A heavily defended barrier built along India's disputed border with Pakistan is curbing the movement of wild bears and leopards which were earlier able to roam through forests in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir. According to news reports, these animals are now attacking Kashmiris living in isolated hamlets.

News Link:
Fenced In, Kashmir's Leopards, Bears Stalk Villages

UPDATE [December 17 2006] Black Bear Burnt Alive
In an unfortunate follow-up incident, the torching of a live Black Bear in Tral was shown live on TV on December 17 2006 by a private TV news channel. I had to change the channel quickly because my kids were absolutely shocked by the video feed. The bear was beaten and then set aflame reportedly in the presence of J&K State Wildlife Department officials. While the department blames the people and police for the incident, the government has ordered a probe and attached four officials.

UPDATE [January 17 2007] Leopard stoned to death
Private TV news channels broadcast disturbing footage of a frenzied mob stoning a leopard to death in Chak Chotipora village of Pulwama district of Kashmir on January 17 2007.

In 2006, a dozen people lost their lives in 70 incidents of what is being termed the man-animal conflict across Kashmir .These deaths led to the retaliatory killing of 25 wild animals, mainly leopards, across the valley. Urgent action in compliance with the National Wildlife Action Plan and IUCN's Species Survival Commission recommendations needs to be taken to avoid these incidents in the future. The Wildlife Department officials need proper equipment and training since man-animal conflicts may increase in the future.

Equally important is the need to educate and reassure a panicky populace which has come to believe that all large carnivores like bears and leopards are man-eaters and have to be killed on sight. When human killings do occur, the animal responsible should be dealt with swiftly to avoid a mass fear pychosis from developing against all wild animals in the affected areas.


News Link:
When humans roasted a live bear!
Video available here:
Bear burning in India
Leopard killed in Shopian

Learn More:
Man-Animal Conflict in Kashmir
IUCN Species Survival Commission

Image © Dr. Bakshi Jehangir

' ..and then there were none' -a documentary film by a Kashmiri film maker, Syed Fayaz Ahmed was screened during Kashmir CMS Vatavaran 2006 at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre in September 2006. The film investigates the brutal hunting of otters in the Wular lake and the Periyar sanctuary in Kerala. According to Fayaz, otters have been wiped out from the Wular lake, where they once thrived.

During chilhood visits to the Delhi Zoo, the animals I would be most keen on observing were the hyperactive, restless otters, after probably the psychotic 'howler' monkeys [actually the Hoolock Gibbon, the only ape in India] whose calls we would echo into the night to the annoyance of the neighbours. I dont recall ever having observed an otter in the wild in Kashmir.

Unfortunately for the otters, since they are not as glamorous a species as the tiger or snow leopard, less people are concerned about otter poaching or the illegal trade in their skins. The destruction of wetland habitats in Kashmir may also contribute to the loss of this enchanting mammal once considered to be the ambassador of the wetlands.

R.I.P, Dear Otter.


News Link:
Otters: Dressed to Kill

Learn more about the Otter:
Link 1
Link 2

Image Courtesy : Wikipedia Commons

The great Mahseer is the largest member of the carp family in the world. Mahseer were the undisputed kings of game fish in Kashmir's himalayan streams till the Mangla Dam in Pakistan set-up an impenetrable barrier that prevented them from migrating to Kashmir.

The good news for die-hard anglers like my friend Dr. Omar Kirmani is that Kashmir's Fisheries Department is breeding the fish and hopes to restock streams with the red-finned Mahseer [Tor tor]. Weighing over a hundred pounds and almost 9ft in length, the Mahseer will surely give the the good doctor a more serious workout than the puny trout he currently chases.


News Link:
Kashmir's Monster Mahseer Carp Set to Make Comeback

Learn more about:
The Mahseer
Fishes of Kashmir

Image © Dr. Omar Kirmani

The magnificent spiral-horned Markhor is the largest member of the goat family in the world. The Markhor is listed as 'critically endangered' as per the IUCN Red List. In India, it is included in the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act 1978.

The Markhor, whose name means snake-eater in Persian, was highly prized by British 'sportsmen' as a trophy, with the result that Walter Lawrence reported that it had been 'shot out' from the Pir Panjal and Kaj-i-Nag by the late nineteenth century. The Markhor made a recovery of sorts [25000 animals in 1970] till renewed interest in trophy hunting, combined with the use of its meat as a delicacy and horns in traditional chinese medicine, led to its near-extinction in Kashmir by 1990.

The Kaj-i-Nag [12000ft+] in the north-west is home to the Kashmir subspecies (Capra falconeri cashmeriensis) of the Markhor which is characterised by horns having two complete spirals. During 2004-05, 155 Markhors were sighted in 35 herds in Kaj-i-Nag and Hirpura by the 'silent drive count' jointly conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), Nature Conservation Society of Mysore, the J&K Wildlife Department, and the Environment and Ecology Cell of the Indian Army. A population of 280-330 Pir Panjal Markhors has been estimated over the entire range.


News Link:
LoC ceasefire brings back the mountain goats

Image Courtesy : Wikipedia Commons

The majestic Hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is the only surviving race of the Red Deer family of Europe in the Indian sub-continent since the Shou (Cervus elaphus wallichi) of Bhutan is now considered extinct by experts.

The Hangul is listed as 'endangered' in the IUCN Red List. In India, it is included in the Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act 1978. Dachigam National Park is home to the last viable population of Hangul in the world which dwindled from 2000 animals in 1947 to a distressing 170 in 2003. Latest figures indicate that the population may be well below 150 animals with less than 20 adult males.

Wildlife authorities in Kashmir are now planning to fit the Hangul with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars and also to set up captive breeding centres and deer parks in Pahalgam and Gulmarg. Finally the authorities are thinking of more logical schemes than than the earlier hare-brained scheme of exchanging the Hanguls for monkeys from other Indian states. Read this link:
Monkey outweighs Hangul


News Link:
Kashmir's rare red deer to get hi-tech protection