Purple Frog
Discovered in 2003 in the Western Ghats region of India, this creature is pretty straightforward – it’s purple and it’s a frog. Seriously, though, this frog is unique, living 13 feet underground and possessing an oddly endearing bloated, round body that tapirs into a snubbed nose.

Slender loris
Found in Sri Lanka, this nocturnal primate is notable for being the size of a human thumb. You read right – this teeny, tiny primate is no bigger than your thumb and prefers the safety and shelter of thorny vegetation.

Cantor’s Giant Soft Shelled Turtle
One look at this creature and you’ll swear somebody ran over a turtle! This turtle is notable, if nothing else, for its severely flattened appearance. Rest assured, though, these creatures are meant to look this way and enjoy a home on land unlike their sea turtle relatives.

Giant Coconut Crab
Imagine a 3 foot, 40 pound land crab and then imagine having them knock over your garbage cans every night. These enormous crustaceans are large and in charge but are no more dangerous than any other crab and, much like their name implies, they prefer eating coconuts.

Lion-tailed Macaque
If you ever find yourself in India and you think you’ve seen a lion’s tail, look again – you may have seen the telltale sign of a lion-tailed macaque. These highly intelligent monkeys are a rare sight to behold with their lavish tails and wild, lion-like mane.

The black buck is also known as an antelope. The antelope mostly resides in India but small groups can also be found in Nepal as well as Pakistan. This is one of the snappiest moving land animals with speeds of 80 kilometers per hour. The male is ebony and ivory colored with elongated, entwined horns and the females have a cream coloring without any horns. Indian law prohibits hunting of these animals.

Indian elephants are one of the largest land mammals and are a subspecies of the Asian elephant. The species is threatened by the loss of its habitat, degradation and fragmentation. The Indian elephant is larger than the Asian elephant weighing anywhere from 4.400 to 11,000 pounds. Females have short or no tusks at all. The Indian elephant has smaller ears, broader skull and larger trunks than the Asian ones. This elephant is native to the mainland of Asia which includes India with a population of 26,390 to 30,770.

The Indian rhino is found mainly in northeast India and in protected areas of Nepal. The species is currently being threatened in India. The reason for this is that 70 of the population is currently residing at Kazirangg National Park. If poaching or disease where to strike the park, it would devastate the population. Rhino hunting became illegal in India in 1910.

The leopard is the most petite of the quadruple big felines with the additional creatures including the leopard, tiger and lion. A leopard has great success in the wild because of its hunting behavior. The leopard runs at speeds of 36 mph and can climb trees. It has a huge skull and powerful jaws. Males are 30 larger than the females. Leopards are solitary animals and are nocturnal. They feed on grains, berries, small rodents, snakes and lizards.

Many areas of India have dense populations making animal/human interaction more common. The animals are not necessarily seeking humans out, we are encroaching into territory that was once theirs and they are just investigating. Sometimes those investigations lead to attacks when the animals are threatened.

Habitat destruction is currently ranked as the primary cause of animal extinction across the globe. Urbanization and associated mining and deforestation is decimating the animal populations in India and sending whole species of animals into extinction. Humans need to do everything they can to preserve the animals’ habitat and learn to co-exist peacefully. While the wildlife preserves are doing a great job at protecting the animal’s precious habitat, the residents of India as a whole need to keep in mind that their home was the animal’s habitat first.Can’t get enough? There’s more: Tips for Capturing Wildlife From Its Natural Habitat

Perhaps the most notorious of India’s poisonous animals are venomous snakes, with the iconic cobras taking centre stage. Growing up to 20 feet in length, the King Cobra is one of the most imposing serpents in the world and with a mortality rate of 75, its potency is well worth respecting. Other venomous Indian snakes are Russell’s Viper, the Saw-Scaled Viper and the Common Krait. Although it is called the ‘common’ Krait, this snake’s venom is actually 16 times stronger than the cobra’s, killing 85 of those unlucky enough to have been bitten by it.

India is also home to many species of tarantula spiders, all of which can bite. It is another spider, however, which travelers really should keep aware of though, the camel spider. Found in desert regions, this spider lurks in shadows, runs with great speed and boasts an immensely painful bite.

One thing’s for sure; if you’re traveling to India, you’d better watch out for these poisonous critters.You thought this was good? Brace yourself: Polish man charged for 4 venomous snakes

Domestic Cats are not native to India and were first introduced by Egyptians in 3000 B.C.

The Giant African Snail was brought in during World War II as a source of protein. It wrecks havoc on farms, gardens, broad leaf forests and grasslands.

Tilapia was introduced into the pond ecosystem in 1952. The fish multiplies a very fast rate and eats everything causing native fish to starve.

Spotted deer were brought in by the British and have grown in mass number as their only predators are crocodiles and humans.

The wild boar, which can be found in almost all forest in India, is native to Eurasia.

Aquarium Cat Fish native to South America can be found in India due to aquarium trade and release or escape.

The River Rat Myocastor Coypus is native to South America and found in India.

Humans are the main cause for alien species introduction. Of the native animals to India, the cheetah and the pink-headed duck are two that have become extinct.