An updated checklist of fauna of Binsar wildlife sanctuary of Uttarakhand (Western Himalaya), India

Abstract

The present checklist on faunal composition is a compilation of published records on faunal diversity of mammals, Aves and insects mainly between the years 1998-2021 from the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary in State Uttarakhand, India. The sanctuary is known for its wide range of mammals, birds and insect species. The list comprised 16 species of mammals belonging to five orders under nine families, 173 species of birds belonging to 12 orders under 45 families and 121 species of insects belonging to eight orders under 36 families. It is intended that the checklist would help in obtaining a holistic view of faunal diversity, mainly mammals, birds and insects so that their status could be monitored and maintained at various levels in the sanctuary. The sanctuary is low profiled in terms of biodiversity conservation and scientific management, and still unexplored or under-explored in relation to the faunal diversity. Therefore, the findings reported in the present study promisingly emphasize the ongoing threats to the biological diversity of the Binsar wildlife sanctuary of Uttarakhand (Western Himalaya), India which needs an immediate attention in order to conserve the residing faunal species.