In a move to intensify its campaign for wildlife conservation, Haryana Wildlife and Forest Department has planned to carry out a wildlife census in the state. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, is the nodal agency for wildlife counting, said VS Tanwar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Haryana.
Tanwar said, “Earlier, we had sent a proposal to WII, Dehradun to conduct wildlife survey in the state which it has accepted at a cost of Rs 39 lakh. We have forwarded WII’s proposal to the state government for financial approval. Counting of wildlife in the state will start once we get approval from the state government.”
The Chief Wildlife Warden said that the counting, being done for the second time in the state after five years, will be completed in four months by involving department officials, WII, Dehradun, officials and representatives of non-government organisations.
Haryana is a natural habitat of many species if animals and birds. There are some indications of the declining of certain bird species and, animals in this area.
The entire survey exercise is expected to take about four months and the estimated survey cost of Rs 39 lakh includes expenses of installing camera traps, wild animal surveillance systems, ascertaining the availability of prey species, Proof of Performance (PoP) for tracking the pug marks of animals including leopard, leopardess and cubs, labour costs, transport charges and expenditure on hiring field biologists among others, Tanwar said, adding the census will take around four months and the final result will be released after a thorough study of collected data.
The Chief Wildlife Warden said, “Before the counting starts, we will impart adequate training to all the staff and those who would be part of the exercise. The counting of these animals would also help the forest and wildlife departments to push their agenda of protecting bird species, animals and more forest areas.”
The department has taken several steps to protect wild animals. Cases against poachers are being lodged under Wild Life Conservation Act for hunting and attacking these animals for various reasons. The counting study will help to identify key areas where mitigation options are needed to minimise man-animal conflict.
Another senior department officer said, “The previous wildlife census in the state was held around five years ago in 2014. Normally, such counting is being done in four years. The distribution, numbers and behaviour of birds and animals are changing over the period of time because of various reasons. The population of the black partridge (kala teetar), Haryan state bird, sparrow, butterfly, hog deer or pada deer, whit nape tilt, leopards among others has been decreasing over the past few years," he added.
Many species have already disappeared and many more are following the same path. The number of individuals across species of birds and animals has declined as well in many cases due to human activity, especially since the industrial revolution, severely affecting genetic variation, biodiversity, among other issues.
Officials said as of now, there are no exact figures of the population of many bird species and animals in the state. "After completion of the counting, more effective measures would be taken to conserve wildlife in state, an official said, adding the census would focus on counting of bird species, animals like deer, Nilgai (blue bull), monkey, peacock, leopard and others.
"It has been observed that migratory birds from China, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tibet, Siberia and Iraq start thronging the wetland in October-mid. The winged visitors return to their native countries in March with the onset of the spring season. Such birds will also be counted if counting starts in above months," the official added.
Haryana has two national parks, eight wildlife sanctuaries, two wildlife conservation areas, four animal and bird breeding centers, one deer park and three zoos, all of which are managed by the Haryana Wildlife and Forest department.