India’s first project to conserve Nilgiri Tahr takes shape

Subject: Environment

Context: :

India’s first Nilgiri Tahr project to conserve the State animal of Tamil Nadu will be taken up at a cost of ₹25.14 crores.

About the project:

Announced during the Tamilnadu state budget 2022-23.
The project will be implemented over the span of five years- 2022-27.
The project will have nine components, including bi-annual synchronised surveys across the division, diagnosis and treatment for affected individuals and the Shola grassland restoration pilot in Upper Bhavan.
Project Nilgiri Tahr of Tamil Nadu Forest aims to restore the fragmented habitat, especially Shola grasslands where it thrives, reintroduce the Tahr population in its historic habitat and ensure proper rehabilitation facilities are provided.

About Nilgiri Tahr:

The Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is an ungulate that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.
It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
Despite its local name, it is more closely related to the sheep of the genus Ovis than the ibex and wild goats of the genus Capra. It is the only species in the genus Nilgiritragus.
Its population has been estimated at 3,122 in the wild, as per the WWF-India census of 2015.
Eravikulam National Park is home to the largest population.

Distribution and habitat:

The Nilgiri tahr can be found only in India.
It inhabits the open montane grassland habitat of the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion.
At elevations from 1,200 to 2,600 m (3,900 to 8,500 ft), the forests open into large grasslands interspersed with pockets of stunted forests, locally known as sholas.
These grassland habitats are surrounded by dense forests at lower elevations.

Threats include:

Primarily threatened by habitat loss and disturbance caused by invasive species, and in some sites by livestock grazing, poaching and fragmentation of the landscape.