Uttarakhand 173
a sound or a dimple in the snow.
As per scientific exploration .carried out by Salim Ali, bird
families endemic to the Himalayas, not found in peninsular India,
are broadbills (Enrylae midae), honey guides (Indica Tordae),.
finfoots (Heliorinthidee), and parrot bills.
Another interesting aspect of Himalayan fauna is musk deer
which is at the verge of extinction due to the musk which it
carries in its gland which is used in some perfumes and is consi-
dered a aphrodisiac. The poor animal is hunted for this musk
pod. Although killing is banned but clandestine trade goes on.
The tiger of Jim Corbett
The terror which a man-eating tiger or leopard imposes in the
area of its activity is unequalled even by severest of curfews. The
scene of a terror-stricken village and the deadly movements of a
tiger have been best described by Jim Corbett. In fact, the scene
is the same because during the hours of sunlight life in that area
is carried in normal way but as the sun approaches western
horizon and the shadows are lengthened, the behaviour of the
entire population undergoes a noticeable change and when night
falls an ominous silence grips the entire area.
A tiger's function in the scheme of things is to help maintain
the balance in nature and if, on rare occasions when driven by
dire necessity, he kills a human being, or when his natural food
has heen ruthlessly exterminated by man he kills two percent of
the cattle he is alleged to have killed, it is not fair that for these
acts a whole species be branded as blood thirsty. Today the
population of tiger has gone down due to poachers and annually
there is an appreciable addition to the death toll
Wild life sanctuaries
With an intent to protect natural life, the government has
opened several sanctuaries in the Himalayas out of which Jim
Corbett National Park and Rajaji Sanctuary in the Terai of Hima-
layas are most famous. I have already described the high altitude
Nanda Devi sanctuary. Therefore, for the benefit of my readers,
let me describe the Jim Corbett Sanctuary which is internationally
wellknown.