National Endangered Species Day observed on the third Friday of May

Key facts

• National Endangered Species Day is observed every year on the third Friday of May, having been initiated in 2006 by conservation voices in the United States.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Great Indian Bustard as Critically Endangered, the Royal Bengal tiger, Ganges river dolphin (India's national aquatic animal), and Asian elephant as Endangered, and the snow leopard as Vulnerable.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides a legal framework to restrict hunting and regulate wildlife trade, while the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA) extends safeguards to domesticated and captive animals.
• The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 aligns Indian law with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and streamlines enforcement by reducing the number of schedules from six to four.
• India's flagship conservation initiatives include Project Tiger (launched in 1973), Project Elephant (launched in 1992), and a cheetah reintroduction programme at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 originally classified species into six schedules: Schedule I (Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, snow leopard, lion, Great Indian Bustard), Schedule II (Indian cobra, Himalayan black bear, certain deer species), Schedule III (blackbuck, chital, hyena, sambhar), Schedule IV (peacock, hare, falcon, kingfisher), Schedule V (crows, rats, mice, fruit bats), and Schedule VI (pitcher plant, blue vanda, red vanda, kuth, slipper orchids).