CHENNAI: The state forest department has received permission to capture 20 Nilgiri tahrs, which is the state animal, for radio-collaring and collection of samples to understand what is causing giant lymph nodes in some of them.
Chief wildlife warden Srinivas R Reddy told TNIE that the union government has given the approval. “The permission to capture 20 tahrs is for the entire project period of five years. We are currently in the process of procuring radio collars. To start with, we may radio-collar about half-a-dozen animals.”
Meanwhile, a first-ever synchronised census of Nilgiri tahrs in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is planned during the third week of April. Currently, a population estimation is underway in the fragmented forest patches, where there is past documented presence of tahr.
The Nilgiri Tahr Conservation Project was launched by Chief Minister MK Stalin last year to protect the endangered species. As per last assessment done by WWF India, there are only 3,122 Nilgiri tahrs left in the wild in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There are 123 habitat fragments totalling an area of 798.6 sq.km with the confirmed occurrence of Nilgiri tahrs.
Among these, there are 20 fragments where the Nilgiri tahr has become locally extinct. Based on the latest species distribution data and the known connectivity, the entire species range is divided into five conservation blocks - Nilgiri Hills; Siruvani Hills; The High Ranges and Palani Hills; Srivilliputhur, Theni Hills and Tirunelveli Hills; and KMTR and Ashambu Hill.
“Efforts are being made to complete the population estimation in all the 123 fragmented habitats by April first week and begin the synchronised census around April 15. It’s a herculean task as teams have to trek the treacherous terrain. We have finished the task in the Anamalai tiger reserve, next will be Srivilliputhur-Megamalai followed by Kalakad Mundanthurai and Mudumalai tiger reserves,” project director M Ganesan told TNIE.
On radio-collaring, Ganesan said the plan was to capture two healthy and two animals with deformity (lymph nodes) each in Anamalai and Mudumalai tiger reserves. “We will radio-collar them and collect samples. This would give enormous data.”
During the third annual research conference held at the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation, WWF India scientist A Predit presented a study report assessing prevalence of gastrointestinal endoparasites in Nilgiri tahrs. According to a preliminary field investigation, it is suspected that the lumps could be of parasitic cysts of a worm species of the genus taenia. It suggests capture, clinical sample collection and examination to narrow the diagnosis.