Kamal Ghorui
SRINAGAR: A census to count the elusive Kashmir Markhor, the world’s largest wild mountain goat, will begin in early Feb as J&K’s wildlife department seeks more data on the population of the species that is categorised as ‘near threatened’.“The census will start from Kazinag National Park,” said Dr Tanushree Srivastava, senior manager and head of Jammu and Kashmir projects at Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which is conducting the census in collaboration with the wildlife department. WTI is a well-known wildlife conservation group that works in close coordination with Union and state govts.Considered to be the largest wild goat in the world, in India the Markhor is found only in J&K. According to Srivastava, the last census was carried out in 2023, during which WTI estimated the Markhor population in Kazinag National Park to be 221, while the sightings in Hirpora and Tatakutti wildlife sanctuaries remained very low.Kazinag National Park lies on the northern bank of the River Jhelum near the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district, about 70 km northwest of Srinagar. The Hirpora sanctuary is located in the Pir Panjal range, 70 km southwest of Srinagar, in Kashmir’s Shopian district, and the Tatakutti sanctuary in Jammu’s Poonch district.In 2004, WTI carried out the first survey to assess the Markhor population and distribution in all its historical sites. Dr Srivastava said it was after WTI’s field surveys that Markhor was recorded in the areas adjacent to the Hirpora sanctuary after 60 years. “We follow the double-observer survey method to estimate the Markhor population, as this method has been globally recognised,” she said. Understanding the population status of the species is crucial for planning future conservation efforts, she added.As Markhor inhabits rugged terrain in areas close to the LoC, WTI needs special permission from the Army for the census work due to security concerns. “The Army has been very supportive in giving due permissions to survey these areas, and also providing full security during the exercise,” Srivastava said.
