A Centre-State ‘rice deal’ that secured the shelter of Nilgiri tahrs in Munnar

 

SANDEEP VELLARAM, 

IDUKKI, the hindu, april 1 2025

Fifty years ago, the Eravikulam National Park (ENP), the pristine habitat of the Nilgiri tahr in Munnar, was almost lost to land redistribution. But an unusual backroom deal, sealed over wagons of rice, changed its fate forever.

On March 31, the park celebrated the golden jubilee of its declaration as the Eravikulam-Rajamala Wildlife Sanctuary. It was after a silent movement by a group of people that Eravikulam was declared a protected area. The sanctuary was created in 1975 to protect the Nilgiri tahr and it was named ENP in 1978.

According to records, around 1975, the government decided to give land to landless people. But the then Kanan Devan Hills Plantations managers J.C. Godsbery, Samar Singh and K.N. Chenkappa intervened and called Union government Secretary M.K. Ranjith Sinh to Munnar. After the visit, Mr. Sinh submitted a report to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In his book A Life with Wildlife – From Princely India to Present, Mr. Sinh said, “Indira Gandhi wrote a letter to the then Kerala Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon requesting him to declare the area a national park. The matter, however, was in limbo, with the State government remaining indecisive for fear of a political fallout.”

The book further describes how a rice deal resulted in the declaration of the park. “Minister of State for Food Anna Shaheb Shinde temporarily assumed additional responsibility for the portfolio of Forests and Wildlife. One day, he asked me if any forest-related issues were pending in Kerala and told me that Kerala Minister Baby John was arriving for a meeting. I told him about the Eravikulam issue and he asked me to join the meeting,” said the book.

40 wagons of rice

“During the meeting, Baby John informed him about the shortage of rice in Kerala and sought 40 rail wagons of rice. With a disarming smile, Shinde offered 25 wagons of rice and enquired about the national park declaration. Baby John, returning the smile, said that the State was actively considering the declaration... In the end, 36 wagons of rice were agreed upon in exchange for the protection of the sanctuary... Today, this exchange resembles a fanciful tale. But it did happen,” narrated the book.

Read more »

Climate change threatens the Nilgiri tahr

Aathira Perinchery Kochi

The Hindu,  July 11, 2018  

The antics of the sure-footed Nilgiri tahr are a treat to watch, but these endangered wild mountain goats – found only in high altitudes in India’s Western Ghats — could be losing their footing with increasing climate change. Even under moderate scenarios of future climate change, tahrs could lose approximately 60% of their habitats from the 2030s on, predict scientists in their study in Ecological Engineering, an international journal that emphasises the need for ecological restoration.
Scientists tried to predict how climate change can affect tahr habitat in the Ghats by mapping tahr distribution (using existing information and field surveys) and then using climatic factors of these locations to see where tahrs would be able to survive, given current and future climate change scenarios.
They found that tahr strongholds such as Chinnar, Eravikulam and Parambikulam in Kerala will still be stable habitats under different climate change scenarios.
However, other regions, including parts of Tamil Nadu’s Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and the wildlife sanctuaries of Peppara, Neyyar, Schenduruny and Srivilliputhur, could experience severe habitat loss in future; in total, approx. 60% of tahr habitat could be lost across the Ghats from 2030s onwards. There are only around 2,500 tahrs left in the wild and their population — “small and isolated, making them vulnerable to local extinction” — shows a “decreasing” trend, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Local threat

According to senior author Jayahari K. M. of Delhi-based World Resource Institute India, the study has to be seen in the context of this identified vulnerability; the impacts of climate change may further increase the chances of local extinction, he said. The study’s findings demand a comprehensive species management plan, said co-authors Sony R.K. and Sandeep Sen of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.
Scientists, including P. S. Easa, member of the National Board for Wildlife (who also co-authored the latest report on Kerala’s tahr populations), had drafted a tahr recovery plan in 2010. According to the report, only the Eravikulam and Mukurthi National Parks stress on tahr-centered conservation activities in their management plans. Though the recovery plan identified “conservation units” and made site-specific recommendations, how much of it has been implemented is unclear, said Dr. Easa.
“It is important that we focus our efforts on these conservation units and monitor isolated populations,” he said.

 

Read more »

Nilgiri tahr population in new pockets

K.S. Sudhi, KOCHI,  
The Hindu, September 4, 2015

Nilgiri tahr populations have been recorded from 17 hitherto unrecorded pockets across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, according to a non-governmental organisation. This is the only species of mountain ungulates that exists in southern India.

It was during a four-year-long survey, organised by the WWF and forest officials, that its presence in new and small pockets was identified. The mountain goats, endemic to the Western Ghats regions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, numbering 131 individuals, were counted, according to the WWF.

In Kerala, the populations were confirmed at nine locations, including Pathrakadavu, Atumudi, Koomban, Madumudi, and Chokramudi. The eight locations in Tamil Nadu included Nagamalai, Marakkal Malai, and Vasakku Malai.

The total population of the species in the region was estimated at 3,122. The single largest population of the species is in the Eravikulam National Park in Kerala. Though many unknown populations were believed to exist in small pockets throughout its range, they had not been surveyed due to the rugged and inaccessible terrain. Inclement weather also limited the understanding of the status and the distribution of the tahr across its range, according to the report.

The population status and distribution of the tahr across its entire distribution range were observed for four years from 2008The population of the species is believed to be declining due to “uncontrolled hunting, conflict with livestock grazing, and habitat loss,” according to the report, which will be released shortly.

The field surveys were carried out by Paul Peter Predit and Varun Prasath.

Read more »

Eravikulam grasslands at risk from invasive plants

Giji K. Raman
KATTAPPANA,  
The Hindu, November 8, 2014 

The grasslands of the Eravikulam National Park are under threat from two invasive alien plants.

Eagle fern and goatweed, native to California and Brazil, respectively, have spread across the grasslands, damaging the park’s flora and posing a threat to herbivores, especially the Nilgiri tahr, say recent studies.

The studies are a prelude to documenting the main aggressive plants of the State.

Eagle fern ( Pteridium aquilinum ), also known as bracken, is a large fern that grows to over three ft and readily colonises areas, hampering the growth of grasses and other plants. On the underside of the leaves is sori, which produces spores that, like seed, travel in the wind and create new colonies.

Goatweed ( Ageratum conyzoides ), known as Murianpacha locally, is a flowering plant that grows up to 80 cm.

“Both the plants are unpalatable to herbivores and make colonies, are highly invasive, and prevent the growth of grasses and other plants,” says T.V. Sajeev, Head, Department of Entomology, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi.

He says these plants have spread wide and could be hindering the growth of fodder for wild animals, especially the Nilgiri tahr.

Eagle fern is allelopathic, that is it lets out chemicals that keep other plants from growing. Because of the chemical effect, animals do not feed on its leaves.

The plant contains carcinogenic agents, and is a threat to human beings and animals.

K.G. Ashok Kumar, who led a team to document the two plants as part of the Save Biodiversity Campaign, told The Hindu that eagle fern was heavily distributed in the low-lying areas of the park and posed a bigger threat than expected.

The plant could replace natural vegetation, and once it spread was difficult to control.

He said the dry leaves of the eagle fern caught fire readily, and the ashes facilitated the growth of the plant.

Mr. Ashok Kumar said the two plants were dangerous to animals and human beings, and it would be a huge challenge for the authorities to control them.

Murianpacha, he said, was also found in parts of Kottayam, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, and Wayanad districts, and could grow in different soil types.

 

Read more »

New plan for Nilgiri tahr conservation

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
TheHindu, September 27, 2014 

A landscape-based conservation programme to extend the conservation of Nilgiri tahr outside the Eravikulam National Park is being formulated in the State for the long-term survival of the species.

Traditionally, tahr conservation has been centred around the Eravikulam park.

Five-year plan

The Forest Department has sought suggestions from wildlife conservationists for drawing up a five-year plan for the species. Under the conservation programme, which would be implemented with the support of research organisations and indigenous communities, the wildlife managers propose to “identify, assess, and map suitable Nilgiri tahr habitats, both in protected areas and non-protected areas, which require attention.”

A document drafted by the department points out that the annual population estimation conducted in the Eravikulam National Park is “nothing but an indication of total number of tahr and calves in the population.”

The “bounded count method” employed in the park cannot be applied for “isolated meta population (spatially separated populations of the same species), as the method requires knowledge of the home range of known herds,” it says.

Though tahr has “historically a much wider distribution in the southern Western Ghats, including a larger part of Tamil Nadu and southwestern Karnataka, the present geographical range does not exceed 400 km north-south from the Nilgiri Hills to the Kanyakumari Hills,” according to the document.

The document also stated that there are many unexplored tahr habitats in the State and many of the calving areas of species are located outside the protected areas even in Eravikulam.

 

Read more »

Nilgiri tahr sighted at new location

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hidnu, June 25, 2012  

Nilgiri tahr, the endangered mountain ungulate species, was sighted recently at a new location, the Adimali forest in Idukki district.

The animals were sighted by Forest guards who were surveying the area as part of the elephant census. The presence of the ungulates has been reported for the first time from the region, said N.C. Induchoodan, Divisional Forest Officer, Munnar.

Five animals were sighted on a steep hill at Muthanmudi, near the Choorakettan tribal settlement in the Adimali range of the Munnar Forest Division. A Forest guard of the Panamkutti Forest Station took photographs of two Nilgiri tahrs during the trip from the area, which is at a height of 1,700 metres.

“We did not expect to see tahrs in the region, which is at an aerial distance of 20 km from the Eravikulam National Park where two-thirds of the world’s mountain ungulate population is housed,” Dr. Induchoodan said.

The Forest Department will now conduct a detailed survey in the area in August after a let-up in rain. A few tahr enthusiasts have offered to join the survey, which is likely to be held during the Onam holidays, he said.

Endangered animal

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as Endangered “because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 2,500 mature individuals, there is an observed continuing decline in the number of mature individuals, and no sub-population contains more than 250 mature individuals.”

According to the IUCN Red list, “the present distribution of the Nilgiri tahr is limited to approximately 5 per cent of the Western Ghats in southern India, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu although not along the border between these two States. In the beginning of this century, the range probably extended northward at least to the Brahmagiri hills of southern Karnataka. The animals are more or less confined to altitudes of 1,200 to 2,600 metres, population as low as 900 may or may not represent pre-human extent of occurrence in elevation.”

Mohan Alampath, a member of the Caprine Species Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission of the IUCN, said the sighting of the animal in the Adimali region was exciting news for those interested in Nilgiri tahr. The area with large grasslands is an ideal habitat for the animals, said Mr. Alampath, who had also served as Wildlife Warden of the Eravikulam National Park.

The animals may establish in the area if offered proper protection from disturbances such as uncontrolled fire and cattle grazing. The two areas where the animals have established in India are the Eravikulam National Park in Kerala and the Mukuruti National Park in Tamil Nadu, he said.

The global population of the ungulate species is estimated to be between 2,000 and 2,500 individuals and shows a decreasing trend. They are found at high elevations on cliffs, grass-covered hills, and open terrain. Principal threats are habitat loss due to domestic livestock and spread of invasive plants and poaching. The population of these animals is small and isolated, making them vulnerable to local extinction. The species faces competition from domestic livestock, according to the IUCN.

Read more »