BENGALURU: The state government’s ambitious hydro-electric project – the 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project -- spells doom for the very survival of Lion-tailed macaques (LTM), an endangered species which is found only in the Western Ghats.
Scientists say that the project area falls right in the area where 32 groups of macaques live and breed on canopies of trees.
Presently, the project has received clearance for survey works for project feasibility from the State and the Central wildlife boards.
Scientists warn of enormous impact of the project and possible extinction of local groups of LTM which inhabit the Sharavathi Valley and lower slopes.
The Valley is considered the last refuge for LTM. Down Talaguppa, there is very little human presence and the LTM has survived only due to this.
Now, this area is part of a sanctuary that was notified only last year. So any disturbance that is caused – even a survey may lead to its disappearance in the area.
Today, the home of this arboreal species is restricted to very small, rainforest pockets of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Prof Mewa Singh, India’s foremost primatologist and behavioural ecologist, is an internationally acclaimed specialist on LTM and has spent four decades on its study.
Prof Mewa Singh says, “The areas in the Sharavathi Valley and the lower slopes are far more valuable for wildlife including arboreal than the upper regions. As the damage of such hydro-electric projects is usually in the Valley and at the lower slopes, it is disproportionate to the total area.”
In the Sharavathy Valley region, 27 of 32 LTM groups, 45 of 47 bonnet macaque groups and 139 of 151 groups of Hanuman Langurs are found and below 600m and none above 700m.
“So, a 100 hectare area or more in the Valley or at the lower slope is much more valuable for wildlife than the 100 hectares at upper altitudes. In fact, the overall impact of the project will be huge and the claim that the project needs just 150 hectares is highly misleading in terms of ecological significance,” Prof Mewa Singh says.
A joint scientific study by H N Kumara and Prof Mewa Singh reveals that due to canopy contiguity and the availability of fruit-bearing trees throughout the year, the rain forests of Western Ghats are rich in arboreal fauna. Out of four species, the LTM and Nilgiri langurs are found only in the Western Ghats.