An Inventory And Assessment of Herpetofauna

Depletion of herpetofauna throughout the globe and their extinction is causing a conscientious and diligent task to the people of all spheres of the society to conserve them. But unfortunately due to anthropogenic factors they are depleting very sharply from the earth. Amphibians and reptiles rarely get the kind of attention showered by wildlife researchers. The reason is the paucity of ready reference field guides to what is called our herpetofauna. We thought many areas in the state of Orissa are still remaining uncovered in this field and most of these species are becoming extinct before they come to human knowledge. We carried out a survey to assess the herpetofauna diversity of this hills range and prepared an inventory of these animals from our direct observation and some second hand information from local residents. This will provide a lot of information to the researchers coming forward to do such work in other parts and the posterity to cherish.