Wildlife of
Andhra Pradesh

Primary Threats

• In Andhra Pradesh the Krishna-Godavari deltas have lost mangroves, saltmarsh, and floodplain edges to aquaculture ponds, towns, and farms. In the Eastern Ghats, forests are cut by encroachment, quarries, and roads, isolating wildlife and breaking corridors to Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
• High-input paddy and commercial crops in the deltas drive wetland drainage, reedbed clearance, and high water abstraction; field consolidation and loss of fallows reduce foraging/nesting habitat for riverine and wetland birds (e.g., skimmers, storks), while pesticide use depresses prey bases across agro-wetland mosaics.
• River regulation (dams, barrages, embankments, canal networks) alters sediment flow and salinity gradients that sustain mangroves and delta wetlands; reduced seasonal flooding simplifies river sandbar/island habitats critical for nesting birds and influences fish recruitment that supports dolphins, otters and fisher livelihoods.
• Ports, coastal industrial corridors, highways/rail lines, transmission lines, and expanding irrigation/hydropower works increase barrier effects, mortality risks and disturbance; large projects in the Godavari basin (including associated roads and worker influx) can sever Eastern Ghats connectivity and intensify edge pressures around protected areas.
• Agricultural runoff (nutrients, pesticides) and industrial/urban effluents degrade Kolleru, delta channels and estuaries; plastic and ghost gear accumulate along the Bay of Bengal coast and in mangroves, causing entanglement and reducing habitat quality for turtles, shorebirds and estuarine fauna.
• Trawl pressure and nearshore gillnetting increase bycatch risk for sea turtles and dolphins along the coast; estuarine overharvest and juvenile fish capture reduce prey availability for smooth-coated otters, fishing cats, and piscivorous birds in mangrove creeks and lagoons.
• Conflict is concentrated along forest-farm interfaces of the Eastern Ghats and Rayalaseema: crop raiding (wild pig, primates, ungulates), livestock depredation (leopard, dhole), and occasional elephant movement in north coastal forest tracts lead to retaliatory harm, negative attitudes, and pressure to remove/problem-animal actions.
• Pilgrimage and tourism hubs near forests (e.g., around Srisailam and scenic Eastern Ghats areas) increase traffic, noise, garbage and off-road use; beach lighting, vehicles and unmanaged visitation can disrupt sea turtle nesting and hatchling emergence on parts of the coast.
• Despite legal protection, opportunistic hunting persists in some rural/forest-edge areas for bushmeat and in wetlands for waterbirds; trapping/snaring also affects small carnivores and ground birds in scrub and dry forest patches.
• Illegal trade pressures include pangolin poaching for scales/meat and collection of tortoises and other reptiles from dry zones; coastal and wetland species are also affected indirectly through illegal capture of birds and sale of protected fauna in informal markets.
• Fuelwood extraction and illicit felling at forest margins (especially in dry deciduous/scrub landscapes) degrade understory and reduce nesting/roosting sites; removal of riparian trees further weakens riverbank stability and shade-dependent aquatic habitat quality.
• Limestone, granite and other quarrying in parts of the Eastern Ghats/Rayalaseema causes direct habitat loss, blasting disturbance, road proliferation and siltation of seasonal streams-affecting dry forest wildlife and increasing human access into previously less-disturbed patches.
• Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara spread through degraded scrub/forest edges, reducing native plant regeneration and altering fire behavior; water hyacinth and other invasives choke wetland margins, lowering open-water quality and impacting fish and waterbird use.
• Sea-level rise, salinity intrusion and more intense cyclones (a recurrent Bay of Bengal hazard) threaten low-lying mangroves and coastal wetlands; hotter, drier periods in interior districts increase wildfire likelihood and water stress, compounding pressures on already-fragmented dry forests.
• Free-ranging dogs and livestock around protected area fringes increase risk of disease spillover (e.g., canine diseases to wild carnivores; livestock diseases to wild ungulates), while dense aquaculture operations can amplify aquatic disease dynamics that affect estuarine food webs.
• Groundwater over-extraction in agricultural belts, heavy fuelwood demand, and high grazing pressure reduce regeneration and dry-season water availability; depletion of small fish and crustaceans in creeks and lagoons undermines both biodiversity and local fishing resilience.
• Rapid growth of coastal towns/cities and peri-urban sprawl around transport corridors converts remaining wetlands and scrub, increases light/noise along beaches, and raises solid-waste loads that accumulate in drainage lines, lakes and mangrove creeks.
• Highly fragmented habitats and small, isolated populations (notably the extremely range-restricted Jerdon's courser, and sub-populations of large carnivores in separated forest blocks) elevate risks of inbreeding, demographic stochasticity and local extinction without maintained corridors and habitat buffers.