent species may not show taxonomic relationship.
Eg. Mountain Lion of N. America and African Lion – Nilgiri Tahr ad Himalayan Tahr

29. Animal environment
Physical factors
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Climatic patterns
• Precipitation
• Soil types
Biotic factors
All those associated with
interactions between organisms
 Vegetation
 Food

30. Effects of temperature
• Temperature and cell
• metabolism
• reproduction-Temperature also affects fecundity of animals.
• sex ratio
• ontogenetic development
• growth
• colouration
• Temperature and morphology: Temperature also affects the absolute size of an animal and the
relative properties of various body parts (Bergman’s rule). Allen’s rule
• cyclomorphosis
• animal behaviour
• animal distribution

31. Temperature and climate
• The distribution of the animals
• Optimal regulation of vital metabolic process occurs in a narrow temperature range
• Thermo regulation-
Belding ground squirrels
Whales- strong selective pressure on the marine mammals
• Migration
• Adaptations –boreal are- structurally, physiologically, behaviourally- to stress
Beaver, shrew etc.. adapted to limited set of conditions like --microenvironment

32. Effects of light
• protoplasm
• metabolism
• pigmentation
• Effect of light on animal movements
• Photo periodism and biological clocks
(a) Daily responses: Circadian rhythms:
(b) Annual rhythms: Circannual rhythms:
Effect of light on reproduction
Effect of light on development

33. Soil types or substrates
 Mode of locomotion and substrate- fussorial one
 Scansorial- cliffs and large rocks
 Desert rodents.
 The Nilgiri tahr
scent marking
vantage points
Crevices as refugees
Economical means of energy conservation

34. Productivity
• Seasonal pattern
• Tropic and sub tropic areas- precipitation
• Temperate or cold- temperature
Altitudinal variation in composition
• Upper limit – lack of heat
• Lower limit – heat and water

35. Wildlife depends on healthy habitats. They need:
• The right temperatures
• Fresh water
• Food sources
• Places to raise their young

36. Temperature
Melting arctic ice removes hunting ground from Polar Bears.
Warmer water temperatures will cause population declines for trout, salmon and many other species
that require cold water to survive.
Rising ocean temperatures have already caused massive coral bleaching, leading to the collapse of
these ecosystems which sustain huge numbers of fish.

37. Ethology- Wildlife behaviour
study of behaviour
Instinctive behaviour: which gets as it is born
– eg. Song of the bird
Acquired or learned behaviour: acquires or learns with the experiences from the
environment
– eg. Perfection of the song is achieved by practice
Imprinting: is a learning process in which the young ones immediately after
hatching get impressions that may remain with them throughout the life
– Learn to recognise their parents and foster parents
– Incubator chicks ‘adopt’ the person who feeds them, even to the extent of attempting to ‘mate'
with their adopted parents or refusing to attempt the mates of their own

38. Trial & error learning: teaches the young ones to distinguish edible from inedible
substances, how to fly or how to sing
Habituation: refers to the process of learning what not to do
eg. enemy recognition
Habituation has survival value as it teaches the young ones what to fear and what to
ignore. It would be uneconomical for an animal to be alarmed by a harmless object.

39. Conditioned reflexes: Pavlov’s classic experiment, with dogs which salivated at the
sound of a buzzer, whether food was provided or not
Agonistic behaviour (threatening display): hostile attitude between certain
individuals during breeding season (particularly b/n the rival males)
Brood parasitism: Entrusting the parental duties to a host species.
It is exhibited by the cuckoos (cow-birds in New World)

40. Wildlife behaviour
1. Feeding behaviour
a. Carnivores:
i. Stalking predator- hide, wait, suddenly rush and catch- tiger, Leopard
ii. Coursing predator- Run after/ chase the prey and catch- wolf, wild dog
iii. Scavenger- Feed on dead meat- e.g vultures

41. b. Hebivores:
i. grazers- Gaur
ii. Browser- nilgai
iii. Generalist- spotted deer
C. Omnivores- both plant and animal- bear

42. 2. Spacing behaviour
A. Home range: the geographical area/limit within which an animal or group of
animals routinely move to meets its needs such as food, eater, cover, space etc
B. Territory: either the whole home range or a part of it actively defended by its
user(s) against intruders for the sake of food, nesting sites, securing mates etc

43. 3. Breeding or reproductive behavior
a. Mating system- monogamy, polygyny, polyandry
b. Mate choice- based on size, physical vigour, display, parental ability
c. Courtship- behavior associated with mating
d. Cuckoldry- cheating behavior in an otherwise seemingly rigid mating system
e. Parental care- caring for the eggs or young ones
f. Brood parasitism- laying eggs in the nests of others so that others incubate and take care of eggs and
young ones
g. Clutch/brood/litter size- the no. of eggs
h. Helpers/helping- older siblings taking care of young ones
i. Infanticide: behavior of killing young ones (of other’s or one ‘s own

44. 4. Communication: b/w individuals or same or different age, sex and
species.
Feature of
channel
Chemical Auditory Visual Tactile
Eg. Pheromone Singing ,
Growling
Display,
dance
Touch,
Grooming
Range Long Long Medium Short
Rate of change
of signal
Slow Fast Fast Fast
Ability to go
past obstacles
Good Good Poor Poor
Locatability Variable Medium High High
Energetic cost Low High Low Low

45. Scent marking- 1) controlled by gonadal hormones at sexual maturity
2) Dominant male
3) Possession of a territory
 As a means of exchanging information- orienting the movement of individuals, and integrating
social and reproductive behaviour
 Moschus leucogaster (Himalayan musk deer)

46. i. Migration: regular periodic back and forth movement related to environmental conditions and / or
breeding.
a. Long distance migration: across borders Eg. Siberian Crane- 2,000- 5000 km one way
b. local migration: conventionally within borders- Elephant migration
c. Altitudinal migration- up and down the altitudes in the mountain –
Ex. Snow leopards and their prey.
ii. Dispersal-
(1) maintains genetic variability within the species by preventing
inbreeding
(2)Repopulation of depopulated areas
(3) colonization of new areas
iii. Density related behavior- competition , aggression etc
iv. Habitat use/habitat selection- preference to certain habitat

47. Prey –predator strategies
Natural selection favour predators to be efficient at detecting and catching prey
Simultaneously favour prey – detecting and escaping predators
A series of adaptations and counter-adaptations over a long time is called the evolutionary
arms race
Ex. Predators may get evolved for more speed and agility and so will the prey be!

48. • Predator adaptation
Improved visual and searching ability in
a limited area.
• Learning to detect prey
• Catching prey speed and agility
• Weapons of offence and subdual- sharp
nails, teeth
Counter adaptations by prey
• Crypsis (hiding), camouflage
(merging with the surroundings),
dispersing Diffusely
• Mimicing dangerous things or
organism
• Escape speed, fast flight
• Weapons of defence- quills of
porcupine

49. Aestivation: dormancy in animals during very high temperature e.g insects
(summer sleep)
Hibernation: dormancy in very low temperatures (winter sleep)
Diapause: spontaneous arrest on insect development at some state, it a
resting phase when conditions are unfavorable

50. Locomotive adaptations
 Scansorial - climbing:
 zygodactylous feet (opposable toes with strong tail)- woodpeckers, primates
 hoatzin, young ones, has claw on the wings, that help in climbing
Brachiation is a form of arboreal movement characterized by swinging from branch to branch
using the arms, and is used entirely by primates.

51. • Grasping hands or feet: modification of the hands to allow grasping or gripping of the
substrate, which adds a rotational force that counteracts the downward force of the animal’s
weight. This is often accomplished by having an opposable digit, usually digit 1 (the thumb, or
pollex) that can flex horizontal to the direction of the other digits
• Hand proportions: The palm (metacarpals) is often shortened and the fingers (proximal and/or
intermediate phalanges) are often elongated in scansorial and arboreal species
• Claws: Claws can be used to lock an animal into position on a branch or tree trunk
• Hind foot reversal
• Prehensile tail: A grasping tail is a highly specialized adaptation to climbing and is usually
indicative of arboreality.

52. Locomotive adaptations
 Cursorial - running
 adaptations include, elongation of the hind limb, reduction of the number of toes eg. ostrich, 120
kmh_1, cheetah, horse
• Cursorial locomotion involves high speed running, generally over long distances
• Many physiological and morphological adaptations help to improve efficiency in movement for
cursorial animals. Higher metabolism and endothermy are critical in maintaining running speeds
over distance, but all mammals have the capacity for these.
• The most distinctive differences are in the
A) limb structure,
B) claw shape,
C) especially the hands and feet.

53. three forms of digit arrangement
• Plantigrade locomotion: walking with the entire surface of the
hand or foot on the ground. Often involves digit retention for
climbing or object manipulation. This is the slowest form in cursorial
animals.
• Digitigrade locomotion: running on the balls of the feet and
fingers. Highly efficient as shown in the fastest land animal
(the cheetah), this arrangement of digits lengthens the limb and
increases the potential for forward motion. It is accompanied by a
reduction in the thumb due to loss of use.
• Unguligrade locomotion: moving on the very tips of the
digits. Common to the mammalian order Ungulata, this form of
locomotion requires digit fusion in order to strengthen the surface
that comes into contact with the ground. The nails fuse in addition
resulting in the formation of a hoof.

54.  Wading - wade = walk through shallow water
 Performed by the non-swimming birds
 long legs, long neck and long bills are some adaptations
 Sandpipers, plovers, egrets, herons etc
 Swimming - webbed or lobbed toes, waterproof plumage, well developed oil glad
 surface diving: penguin, grebe etc
 plunging into water from a height - osprey, kestrel, kingfishers
Marine mammals have a very different skeletal structure than fish, or other marine animals.
Their tail (or fluke) is built for vertical movement, propelling them in a cycle of powerful
downstrokes and periods of recovery.
Often accompanied by a complete loss of body hair to reduce drag, this form of movement
requires less energy and oxygen consumption than constant transverse motion, and has been
very successful for aquatic mammals.

55. Saltatorial (jumping)
• Saltatorial locomotion is characterized as a form of movement based on jumping or hopping.
• it is a mostly bipedal form of movement, the hind limbs are often highly developed: longer, and very
muscular in those species that use it. This is so that the organism can exert as much force as possible
when pushing off, and propel itself further and faster.
• Some mammals (generally smaller) travel in short and rapid hops that can provide rapid redirection
when being pursued. This is described as ricochetal locomotion.

56. fossorial
• Fossorial locomotion is a necessity in most sub-terrestrial lifestyles.
• It involved burrowing and digging into the ground, and tunneling underneath to forage for food and nest.
• Many animals dig, but moles are the most widely recognized group of mammals that prefer this form of
movement exclusively.
• Their powerful forelimbs and large claws help fossorial species to clear dirt and sand from their path.
• Life underground also leads to a reduction in eye complexity and sight, so many of these species develop
unique sensory organs and tactics to cope.

57. • The only group of mammals to have evolved
the capacity for flight are the bats.
• Unlike other mammals that glide for extended
periods, bats possess true flight.
• The structure of a bats wing differs greatly
from a bird's wing: The fingers are extremely
elongated with a fleshy membrane (patagium)
connecting them together, and joining the fore
and hind limbs as well.
• Despite the homology of the fore limb itself,
the flight mechanism is an example
of convergent evolution.
• The orders of bat species are amazingly
diverse, likely because they are the only
mammalian group to occupy their
environmental niche.

58. Wildlife Population Related Aspects

59. Communication
• All interaction between animals that serve to transmit information between them
• Stimulus reception interaction
• : Communication signalsBehavioural morphological or physiological characteristic
fashioned or maintained by natural selection because they convey information to other
animals
• It can be
1) Visual
2) Olfactory
3) Auditory
4) Tactile

60. Visual
• Facial expression and posture of head
• Gazelle- Stiff legged bounding Gait- Stotting
• The effectiveness of signalling helped by mimicking or mimicry
• Multiple horn and accentuating horns

61. • mimicry is a similarity of one organism, usually an animal, to another that has evolved because the
resemblance is selectively favoured by the behaviour of a shared signal receiver that can respond
to both
• Antipredator adaptation.
• The resemblances that evolve in mimicry can be in appearance, behaviour, sound or scent
• Mimicry may be to the advantage of both organisms that share a resemblance, in which case it is a
mutualism, or mimicry can be to the detriment of one, making it parasitic or competitive.
• Mimic and model
• Batesian and mullerian

62. Olfactory
Chemical signal is been generated by a presumptive sender and transmitted to a
presumptive receiver who by means of adequate receptors can identify, integrate
and respond either behaviourally or physiologically
Pheromone
Allomone
• Bull elk- squirts on stomach – estrus
• Find optimal roost in bats
• Self anointing

63. Scent marking
Exchanging information, orienting the movement of individuals and integrating
social and reproductive behaviour.
1) Maturation and use of scent gland is controlled by gonadal hormones produced
at sexual maturity
2) Most scent marking is done by dominant male
3) Scent marking is associated with possession of the territory

64. Auditory
• Sense of hearing in mammals
• Grunt among primates to remain in contact
• Howling choruses in canides- re establish the contact
• Ultrasonic sounds
• Very little known

65. Tactile
• Mainly related with sexual activities and mounting
• Primates have a wide range of roles- Mutual grooming- familiarity and social contact
• Formalized neck biting- showing dominance
• Solitary mammals- may be colonized but exclusively owned

66. Social behaviour or grouping
• Advantages
1) Individual vulnerability to predation- effective group defence or herd behaviour
• Aaray of heard movement- disorienting effect on the observers vision
2) Cooperative predatory group
3) Paucity of safe nocturnal or diurnal retreats
Disadvantage
1) Competition
2) Conspicuousness
3) Diseases and parasites

67. • Fitness of socially indulged individual find presumably greater as compred to solitary one
• Lactation is the key- Females are the limiting resource in the sexual selection-
• Insectiovores- solitary life and olfactory signals to bring sexes together at breeding
• Bats mainly embellonuridae have social life- each colony is organized into harems
• Most complex mammalian social systems are there in primates-abandment of sense of smell
and refinement of visual depth perception

68. • Social behaviour is not wide spread in lagomorph
• Rodents are predominantly solitary
• Threat and appeasement behaviour
• Friendly behaviour- grooming, smelling, mutual embrace in chimpanzee, nuzzling and tail wagging
of wolves

69. Density: it is the no of organisms per unit area
Eg. No. of fish per ha water surface
1. Ecological/ specific / economic density: Density per unit of real habitat available.
Eg. No of fish per ha water surface
2. Crude density; Density per unit total surface.
Eg. No. of fish per ha over the whole area, including terrestrial area

70. Growth of wildlife population
Geometric/ Exponential/ J shaped growth form :
population increase geometrically i.e. 4,8,16,32…. Until it runs out of
resources or encounters some other limitation.
Sigmoid/Logistic/S- shaped growth-
The initial stage of growth is approximately exponential, then, as
saturation begins, the growth slows, and at maturity growth stops

71. • Geometric/ Exponential/ J shaped growth Sigmoid/Logistic/S- shaped growth

72. Major determinants of population size
1. Natality: birth rate= No. of births/unit time/unit population
2. Mortality: Death rate= No. of deaths/unit time/unit population
3. Dispersal: Immigration and emigration (Migration)
Dispersal- (1) maintains genetic variability within the species by preventing inbreeding
(2)Repopulation of depopulated areas (Extirpated)
(3) colonization of new areas

73. • Corridor- Is a pathway , offers relatively little resistance to mammalian migration
and along which considerable faunal interchange would be expected to occur.
• A Filter route- Allowing passage of certain animals but resisting others
• Sweepstakes route –That probably not be crossed by large no of any given type of
animal, but is a route that an occasional individual may follow.( Island Hopping)

74. Breeding Potential (BP): Capacity to produce offspring irrespective of survival to
maturity
Environmental resistance (ER): environmental factors and welfare factors together
which resist the potential increase in the no. of offspring
Productivity: the actual number of offspring that survive to maturity . This
determines the population size

75. Population cycles
• Predominant in temperate, subartic and artic areas
• The tropical community
1) heterogeneity of environment
2) diversity of carnivores
3) Intricate patterns of niche displacement and potential competition
4) small percentage of energy for a particular species

76. Probosidae

77. Order
Proboscidea
Family
Elephantidae
Genus
Elephas
Species
maximus

78. • Family represents two surviving genera – Elephas & Loxodonta
• Moeritherium – considered as descendants of present elephant
• Asian Elephant – 3 subspecies
1. E. m. maximus
2. E. m. sumatranus
3. E. m. indicus
• Loxodonta – 2 species
1. L. africana – savannah form - African Savanna Elephant – largest terrestrial animal in the
planet
2. L. cyclotis – forest form - African Forest Elephant

79. Proboscidean?
• Largest land animal
• 150-300 primitive forms were tried by nature
• Enlarged upper incisors – tusk
• Elongated snout – trunk
• Extra large ears – aids to cool the body
• Avg. life span – 60 years or more

80. Evolution
• Elephantidae split off from other mammals relatively early in the evolution of
Eutheria
• The closest extant relatives of this family are the Hyracoidea
• More than 175 species of Proboscidea known to have lived
• Ancestors of the group first emerged in Paleocene (58 mya) and they do not have
fully emerged trunk
• First true Proboscidea emerged in Eocene (38 mya)
• Split between Elephas and Loxodonta – Pliocene (3.5 – 5 mya)
• Family Mammutidae – extinct 4500 years ago
• Elephas completely disappeared from Africa – 10,000 years ago

81. Asian Elephant African Elephant
Small ears Ears are large & covers the shoulder
Height = 2 – 3.5 m 3 – 4 m
Weight = 3000 – 5000 kg 4000 – 7000 kg
Tusk present in males only Both sexes posses tusk
Trunk – one finger, less rings, more ridged 2 fingers, more rings, less ridged
Two humps on forehead Smooth and curved forehead
highest point – top of the head Top of the shoulder
Convex back Concave back
Smooth skin More wrinkled and loose skin
20 pairs of ribs 21 pairs of ribs
Four toes in all feet/ five on forefeet and
four on hind feet/ five on all feet – total
Four toes in forefeet & three on hind feet
– total 14

85. Function
• Skin – thick, protection from insect bites, bumps and adverse weather. Colour varies
from grey to black
• Skin masked by dirt (dusting & wallowing) – facilitate thermoregulation and
protection against insect bite
• Elephants don’t have sweat glands
• Moving speed varies from 6.5 km/hr to 48 km/hr

86. • Trunk – feeding, watering, dusting, smelling, touching, communication and
defence
• Smell – trunk and Jacobson’s organ
• Eye sight – poor in bright light and better at night
• Tusks – record length is 3.02m, single tusk weight is 39 kg. Used for fighting and
display

87. Diet & Foraging
• Both browser & grazer
• 17-19 hrs – foraging
• 150-200 kg per day (wet weight)
• 40-100 species of plants – mainly belonging to Leguminosae, Aracacea, Cyperaceae
and Poaceae
• Regularly visits waterholes having high content of mineral salts, particularly Na
• Adult elephant – consume 100-150L of water per day
• Continuously feed as they move allowing the natural regeneration of vegetation

88. Population Biology
• Life span – 55 to 60 years in wild & up to 70 years in captivity
• First calving ranges between 18-20 years (earliest record 13.3 years)
• Females breed up to the age of 55 years
• Bulls become independent of their families by the age of 15-20 years
• Calving interval – 4-4.8 years
• Sex ratio – almost equal, but poaching decreases the male population

89. Social Organization
• Family is the basic social unit – 2-7 members
• Herd lead by eldest female member – matriarchal succession
• Adult elephant is virtually immune from predation except from humans
• Protective formation to juvenile – cows place themselves in a semi or closed
circle, with the calves between them or towards the centre
Anti-predator Behaviour

90. Role of musth
• When males are 17-20 years old, annual secretion from the temporal gland begins
which is known as musth
• Juvenile males get separated from mother at the age of 4-5
• At the age of 10, they drift away form the herd and either form new subgroup or
associate with older bulls
• Musth occurs regularly in bulls above 25 years and lasts longer after the age of 35
years

91. • During musth males get more aggressive and unpredictable
• At the time of musth, testosterone level is very high in serum plasma
• Musth condition is generally believed to be associated with good health
conditions
• Musth secretion also serve as signal to other potential males, which may help to
avoid conflict

92. • Males in musth spend more time and energy to locating females, also lose the body
condition and feed less
• Temporal gland secretion accompanied by urine dribbling, which may induce the
ovulation in females
• South India – musth more prominent in dry season
• North India – winter seems to be peak musth period

93. Reproduction
• The active reproductive age in females is about 40 years
• Males can mate any time, even they are not in musth
• Female become sexually receptive only during oestrus
• Only indication of oestrus in female – uttering of low sounds
• Elephant is poly-oestrus with an interval of 13-16 weeks
• Each oestrus lasts for 3-4 days in captivity
• Gestation – 18-22 months
• Normally one calf is born, occasionally two and rarely triplets

94. Growth of young
• At the birth, calves weigh ~100 kg and extremely hairy
• Consumes 7.6-9.4 L of milk per day
• Allomothering – suckle other calf when they have no calf of their own (only
observed in captivity)
• After about 6 months, calf starts experimenting solid food by nibbling bites of food
from older elephants in the group

95. • Coprophagy helps the transfer of symbiotic bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract of
the young
• Calves learn the food plants by smelling the plants eaten by adult
• Mothers may nurse the calf up to 18 months
• Growth is rapid from the birth to age of six years
• Decrease in growth rate – 10-12 years (Female) &15-20 years (Male)

96. Habitat use & Raging Pattern
• Occurs in wide variety of habitats
• Elephants have fixed home range
• Female group have home range varies from 30 km2 to 650 km2
• Males use an area between 160 km2 to 400 km2
• Males in musth have larger home range than they not in musth
• Rainfall pattern is the main factor of seasonal movement of elephant

97. Dentition
• Lack of canines
• Total of 26 teeth
• Dental formula – 1/0, 0/0, 3/3, 3/3
• One pair of molar at a time
• Modified upper incisors – tusk
• Female have rudimentary tusks called tushes
• Males without tusks – Makhna
• Replacement of tooth in horizontal progression

98. Replacement of molars

100. Threats
1. Habitat loss
– 20% of present human population lives in or near to the present range of
Asian Elephant
2. Habitat fragmentation and degradation
3. Human-elephant conflict
– Crop raiding
4. Poaching for ivory and meat
– Selective removal of tuskers effects the sex ratio
e.g. In PTR the sex ratio in the 1990s found to be alarmingly skewed, with 1
male to 120 females due to heavy poaching for ivory

101. Elephants in Captivity
• Elephant is not a domestic animal
• Feeding problems
• Diseases
• Musth period
• Palm leaves carrying on tusks

103. Conservation
• Habitat management
• Control of poaching
• Network of Elephant Reserves – 69,582 km2 in India
• Controlling of ivory trade
• Insurance to crops & alternative income generation schemes through EDCs
• Project Elephant 1992

104. Project Elephant
• Centrally sponsored and launched Feb 1992
• Main Objectives
1. To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors
2. To address issues of man-animal conflict
3. Welfare of captive elephants
• Mainly implemented in 16 States/UT; Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

105. Elephant Reserves in Kerala
1. Wayanad ER – 1200 km2 - Brahmagri-Nilgiri Landscape
2. Nilambur ER – 1419 km2 - Brahmagri-Nilgiri Landscape
3. Anamudi ER – 3728 km2 - Anamalai-Nelliyampathy-High Range Landscape
4. Periyar ER – 3742 km2 - Periyar-Agasthyamalai Landscape

106. Artiodactyla
Characteristic features of Artiodactyla
• Evolved 54 million yrs before present
• Found in all the continents except Australia and Antarctica
• Ancestors of most of the domesticated animals are artiodactyls

107. Families of Artiodactyla
1. Suidae
2. Tayassuidae
3. Hippopotamidae
4. Camelidae
5. Giraffidae
6. Tragulidae
7. Moschidae
8. Cervidae
9. Bovidae
10. Antilocaprinae

109. Suidae
• 9 sp in 5 genera
• Most generalised of the even-toed ungulates
• Single stomach
• Omnivorous
• Snout is prominent, carries tusk (lower canines)
• snout ends in a mobile disk like nose

110. Suidae
Pygmy Hog
Wild Boar

114. Camelidae
Dromedary Bactrian

116. Tragulidae (Mouse Deer)
Indian Chevrotain

118. Moschidae (Musk Deer)
Musk Deer

119. Cervidae
• Large fissure / opening in the skull below each eye called as ‘lachrymal
fissure’
• Presence of canine in the upper jaw, which the Bovidae members lack
• Deer has antlers (deciduous, branched, and solid)

121. Cervidae (Deer)
Sambar Deer

122. Spotted Deer Barking Deer

123. Hog Deer
Swamp Deer

125. Nilgiri Tahr

126. Bovidae (Cattle, Goats, Antelopes)
Gaur

127. Wild Buffalo

128. Nilgai

129. Chinkara / Indian Gazelle

132. Bovidae
Serow

134. Scandentia, Pholidota and Lagomorpha
Characteristic features of Scandentia
• Tree shrews are small squirrel like animals found in the tropical forests
• They are endemic to Oriental region

136. Tupaidae (Tree Shrew)
South Indian (Madras) Tree Shrew (Anathana ellioti )

137. Pholidota
Characteristic features of pangolins
• One family, one genera and 7 species (4 African and three Asia)
• Body covered with horny scales
• Number of scales remain constant throughout the life
• Not renewed by moulting, unlike reptiles

139. Manidae (Pangolins)
Indian Pangolin

140. Lagomorpha 11 species
Characteristic features of Lagomorpha
• Has two pairs of incisors
• Diastema is present
• Testes are permanently external, unlike rodents in which they are retained in the
abdomen except while breeding
• Long ears
• Nose has ‘slit-like’ nostrils, that can be opened and closed.
• One external opening (cloaca) for both anus & urethra

141. Double digestion
• Cecum has microbs that aid in the digestion of cellulose rich food
• Most of the digested materials are absorbed to the blood stream, but
some such as Vit. B12 lost thru feces. So they let such feces to pass thru
the gut a second time, thus allowing the vitamins to be absorbed to blood
• Lagomorphs have two kinds of feces, first a soft black, viscous fecal
pellets, which are usually eaten directly from the anus
• Secondly they have the hard feces that pass normally

142. Reproductive peculiarities
• About 40% of the young ones produced are susceptible to mortality, either as
predation, disease or climatic factors. To over come this they have special
adaptations,
• early sexual maturity
• Short gestation period
• Large litter size
• ‘Induced ovulation’ (eggs are shed in response to copulation)
• ‘Post-partum estrus’ (able to conceive immediately after giving birth)
• ‘super fetation’ - (capable of conceiving a second litter before the birth of last
young one)
• ‘resorbing embryos’ – (under adverse climatic conditions, hold the embryos)

143. • Order/ Family W Ghats India World
• LAGOMORPHA 1 11 92
• Leporidae 1 4 62
• Ochtonodae - 7 30

144. Rabbits and hares

145. Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)

151. THANK YOU