Rajasthan
Raj Set To Reintroduce Whistling Dogs, Indian Bisons From Mp, Maharashtra | Jaipur News
Jaipur: The state forest department is planning to reintroduce dholes (also known as whistling dogs) in Rajasthan’s forests from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The state government is also considering a proposal to introduce gaurs (Indian bison).
The proposal was recently discussed by the senior forest officials with Bhupender Yadav, Union minister of environment, forests, and climate change during a meeting where Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also present. A senior official present in the meeting said, “The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) discussed the proposal to introduce dholes and Indian gaur from other states to Rajasthan. There is no specific time frame, but the proposal has been studied for reintroduction of a species in the state having similar eco-systems.” A forest official familiar with the development said the department has been working for long to introduce both these species and steps will be taken after NTCA evaluates it and finds the conditions for translocation are right and animals can sustainably thrive over in our forests.
Sources said according to the proposal, dholes, which are on the IUCN list of ‘endangered species’, will be reintroduced in either Sariska Tiger Reserve or Ranthambore. “These predators will be introduced in the ecosystem, where there is sufficient prey base. Whistling dogs are locally extinct from Ranthambore and Sariska primarily due to extermination. To save the endangered species, which has a population of around 1,500, it will be released in Rajasthan’s forests. As dhole packs compete with tigers and leopards for food, it’s certain that it will be reintroduced in newly declared tiger reserves.”
Forest officials also discussed the proposal to bring the Indian gaur, the largest wild bovine that is a protected species and included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List from Madhya Pradesh.
There are about 13,000 to 30,000 gaurs in the world with approximately 85% of the population in India. “In the recent past, it has been recorded that as the population of the wild bovine has increased, cases of man- animal conflict have increased. To increase the prey base in the newly declared reserve including Ramgarh, the Centre and state are keen to introduce these gaurs.”
The proposal was recently discussed by the senior forest officials with Bhupender Yadav, Union minister of environment, forests, and climate change during a meeting where Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also present. A senior official present in the meeting said, “The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) discussed the proposal to introduce dholes and Indian gaur from other states to Rajasthan. There is no specific time frame, but the proposal has been studied for reintroduction of a species in the state having similar eco-systems.” A forest official familiar with the development said the department has been working for long to introduce both these species and steps will be taken after NTCA evaluates it and finds the conditions for translocation are right and animals can sustainably thrive over in our forests.
Sources said according to the proposal, dholes, which are on the IUCN list of ‘endangered species’, will be reintroduced in either Sariska Tiger Reserve or Ranthambore. “These predators will be introduced in the ecosystem, where there is sufficient prey base. Whistling dogs are locally extinct from Ranthambore and Sariska primarily due to extermination. To save the endangered species, which has a population of around 1,500, it will be released in Rajasthan’s forests. As dhole packs compete with tigers and leopards for food, it’s certain that it will be reintroduced in newly declared tiger reserves.”
Forest officials also discussed the proposal to bring the Indian gaur, the largest wild bovine that is a protected species and included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List from Madhya Pradesh.
There are about 13,000 to 30,000 gaurs in the world with approximately 85% of the population in India. “In the recent past, it has been recorded that as the population of the wild bovine has increased, cases of man- animal conflict have increased. To increase the prey base in the newly declared reserve including Ramgarh, the Centre and state are keen to introduce these gaurs.”
