Kerala - Kochi   

Conserving mountain ungulates

Saving Mountain ungulates will save the grasslands of Eravikulam and the ecosystem of the national park. This is one of the messages that the organisers of the world congress on Mountain ungulates are trying to drive home.

Nilgiri tahrs being the only Mountain ungulate found in the south of Himalayas and Munnar being its natural habitat, the organisers of the conference are also attempting to raise the level of awareness on the importance of the species and the need to protect them.

"Eravikulam is also home to valuable and endemic flora and fauna. The conservation of Nilgiri tahrs will also ensure the conservation of the ecosystem," says Mohan Alambath, member, Caprinae Specialist Group IUCN (World Conservation Union).

The natural rainwater harvesting by the grasslands and the shola forest of Eravikulam supports many of the rivers that run through Tamil Nadu and Kerala, says Mr. Alambath.

Clifford G. Rice, of the Wildlife Management Program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, USA, is one of the internationally reputed Mountain ungulate specialists who will be sharing his wisdom on the Kerala's own Nilgiri tahrs at the world congress that will begin at Munnar on September 12.

The Congress is organised by the Caprinae Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of International Union for Conservation of Nature every four years to discuss the latest results of scientific studies, management and conservation initiatives of Mountain ungulates and its habitat.

K.S. Sudhi

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