Forests are home to a variety of wildlife. There are many species of animals and a large variety of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, insects and worms which dwell in the forest.
Tiger is our National Animal. Gir forest in Gujarat is a home Asiatic lions. Elephants and one-horned rhinoceroses roam in the forests of Assam. Elephants are also found in Kerala and Karnataka. Camels are found in the Great India desert and wild asses in the Rann of Kuchchh. Wild goats, snow leopards, bears are found in the Himalayan region. Many other animals are found in our country such as monkeys, wolves, jackals, nilgais, cheetals etc.
Peacock is our National Bird. There are several birds found in our country. Other common birds are parrots, pigeons, mynah, geese, bulbul and ducks. There are several bird sanctuaries which have been created to give birds their natural habitat. These provide the birds protection from hunters.
There are several hundreds of species of snakes found in India. Cobras and Kraits are important among them. In order to protect animals, the government has also started Project Tiger and Project Elephant.