According to a news report in a leading local daily, Kashmir's brave policemen have saved innocent villagers from the most feared of all himalayan predators - the Musk Deer. Apparently the deer could have used its soulful brown eyes to lure people into its cunningly laid trap of death by an overdose of cuteness. This report, attributed to a leading news agency, would well be worth a laugh but for the realisation that in Kashmir even forest officials, policemen, and news reporters and their editors are absolutely clueless when it comes to wildlife.

The second news report mentions that the "Wildlife Department has directed people living in villages adjacent to forests to remain cautious against the movement of wild animals" - all wild animals, and not just bears and leopards who are the only large predators in the valley. In an earlier entry this blog had warned of the risk that due to the increased contact between humans and predators, all wildlife was at risk of being mercilessly killed on sight unless awareness campaigns were started for the concerned agencies and the general public.

From the news report:

A musk deer, who had come down from the forest following heavy snowfall recently, was captured by police in the outskirts of the city early this morning, official sources said......
Later, the captured musk deer was handed over to wildlife authorities at Dachigam.
This was for the second time, any wild animal was caught before attacking people in the Valley.
......


Update: An example of wildlife management in Kashmir:
Leopards death sparks protest


News Links:
Musk deer captured
You may have to scroll down to the 8th news item for the musk deer story.
Leopard captured in Islamabad

Image courtesy Wikipedia Commons

This weekend I recorded the 150th bird species I have personally observed in Kashmir. This checklist is based on birds I have observed in the valley and positively identified. The list includes some rarities like the Kashmir Nuthatch, Isabelline Wheatear and Chaffinch.

If there is any element of doubt regarding the identification the sightings have not been included in this list. AFAIK this is the most comprehensive list of confirmed bird sightings in Kashmir.


The Birds of Kashmir Checklist

Another reason to celebrate the festive season.


Image copyright Dr. Bakshi Jehangir. All rights reserved.

Record numbers of migratory waterfowl have been sighted in Kashmir's wetlands this year. On Christmas Day, I observed a multitude of migratory ducks like mallards, teals, shovellers, gadwalls, pochards, etc and a few flocks of Greylag Geese and Ruddy Shelducks at the Hokersar sanctuary. The highlight of the trip were the endangered Pallas's Fishing Eagles soaring majestically in the sky.

Efforts being made to improve Hokarsar are immediately noticeable. Leaky, dilapidated boats have been converted into smart houseboats, observation platforms have been repaired and new ones added, pools cleared and flagged. I had the chance to interact with Dr. Mir Mansoor, the Chief Wildlife Biologist who was monitoring the wetland for evidence of Bird Flu. We had a very interesting discussion on a variety of topics related to wildlife and Kashmir's fragile ecology. Clearly he and Kashmir's Wildlife Warden, Abdul Rauf Zargar take their responsibilities very seriously. More power to them.


P.S: Who gave permission for a housing colony on the highway adjoining Hokersar? The Hokersar Sanctuary is rapidly being degraded for a number of reasons [mostly human-created and ultimately solvable] and might not last in its present form for very long. This fresh assault may be the final nail in its coffin.



News Links:
6 lakh avian guests arrive in valley

Incessant silt deposition poses major threat to Hokersar

I have always been fascinated by birds. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of ethereal paradise flycatchers in my garden, and bejewelled kingfishers in the marshes and reed beds that were part of my grandmothers orchards on the shores of the Dal Lake - now sadly filled-in to build concrete monstrosities in the name of development. While doing postgraduation in Jammu, I would often notice hummingbirds feeding on the Bougainvilleas in my garden. Since hummingbirds are not supposed to exist in the Old World, I dug out my old bird books once I was home but could not find any references to hummingbirds. Very little Kashmir-specific information was available elsewhere so I decided to create the Birds of Kashmir website. A few years have elapsed since, but the hummingbird mystery remained unsolved,
Uptil now that is.
While surfing the net, I came across a picture of the Macroglossum stellatarum, otherwise known as the 'Hummingbird Hawkmoth'. My mystery hummingbirds were actually a large species of hovering, nectar-sucking moths active in the daytime.
Now, if only someone could confirm white peacocks on the President of India's lawns :-)


Learn more about:
Hummingbird Hawkmoths

Image copyright Wikipedia Commons

The Hangul or Kashmir Stag (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is the only surviving race of the Red Deer family in the Indian sub-continent since the Shou (Cervus elaphus wallichi) of Bhutan is now considered extinct by experts. The Hangul is listed as an endangered species in the Red Data Book of the international Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Dachigam is home to the last viable population of Hangul in the world.

The Hangul was once distributed widely in the mountains of Kashmir with small populations outside Jammu Kashmir in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. A population of more than 2000 Hanguls had been recorded in 1947. In recent years the Hangul population has drastically declined from its past distribution range, and reportedly a census conducted by the State Wild Life Protection Department in and around Dachigam had recorded 143 animals with only 17 males. Shockingly, by the end of the week-long survey, the number had dropped to 137 with the death of six animals. The latest survey done in March 2006 by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun put the number at 190 Hanguls.

According to Regional Wildlife Warden Kashmir, Farooq Jeelani, the decline of the Hangul is due to a combination of factors including overgrazing, biotic interference, sheep rearing and drastic shift in predator-prey ratio due to a sudden increase in the leopard population inside the Dachigam park. While catch-phrases like 'habitat management','long term Hangul conservation project', 'artificial breeding centre', 'RFID tagging' are freely being used in seminars and press-releases, this noble animal is softly passing into extinction.

May you rest in peace, Noble Hangul.


Update:
Kashmiri Hangul faces extinction threat

News Links:
Kashmir stag on verge of extinction

A case for Hangul