Context: Recently, Guwahati redefines the term “urban jungle” with 334 and counting free-ranging faunal species living in the green spaces within concrete structures. The 328­sq km city and its outskirts have 18 hills, eight reserve forests, two wildlife sanctuaries, and a Ramsar site (Deepor Beel) besides the Brahmaputra flowing past its northern edge.
Key Points

• Guwahati, Assam’s capital city and the largest in the northeast, has a 620-hectare Hengerabari Reserve Forest referred to as the city’s lungs.
• Chinese pangolin, Nepal cricket frog, Bengal monitor lizard, Assamese cat snake, Eurasian moorhen, Asian elephant, Terai cricket frog and Ganges river dolphin are amongst the 320+ species of fauna (Very few of them are caged in the Assam State Zoo) that reside in the Hengerabari Reserve Forest.
• The Hengeraberi Reserve forest redefines the term “urban jungle” with more than 320 free-ranging fauna living in the green spaces within concrete structures.
• The city and its outskirts have 18 hills, eight reserve forests, two wildlife sanctuaries and a Ramsar site (Deepor Beel) besides the Brahmaputra flowing past its northern edge.
• This stretch of the river has Gangetic River Dolphins, which has the status of ‘city animal’.
• Over the years, 26 species of amphibians, 56 reptiles, 36 mammals and 216 birds have been recorded.
• Also, there are more than 1,100 captive wild animals belonging to 107 species, of which 52 are highly protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
• But, the wildlife specialists are worried that Guwahati has been following the global trend, which projects the urban area on earth to triple before 2030.

Guwahati and its specialty

• The city of Guwahati is the biggest metropolis in Northeast India and also happens to be a part of Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.
• Guwahati and its outskirts have eight Reserve Forests (South Kalapahar RF, Fatasil RF, Jalukbari RF, Gotanagar RF, Hengrabari RF, Sarania Hill RF, Garbhanga RF, Rani RF) and two Wildlife Sanctuaries (Deeporbeel WLS and Amchang WLS)  along with an internationally acclaimed wetland and Ramsar site, the Deeporbeel, within the city limits.
• This stretch of the river has a few Ganges river dolphin (Guwahati is the only city in India to have its own city’s animal: The Ganges River Dolphin).
• People have co-existed with arguably the widest range of fauna despite human-animal conflicts in the region.