The Hindu : Kerala News : Season’s first tahr calf arrives, a bit late

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Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
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Season’s first tahr calf arrives, a bit late

K.S. Sudhi

Experts worried over delayed birth of calf at Eravikulam Park.

KOCHI: The first Nilgiri tahr calf of the season was born at Eravikulam National Park on Tuesday. With more births expected in the coming days, the park would soon be closed for the safe calving of animals, said Roy P. Thomas, the Wildlife Warden of the Park.

The new calf would add to the existing population of 686 Nilgiri tahrs in the park. Though the news has brought cheer to the Tahr enthusiasts, they are also worried about the delayed birth in the park. Many blame it on the climate change.

For the last few decades, the first tahr births were invariably reported during the first week of January. This time, it has gone to the last week of January, said Mohan Alembath, member of the IUCN Caprinae specialist group.

Monsoon plays an important part in the lives of this endangered species. Tahr specialists point out the influence of monsoon on its calving season. The animal’s rutting season coincides with the monsoon. Tahrs usually give birth from January to mid-February when the heat-induced stress will be much less. If the rainy season gets prolonged, it will also shift the rutting and birth seasons, experts pointed out.

Erratic and prolonged monsoon have affected the calving season of the tahrs. This year, the birth was delayed by a few weeks, said Mr. Thomas. Nilgiri tahr, which is endemic to Western Ghats, is found only in 50 to 60 localities, distributed over six high elevation landscapes in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The population of the species is estimated to be around 2,000, according to experts.

New haunts

The local populations are often found in the form of herds of not more than 10 animals, said an article in the recent issue of Current Science, co-authored by R.J. Ranjit Daniels, P.S. Easa and Mr. Alembath. Small and isolated populations of the tahr are found in a few places like Ponmudi and Palamala area of Nelliyampathi. Local population of the animals are also found outside the park in revenue land surrounded by tea gardens in Chokramudi in Devikulam area.

Problem of poaching

Conservationists are worried about the poaching of the animals in areas outside the protected zone. A conservation strategy for improving the habitat and quality and connectivity between marginal and core populations within the landscapes was needed for protecting the isolated populations, they said.

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