CTET EVS: Tigers, Sloths & Animal Communication
This concluding part of our NCERT series dives deep into the fascinating senses of animals, their sleeping patterns, and the conservation efforts in India.
📡 Animal Communication: Alarm Calls
Animals have sophisticated ways of warning each other about danger (predators like tigers or leopards).
- Langurs: Make a special warning call from high up in the trees.
- Birds: Give different alarm calls depending on the type of danger (e.g., ground vs. air threat).
- Fish: Send warning signals through electric impulses.
2004 Tsunami Anecdote: In December 2004, tribes in the Andaman Islands survived the tsunami by observing unusual animal behavior and moving to safer parts of the island.
👃 The Power of Smell
- Silkworm: Can find its female partner from many kilometers away by her smell.
- Dogs: Mark their territory with urine and can tell if another dog has entered their area by the smell.
😴 Animal Sleep Patterns
Some animals hibernate for a whole season (like lizards), while others have very specific daily sleep cycles:
| Animal | Sleep Duration |
|---|---|
| Python | ~18 Hours |
| Sloth | ~17 Hours |
| Cat | ~12 Hours |
| Cow | ~4 Hours |
| Giraffe | ~2 Hours |
| Lizard | Full Season (Hibernation) |
🦥 The Sloth (सुस्त जानवर)
The sloth is a unique animal frequently featured in CTET questions.
- Appearance: Looks like a bear but is not.
- Habits: Spends 17 hours a day sleeping upside down on tree branches.
- Diet: Eats the leaves of the same tree it lives on.
- Life Cycle: Lives for about 40 years and moves to only 8 trees in its entire lifetime.
- Hygiene: Comes down from the tree only once a week to relieve itself.
🐯 The Tiger (बाघ: हमारा राष्ट्रीय पशु)
- Vision: Can see 6 times better than humans at night.
- Whiskers: Highly sensitive to vibrations; help navigate in the dark and find prey.
- Hearing: Can differentiate between the rustling of leaves and an animal's movement.
- Roar: Its roar can be heard up to 3 kilometers away.
- Territory: Marks its territory with urine.
🛡️ Wildlife Conservation in India
To protect endangered species, the government has established protected areas:
- Jim Corbett National Park: Uttarakhand.
- Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary: Bharatpur, Rajasthan.
- 52nd Tiger Reserve: Ramgarh Vishdhari (Rajasthan).
- 53rd Tiger Reserve: Guru Ghasidas (Chhattisgarh).
Animals are often hunted for their parts:Tigers/Snakes(skin),Elephants(tusks),Rhinos(horns), andMusk Deer(scent/musk).