Wildlife preservation, or more commonly known as wildlife conservation, is the practice of conserving the flora and fauna, or the plants and animals that coexist with us human beings on the planet. Wildlife essentially means uncultivated plants and non-domesticated animals living in the jungle. Most wild animals are arboreal, which means they live on trees or in jungle. Deforestation by human beings leads to a large scale destruction of wildlife. In the last 2000 years, about 106 species of animals and 169 species of birds have become extinct in India mostly due to anthropogenic changes in the climate.

Today, the human population has crossed 7 billion people and feeding this growing population puts a lot of pressure on wildlife. However, protecting and preserving wildlife is a very important challenge that cannot be ignored due to a number of reasons:-

1. Aesthetic Value - Wildlife is a great source of wonder and amazement for human beings, and it is what brings tourist to eco-parks and wildlife sancturies.

2. Scientific value - Scientific study of wildlife is important from academic point of view. Loss of wildlife would be a big loss to the science community.

3. Ecological Imbalance - The destruction of wildlife leads to broken food chains which ultimately leads to ecological imbalance. Preserving wildlife is very important for habitat preservation.

4. Ethical Values - Man has no right to harm or kill any other organism that inhabits the planet. The Earth belongs as much to us as it belongs to the otters, whales and tigers.

There are 2 primary causes of wildlife destruction, namely: direct and indirect

Direct wildlife destruction happens when activities like killing and hunting are carried out for entertainment and subsistence purposes.

Whereas on the other hand, indirect wildlife destruction happens when activities like deforestation and industrialization are carried out or processes like expansion of deserts, or destruction of habitats take place.

There are 3 major organisations in India working for the conservation of wildlife.

1. Indian Board for Wildlife

It is an advisory body for country's wildlife constituted by the Government of India in 1952.

2. Wildlife Preservation Society of India

WPSI is a non-governmental organisation situated in Dehradun in the state of Uttarakhand. It organises various campaigns and conducts research on the vanishing flora and fauna. It organizes the Corbett Memorial essay competition and also publishes the bilingual quarterly journal 'Cheetal'.

3. Bombay Natural History Society

BNHS is the oldest non-governmental organisation working for the cause of wildlife conservation established in 1881. It conducts variuous researches and organizes various campaigns dedicated towards the cause.

Following fundamental approaches are made to conserve wildlife:-

1. Captive Breeding Programs - It has been proposed to take up captive breeding programme for species whose survival in wild is severely threatened on account of impaired natural breeding. Efficacy of captive breeding programme for saving gravely threatened species in wild is borne out by success of crocodile breeding project in India.

2. Pubic Education - Education of the public is crucial for any conservation initiative in order to gain their support. At the Wildlife Institute of India, a faculty of wildlife education is being built to teach staff members to handle nature education, interpretation, etc. The Zoological Survey of India occasionally offers training to individuals affiliated with nature clubs and educational institutions on environmental awareness and wild life conservation.

3. Promulgation of laws - The 42nd Amendment, passed in 1976, added forests and wildlife to the constitution's concurrent list. This clause allows the Central Government to control not only their preservation and protection, but also the acquisition of specific national-importance Forest and Wildlife Sanctuaries through the exercise of its property acquisition powers.

A comprehensive central legislative measure called “Wildlife (Protection) Act” was enacted in 1972 for providing special legal protection to wildlife in general and to endangered species of fauna in particular. It has a provision for setting up of National Parks and Sanctuaries, where our wildlife can receive the fullest protection. Stringent punishments have been provided against infringement of provisions of this Act.

Lastly, on Earth, all living beings are interconnected to each other. Whether a lion or a human, every organism plays a significant role in the ecosystem.  This blue planet, on which we live, is beautiful flowers, green trees and animals. To save the enchanting natural world, ecosystem as a whole has to be saved for our future generations to enjoy. Unless the entire ecosystem is preserved, the individual species will not be able to survive for long.