Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Flora and fauna

The islands have mangroves interspersed with marshes, coconut trees or dispersed bushy vegetation along the coast. There are twelve types of forests that occur in the islands including evergreen, deciduous, mangrove, littoral, bamboo, sub-montane and brackish water forests. North Andaman is characterised by wet evergreen forests with climbing plants, Middle Andaman has moist deciduous forests and South Andaman islands have epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids. The North Nicobar islands are mostly barren with grasslands while evergreen forests form the dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. The forest coverage is estimated to be 86.2% of the total land area with about 2,200 varieties of plants of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India. There are more than 200 species used for timber.

There are more than 8300 species of fauna of which 1117 are endemic to the islands. There are about 64 species of reptiles of which half of them are endemic to the islands. Most of the larger species were introduced by colonists and travellers, some of which became endemic due to their prolonged isolation. There are about 55 mammal species of which 32 are endemic with 26 species of rats and 14 species of bats, the most amongst the mammals. The endangered Indian elephant can be found in forested or mountainous areas of the islands, which were originally introduced from the mainland to help with the timber extraction in 1883. Endangered and critically endangered species endemic to the islands include the Andaman white-toothed shrew, Andaman spiny shrew, Jenkin's shrew, Nicobar spiny shrew, Nicobar tree shrew, Miller's Nicobar rat, Palm rat, Andaman teal, Nicobar scops owl, Andaman boobook and Darwin's eastern frog. Other large fauna include Wild boar, Spotted deer, Barking deer and Sambar deer.

There are about 270 species of birds in the islands of which 90 are endemic. The islands' caves are nesting grounds for the Edible-nest swiftlet, whose nests are prized for bird's nest soup. The islands serve as an intermediate resting site for birds such as Horsfield's bronze cuckoo, Zappey's flycatcher and Javan pond heron during long distance migrations. The Nicobar pigeon found in the islands is the closest living relative to the extinct Dodo. The territory is home for about 896 species of winged insects including 225 butterflies species.

There are more than 1350 species of echinoderms and molluscs and 200 species of corals in the seas surrounding the islands. Larger marine species include salt water crocodiles, dugongs, turtles, dolphins and whales. There are more than 1350 species of fishes including 13 fresh water species. The islands are well known for prized shellfish, the commercial exploitation of which began in the early 20th century. There are about nine national parks, 96 wildlife sanctuaries and one biosphere reserve in the islands.
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