Joint Nilgiri tahr census from Thursday; grasslands, rocky terrain of ENP attract tahrs
A four-day interstate Nilgiri tahr census will begin on Thursday (April 24).
According to Forest department officers, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will jointly conduct the census from April 24 to 27. Minister for Forests A.K. Saseendran said that the Forest department had already completed all arrangements for the survey.
Eravikulam National Park (ENP) Assistant Wildlife Warden Nithin Lal said that the grasslands and rocky hills were the most favourable habitat for the Nilgiri tahr. 'At the ENP, the grasslands ensure food availability for Nilgiri tahrs. It is the major reason why the ENP continues to be the major habitat for Nilgiri tahrs in the State,' said Mr. Lal.
According to the Forest department officers, Nilgiri tahrs prefer grasslands, shola forests and steep rocky terrains.
'The ENP carries out controlled burning in its grasslands and the fresh grass that grows afterwards ensures food for the calves. Earlier, the presence of Nilgiri tahrs was noticed in the Munnar forest division areas. But after the planting of exotic varieties there, the food availability for the Nilgiri tahrs reduced, and they moved away from these areas. The proposed Neelakurinji sanctuary areas in Vattavada and Kottakkamboor are also filled with exotic species, and surveys have recorded very low presence of Nilgiri tahrs in these areas,' said a Forest department source.
'Once Nilgiri tahrs were found in most parts of the Western Ghats. But due to habitat destruction, the presence of tahrs is now limited to isolated areas,' said the source.
100 new births
According to officials, in this calving season, over 100 new births have been reported in the ENP. Munnar wildlife warden K.V. Harikrishnan said that in the previous census, 817 tahrs and 144 calves were found in the ENP.
Chief Wildlife Warden Pramod G. Krishnan said that camera traps would be deployed and pellet samples would be collected from selected blocks for scientific analysis, including studies on genetic variation. Officials said that Pramod P.P., field director of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, had been appointed as the nodal officer for the census.
Officials from the Forest department stated that the joint survey was being taken up to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the ENP.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
14 hours ago
- The Hindu
Invasive species removed in Gudalur as part of World Environment Day celebrations
As part of World Environment Day celebrations, the Gudalur forest division conducted a clean-up of invasive plants from outside reserve forests on Thursday. In a press release, the Gudalur forest division said the theme for World Environment Day this year was 'Putting an end to plastic pollution' and 'No invasive Nilgiris.' The Forest Department said the initiative will be the first of many undertaken this year to eradicate plastic waste from forests and adjoining areas and to also minimise the spread of invasive species such as Lantana camara. In Masinagudi forest division in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, World Environment Day was celebrated by distributing tree saplings and seedlings, planting of trees and creating awareness among the public about the need to keep the tiger reserve free of plastic and waste. Passing tourists were stopped at the reserve by forest staff and were involved in the initiative to improve awareness among the public.
India Gazette
21 hours ago
- India Gazette
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis announces completion of Samruddhi highway; calls it historic, emotional moment
New Delhi [India], June 6 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced the completion of the Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg and stated that it was a historic and emotional moment. In a post on social media X, the CM wrote that the project was not just a road but a strong step towards a brighter future. 'A truly historic and emotional moment - the dream of a 'Samruddha' Maharashtra has come true! 'Hinduhrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg' is now complete --it's not just a road, but a strong step towards a brighter future. This was only possible because of the love and support of the people of Maharashtra!' the post read. On June 5, the CM had stated that the project would play an essential role in the development of the state and the highway would be a corridor of prosperity of the state. This highway will be connected to Vadhan Port shortly. Chief Minister Fadnavis said that land has been acquired for the Samruddhi Highway in record time. Due to this route, 24 districts of the state, including Vidarbha, Marathwada, and North Maharashtra, have been connected to JNPT port; now, this highway will be connected to Vadhan port. Rs 55 thousand 335 crore has been spent on this 701 km long highway. According to an official release, the 76-kilometre route of the Samruddhi Highway passes through Nashik and Thane districts. The Sahyadri mountain range in this area has made it a very difficult route for the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to overcome this engineering challenge. The tunnel near Igatpuri is eight kilometres long, the longest in the state, and the widest in the country. The Forest Department has decided to plant trees on the Palkhi route along the Samruddhi Highway. One thousand farm ponds have been created due to this highway. Along with this, water recharge arrangements have been made every 500 meters. (ANI)
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
Sandalwood policy to be simplified soon: Eshwar Khandre
Mysore: The frontline staff of the department play a major role in forest, wildlife conservation and green development. It is not wrong to say that 21 percent of the forest remains in the state today due to their efforts, said Forest Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre. Speaking after distributing safety kits to the frontline staff of the Mysuru division of the Forest Department with the corporate responsibility support of Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) under the Department of Industries, he said that the work being done by the frontline staff in preventing forest encroachment, extinguishing forest fires and preventing wildlife poaching is commendable. That is why, he said, he has ordered after becoming the minister to provide food allowance along with salary to the forest and forest wealth guarding staff, regardless of day or night, cold, rain or wind, and to provide an additional risk allowance of Rs 2,000 per month, and it is being implemented. Canteen for forest staff: There is a demand that canteen facilities be provided to forest staff similar to military and police personnel. He said that he has already appealed to the Chief Minister in this regard and that efforts will be made to extend the existing police canteen facility to forest staff as well. Karnataka has a rich forest region. The Western Ghats are a favorite destination for biodiversity. Its conservation and enhancement is the responsibility of all of us. He said that the frontline staff is doing the work of protecting it. Today, human-wildlife conflict is increasing and the forest area is decreasing. The government is working hard to increase the forest, and in the last 2 years, 15,000 acres of land has been newly notified as forest area. Eshwara Khandre said that more than 6,000 acres of forest encroachment worth thousands of crores of rupees have been cleared across the state, including 128 acres worth Rs 4,000 crore in Bengaluru. He said that a total of 120,975 hectares of plantations, 25 new Tree park and 35 Devara Kadu or Sacred Groves have been created during 2023-24 and 2024-25. The minister praised the Karnataka Soap and Detergents (KSDL) for providing safety kits containing bags, jars, shoes and water bottles to 10,000 frontline forest personnel across the state, and thanked Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil and KSDL President CS Nadagowda for their role in this. Simplification of Sandalwood Policy: KSDL has advocated the need for sandalwood oil. Farmers in the state are also growing sandalwood. Sandalwood policy will be simplified and a notification will be issued soon to allow them to harvest and transport sandalwood. He said that the Forest Department will take steps to grow sandalwood trees in the plantation. Today, due to global warming and climate change, the rain that should fall in a month is falling in a week, a week's rain is falling in one day, creating a disaster. Therefore, we should emphasize on increasing the green area. We should grow trees, he said. Industries Minister M.B. Patil, legislator Yathindra Siddaramaiah, KSDL President C.S. Nadagowda, Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Subhash Malkade, APCCF Kumar Puskar, Wildlife Board Member Dhruva Patil and others participated in the program.
