The Eravikulam National Park has witnessed new births of the Nilgiri tahr and the authorities are preparing to close the park on January 31.
Munnar Wildlife Warden R. Lakshmi said on Friday that three new calves were sighted at Naikollimala under the park last week. She said the park would be closed from February 1 to April 1 to ensure a safe calving season. A survey of the new births and population in the park, the largest natural habitat of the mountain ungulate, would be held in April.
Range officer Job J. Neryamparambil said the most number of 155 births was reported last year. A peaceful ambience during the pandemic could be a reason for the rise in the population. As per the last survey in 2020, the Nilgiri tahr population in the park was 723.
“The mating season is in monsoon and the calving season extends from February to March,” he said.
The newborns would come down to tourist entry areas two weeks after birth. Though poaching was once a major issue, no cases had been reported in the past ten years. However, leopard, tiger, and wild dog prey on the calves.
He said Nilgiri tahrs from the park would also migrate to the Kurinji Sanctuary and the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Annual survey was also being done there. “Nilgiri tahrs prefer tender grass and 10 to 15% of the grassland in the park is subjected to controlled burning to grow tender grass. An increase in the tahr population does not create shortage of fodder,” he said adding that the park had a mountainous topography with large areas of grasslands. For the past few years, the survey was also being conducted in isolated areas with presence of the ungulate.
The number of calves in 2017 was 87 and 75 in 2018. Changes in climate conditions can influence the mating season.
