Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary is situated in the

Banaskantha district Banaskantha district is one of the Districts of Gujarat, thirty-four districts of the Gujarat States and territories of India, state of India. The administrative headquarters and largest city is Palanpur. The district is in northeastern Gujarat wh ...

formerly under

Palanpur State Palanpur State was a princely state of India during the British Raj. It was a Salute state with the Nawab of Palanpur having a hereditary salute of 13-guns. It was the main state of the Palanpur Agency. Palanpur State became a British protector ...

in the Indian state of Gujarat at the

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

border. It was declared as a sanctuary in May 1978, covering an area of about , principally for protection of the

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus''), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of ...

, which is now categorized as "Vulnerable A2cd+4cd;C1 ver 3.1" on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. Their numbers are declining in the wild and they are threatened with extinction. The name "sloth" is said to be the epithet travellers and hunters in India gave to the bear when they saw it hanging upside down from branches of trees and consequently they identified it with

sloth Sloths are a Neotropical realm, Neotropical group of xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant Arboreal locomotion, arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of move ...

, an animal that hangs upside down. While it is now known as sloth bear, initially it was called "bear sloth" since the game hunters identified this species with the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

as the physical characteristics and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

habits of both species matched. Towards the later part of the 18th century, its scientific name was ''Ursine bradypus'', ''Ursiform sloth'' or ''Bradypus ursinus''. But when in the early 19th century, a sloth bear, housed in a zoo in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, was examined, scientists identified it correctly as a bear species and thereafter the name was changed from "bear sloth" to "sloth bear". Jessore hill, which is the back drop to the sanctuary, is also prefixed to form the full name "Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary". Ministry of Environment and Forests of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, Forest Department of Gujarat, well known Institutes and Universities of the country, stakeholders and local communities in and around the project area have been engaged in Conservation and Sustainable Management of Dryland Biodiversity of North Gujarat under a GEF/

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

supported project with the objective of conservation of globally significant biodiversity. The two projects identified under the programme, as demonstration project sites were the Jessore and Balaram-Ambaji Sanctuaries. The information gathered under this project in respect of the Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary has enhanced the information base and is expected to help in building local establishments to adopt novel ideas to resolve the threats faced by the sanctuary.

Geography

The sanctuary is located in the Jessore hills of

Aravalli hills The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad, Gujar ...

, to the south of the

Thar desert The Thar Desert (), also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of in India and Pakistan. It is the world's 18th-largest desert, and the world's 9th-large ...

. It was declared a sanctuary covering an area of in 1978. The sanctuary area lies between the desert ecosystem and the dry deciduous type of ecosystem, and the forested area helps in arresting desertification and advancement of

. The nearest airport is that of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, about away. The nearest railway station is at

Palanpur Palanpur (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ) is a city and a headquarters of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Etymology Palanpur in early times is said ...

, away, and shivgadh village is at distance. The Sanctuary also houses two temples (one of them is the Kedarnath Mahadev temple), which are frequented by a large number of pilgrims during October–November, and a protected sacred grove.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The vegetation in the sanctuary consists of arid to semiarid and dry

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

thorny scrub. A UNDP sponsored study of the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

of the sanctuary has identified 406 species of plants (90 trees, 47

shrubs A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

, 33 climbers, 194

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

, 31

grasses Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

, six

pteridophytes A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that reproduces by means of spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as " cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is h ...

, two

bryophytes Bryophytes () are a group of land plants ( embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic division referred to as Bryophyta '' sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular land plants: the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. In t ...

, one

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

, and two

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

). A further analysis indicates that the families of tree species are 13, shrubs 15, herbs 11 and climbers 13. Some of the species reportedly belong to the threatened category as per

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

; these are: '' Pavonia arabica'', '' Tecomella undulata'', '' Capparis cartilaginea'', '' Dendrocalamus strictus'', ''

Sterculia urens ''Sterculia urens'' is a species of plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to India and has been introduced into Burma. A small to medium-sized tree with a pale-coloured trunk, it is commonly known as the ''bhutyā'' ( भुत्या) in ...

'' and silver date palm and ''Ceropegia odorata'', an endangered species. Six

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to India recorded are '' Ogeissus sericea'', '' Chlorophytum borivilianum'', ''

'', '' Tecomella undulata'', silver date palm and '' Dendrocalamus strictus''. Further, 89 plants are recorded to have

medicinal Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

properties. However, forest area is reportedly diminishing, and the corridor with hill area forests of Aravalli is also reducing, disrupting the migration of the bears. As a result, forest areas are reported only in patches. ''

Prosopis juliflora ''Neltuma juliflora '' (, ''Cuji'' in Venezuela, ''Trupillo'' in Colombia, ''Aippia'' in the Wayuunaiki language and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii), formerly ''Prosopis juliflora'', is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquit ...

'' called locally as ''gando baval'' has become the dominant vegetation affecting spread of local species, growth of goat and cattle population and forest fires; about 40 per cent of the green cover in the lower areas and 20 per cent in hilly regions are covered by this weed.

Fauna

Apart from sloth bear, other

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

reported in the sanctuary are

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

, sambar,

blue bull The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'', which was first scientifica ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

, and a variety of birds. Other endangered species harboured by the sanctuary are

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat and swamp cat, is a medium-sized cat native from the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Caucasus to parts of Central, South and Southeast Asia. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, ...

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range o ...

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long ...

Indian wolf The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...

and striped hyena. The faunal study by UNDP covered the herpetofaunal group. 14 species of

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

and

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

have been recorded here; the list includes

Indian python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large Pythonidae, python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, ...

(''Python molurus'') an endangered species, Indian flap-shelled turtle (''Lissemys punctata'') of vulnerable category and muggar (''Crocodylus palustris'') and '' Varanus'' (''Varanus bengalensis'') of endangered category. Threats faced by these species have been noted as water shortage, traffic, and hunting by

snake charmers Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnosis, hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly d ...

. Reptiles found also include

cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

krait ''Bungarus'' (commonly known as kraits ) is a genus of venomous snakes in the Family (biology), family Elapidae. The genus is native to Asia. Often found on the floor of tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Southern China, they are ...

, several types of

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

and

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

Avifauna

Studies of

avifauna Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

in the sanctuary revealed 105 species, including

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

. The list includes: four near threatened category birds comprising grey jungle fowl (''Gallus sonneratii''), white-bellied minivet (''Pericrocotus erythropygus''), Indian black ibis (''Pseudibis papillosa'') and

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive ...

(''Mycturia leucocephala''); the vulnerable category (as per IUCN Red List) are white-winged black tit (''Parus nuchalis''),

Asian openbill The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork (''Anastomus oscitans'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy ...

(''Anastomus oscitans''),

Indian white-rumped vulture The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures di ...

(''Gyps Bengalensis''),

Indian vulture The Indian vulture or long-billed vulture (''Gyps indicus'') is a bird of prey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is an Old World vulture belonging to the family of Accipitridae. It is a medium-sized vulture with a small, semi-bald head with li ...

(''Gyps indicus''),

red-headed vulture The red-headed vulture (''Sarcogyps calvus''), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of So ...

(''Sarcogyps calvus'') and red-necked falcon (''Falco chicquera'').

Mammals

20 species of mammalian fauna have been identified. Of these

Indian pangolin The Indian pangolin (''Manis crassicaudata''), also called thick-tailed pangolin and scaly anteater, is a pangolin native to the Indian subcontinent. Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping Scale (zoology), scales on its body which act as ...

(''Manis crassicaudata'') and

(''Melursus ursinus'') are near threatened and vulnerable respectively.

Threats

The threats faced by the sanctuary, and the sloth bear in particular, are: the disappearing forests due to anthropogenic and cattle pressures; destruction of termite hills (source of favourite food for the bear) by humans, capturing for training to perform in circuses (they are popular as "dancing bears"), travelling shows and fairs. Poaching and trade in sloth bears or their parts has also been reported. Even the cubs are captured and removed from the sanctuary. The UNDP study has also listed threats to avifauna as deterioration of the habitat, overgrazing, quarrying (which causes noise pollution and dust), damage to ground vegetation by the invasive ''

'', scarcity of water, hunting, and anthropogenic pressure resulting in habitat destruction. However, threat from the sloth bears is also reported to people and crops. The human-sloth bear conflict was scientifically examined for one year (between June 2007 and July 2008 in Jessore Sanctuary and also in the

Mount Abu Mount Abu (), known as Arbudgiri in Jain tradition, is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in the Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Here, the mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. It is ref ...

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, which revealed that there were human casualties due to attack by bears. Thirty such attacks on humans (more on males) in the forest, villages and crop fields were reported during the study period, with summer season recording the maximum number followed by monsoon and winter. Crop damage of varying degree by bears was also reported. This has caused fear among the villagers. However, under these conditions of threat to life and crops, the bears may be killed under the law to protect life or property.

Conservation

Proposals to create a biological corridor of four protected areas in the Aravalli hills as conservation area namely, the Jessore and Balaram Ambaji in Gujarat in Banskantha and

Sabarkantha Sabarkantha district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state of India, located in the northeastern part of the state. The administrative headquarters of the district are located in Himatnagar and the National Highway no. 48 passes though thi ...

, and Mt. Abu and Fulwar-Ki-Nar in the districts of

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

and

Sirohi Sirohi is a town, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District and was formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirohi ruled by Deora Chauhan Rajput ...

to be developed as multiple use zones, have been mooted since all these are sanctuaries for sloth bear. Community participation is also suggested in this plan.

References

{{reflist, 2 Protected areas established in 1978 Wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Banaskantha district Bear sanctuaries 1978 establishments in Gujarat