Flora And Fauna Of Punjab

[kuthaman]

"The Sivalik area is the richest area of Punjab in terms of floral and faunal diversity and has been identified as one of the micro-endemic zones of India. Amongst the Angiosperms, about 355 species of herbs, 70 tree species, 70 species of shrubs or under shrubs, 19 of climbers and 21 species of twiners have been recorded from the area. Apart from angiosperms, 31 species of Pteridophytes, 27 of bryophytes and one species of gymnosperms (Pinus roxburghii) have also been recorded. The area is also rich in faunal diversity including 396 species of birds, 214 species of Lepidoptera, 55 species of fish, 20 species of reptiles, and 19 species of mammals.^[8]

There are no natural forests in the plains; extensive tracts occur covered only with grass, shrubs and bushes. The mango fruit is largely cultivated in the south-east of the Punjab and attains a high degree of perfection about Multan and Hoshiarpur. Cultivated fruit trees, such as orange, pomegranate, apple, peach, fig, mulberry, quince, apricot, almond, and plum are abundant in the region.^[9]

There are a number of wetlands, bird sanctuaries and zoological parks across Punjab. These include the Hari-Ke-Pattan National Wetland and Wildlife Sanctuary at Harike in Tarn Taran Sahib District, the Kanjli Wetland, the Kapurthala Sutlej Water Body Wetland, the Ropar Zoological Park, Chhatbir, Bansar Garden, Sangrur, the Aam Khas Bagh, Sirhind, the Ram Bagh Garden Amritsar, the Shalimar Garden, Kapurthala and the Baradari Garden at Patiala.^[10]

Alligators are also commonly found in local rivers. The silkworm is reared with great skill and industry, and bees produce abundant wax and honey. Camels thrive in the hot southern plains, and herds of buffaloes on the grazing lands adjoining the rivers. Horses are reared in the north-east part of the Punjab.^[9] Among poisonous snakes there are the cobra and the sangehur, the bite of which causes instant death. Other mammals like the smooth-coated otter, hog deer, wild boar, flying fox, wildcat, squirrel, fruitbat, and mongoose can be seen in the wild and in reserves.

The state bird of Punjab is the Baz (Eastern Goshawk)^[11] (Melierax poliopterus), the state animal is the Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), and the state tree is the Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo).^[6]"

^{This is from wikipedia. It talks about he wildlife in Indian Punjab. I never new there was such rich collection of wildlife in Punjab. I feel like we can really connect with our ancestral land if learn about the Nature aspect of it. The way our ancestors interacted with nature really defined our heritage. This is a thing that arose in my mind while I was doing some yard work. How much do you all know about the environmental of Punjab?}

[Jangal Da]

Relics of flora and fauna more like.

Due to intensive farming the Punjab filled its stomach and wallets at the expense of depleting the fertility of its soils and its water table (not to mention the industrial pollution problems). Guru Nanak Dev ji wrote beautiful poetry in the Guru Granth Sahib where references to nature abound, yet most of Punjab will never be capable of appreciating these as they will never have had experience of such apart from throgh the Discovery Channel.

Just ask those In your families who can recoil the Punjab from the mid 1950s and earlier. The GT Road that most of us know was narrower and lined by thick shrub and trees. Ask your parents about the 'jhuaan' which was nazuli zamin between the villages, that back then had not been given over to families in exchange to rent (and bakshish) to the pachayat for farming. Again this was scrub and grassland where your fathers or grandfathers would have grazed cattle all day. Now the Jat looks at the Gujar with a little bit of the green eyed envy as no Jats can sustain herds like they used to and its only the wandering banjara like communities now that make such a living outside the modern dairy, by travelling the little strips of scrub along the highways with their herds.

Older Punjabis will recall the sight of the giddar (jackal) and ill (vulture) as common scavangers around our villages playing their part in the ecology of life. Nowadays deceased cattle are left to rot ages and spread disease. Wild deer in herds up to a couple of hundered strong wandered through the Doaba in between villages and those who are fortunate enough to have real old-timers from pre-partition era will tell you that up to the 1930s the wolf was still occassionally spotted in that part of Punjab. As for alligators - you possibly mean gharail crocodiles and I suspect these are no more. The peacocks and monkeys coomon in villages too have vanished.

The Goshawk as a state bird is the politial doing of the SAD (Badal) a few years back. Supposedly this was the bird associated with Dasmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh ji Sahib. This was because of the Goshawk's association in European falconry as the bird of emporers. Even the old Punjabi art of falconry has become so lost that they look to the European traditions for inspiration. The chitta baz of the Tenth Master was probably a chiragh baz ie a Saker falcon of which a white bird was held in the highest esteem by eastern falconers and is the prize bird amongst arabian falconry today. As a hunting bird the eastern goshawk is a much more inferior falcon. Either way falcons in Punjab are now at the most half a

dozen introduced pairs.

Again horses was a much prized tradition before mechanization. This is probably why Punjabis particulrly in the west like top end cars nowadays. During the misaldari era Mughal stables were raided and the breed of horse that resulted was one of the most beutiful examples of the species that it was known as the Anmol breed. This has now thought to have died out and the few examples of it that are said to be found in Pak/Afghanistan are most probably just Arabs.

This video sums it all up. If you want to do your bit consider whether you can help contribute to the ecology back in Punjab - sustainable farming, planting trees and small copices. What do you want from £200 worth of hala rent from inherited land when the future of the holy soil over which The Guru jis walked is crying out? Bring in agro uni experts to talk to farmers in your village - paying for this is not that much and a pachayat member will probably help with contacts. Encourage sapling plantations, consider carefully how you manage inherited plots, especially when not relying on it for your own sustenence and not sure if the arhthi is telling you fibs to cut the price - plant a small wood. The nitrogen it will bring to the surrounding fields will save the farmers buying artificial fertilisers. It will help sustain the water table and not deplete it contrary to popular opinions out there.

Check out this video

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=06XjMXN2J8c

[S1ngh]

Green Revolution in Punjab is reason why we are facing so many problems in punjab.. We end up in continuous destroying Harekay pattan wetlands, depletion of ground water. Organic farming is gone as punjab is in high favor of genetically modified seeds. Old trees in rural areas (1000's of years old) were cut off and sold off for just few hundred ruppee. Nothing natural is left in punjab..