Nature and Science

So far as natural habitats o, Manas is unusual - it is a wildlife sanctuary national park biosphere hotspot a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Project Tiger and Project Elephant reserve. Located in Assam. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 390 sq.km. The sanctuary is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park of neighbouring country Bhutan. Located on Himalayan foothills, the sanctuary is fed both by monsoon rains and the Manas River it spans. The fertile Manas region is marked by riverine tracts rigged mountains, forested hills, tropical evergreen forests, mixed moist and dry deciduous forests and alluvial grasslands it nurtures about 60 mammal species over 40 reptile species and 500 species of birds. These include many globally threatened species too.

The danger tag

Pride of Assam, the Manas Wild Sanctuary became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. But that joy was to be short lived in only seven years (1992), the sanctuary was places in the “danger” list by UNESCO due to several reasons budding poaching, general infrastructure degradation and the ethnic strife that dominated the region. And that tag was not easy to shake. It took several years of concerted effort from local activists and the government to in prove the conditions in the sanctuary Thong did take a while, the efforts eventually did pay off - in 2011, the region was struck off the danger let. Sadly a study in 2018 showed that Manas was one of the over 100 UNESCO World Heritage sites severely damaged by human activity The study also showed it had the most intense increase in human pressure.

Wildlife

Apart from the tiger and the Asian elephant the sanctuary hosts the greater one-horned rhino, swamp deer, pygmy hog, hispid hare, golden langur, clouded leopard, Assam roofed turtle, sloth bear and wild water buffalo. The bird species found here include pochards, francolins, nightjar, coucals, crakes, thickknees, plovers, jacanas, sandpipers, buttonquails, kites, buzzards, eagles, vultures, harriers, hornbills, woodpeckers, barbet, bee-eaters, kestrels, falconets, falcons, parakeets, pipits, buntings, tits, martins, starlings, garganey, mallards, common teals, little grebes, Bengal floricans and greater Adjutants. In addition Manas displays high plant diversity with at least 80 tree species 45 shrubs 35 under 170 herbs and 35 climbers. Among these, the many varieties of orchids ferns and grasses make for vital forage for the hooved mammals roaming the region

Threat

After poaching one of the main areas of concerns about the region has been invasive species. This is not an animal but two plant varieties from South America According to a 2019 study conducted by four researchers. the impact of the plant species Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha - cannot be ignore The study says they are found in the Terai grasslands of the region and have been growing and expanding at an alarming rate over the years of these species continue to grow at the current rate the study said that over 15 of the total Manas area and 30 of the areca nuts are likely to come under the invasion This would mean significant reduction in the habitats of animals such as the Asiatic wild buffalo, one horned rhino, swamp deer and hog deer, and the eventual decline in their population.

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Colourful carpets

The undulating terrain of Eravikulam is marked by rolling grasslands, hillocks and shola forests. It is dominated by a stunning range of balsams and orchids. The region is also one of the best places to catch the neelakurinji in all its glory. A plant endemic to the Western Ghats the neelakurinji blooms once every 12 years to cover the region in carpets of a purplish blue pink colour. The most recent blooming of this flower happened here in 2018. Considered one of the rarest flowers due to its limited flowering window, the neelakurinji is said to have neither any fragrance nor medicinal value.

Bloom in doom?

Scientifically called Strobilanthes kunthianus, the neelakurinji was first documented in 1838, and has bloomed as many as 16 times since. They were once abundant. But now, just like the Nilgiri tahr, they have disappeared from much of their earlier range on the Western Ghats. At the heart of this problem is loss of habitat. Hilly grasslands are the homes of these plants. But according to the National Geographic "plantations of eucalyptus and acacia. Agriculture, and most recently, tourism have "stripped the grasslands in which kurinji grows. A study from 2018 "looked at satellite imagery in one part of the Western Ghats from the past 40 years and found that grasslands shrank 66 percent. It also showed that as grasslands decreased so did timber plantations increase.

With global warming and climate change already altering or destroying habitats and their inhabitants, additional human-induced destruction, deforestation and development activities around ecologically fragile and significant areas only add to existing problems.

Located in the Idukki district of Kerala and covering an area of nearly 100 sq.km., the Eravikulam National Park got its status in 1978 for its ecological faunal, geomorphological and zoological significance". Overlooking the Park is Anamudi, one of south India's highest peaks. Interspersed with grasslands and sholas, the region receives ample rainfall during the monsoons, making it an ideal habitat for wildlife. The Park is also synonymous with the endangered Nilgiri tahr and the blooming of the neelakurinji.

Bad news

Though the State animal of Tamil Nadu, the largest population of Nilgiri tahr is now found in neighbouring State Kerala's Eravikulam National Park. While these ungulates were once spread across several regions of the Western Ghats, today they are found only in a few fragmented areas of these two States. And there's more bad news for this population climate change. A study in 2018 analysed as many as 10 tahr habitats and different climate scenarios for three time periods - 2030s, 2050s and 2080s. The peer reviewed study published in the journal "Ecological Engineering" conducted there would be a drastic loss of tahr habitat in all three scenarios - a maximum of more than 60% in each time period. While population in areas such as Eravikulam may not face great threats, the concerns are more for the smaller and isolated populations in other areas.

...and some good news!

As the nation was braving the COVID-induced lockdown in April, there was some encouraging news coming in from Eravikulam. A survey held by the Forest Department that month showed that the number of Nilgiri tahr in the region had increased by 155 - newborns! With that the total count of the ungulates stood at 723. Around the same time last year, the numbers were 526 (with 91 newborns). Newspaper reports attribute the increase in newborns to the decline in human interference in forest areas". It's the mating season for the stars now, and with no human interference still the numbers of newborns are expected to go up in the next season too.

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Part of Project Tiger, both Pench and Kanha are national parks located in Madhya Pradesh. Apart of Pench extends into neighbouring Maharashtra. Together they span over 2,500 sq.km., dominated by moist peninsular sal forests, tropical moist mixed deciduous mixed forest, an abundance of bamboo and trees such as teak and jamun, and green carpets of grassy patches and shrub. The combined regions teem with wildlife – they are a haven for over 1,000 species of plants, animals, and at least 300 species of resident and migrant birds.

Wildlife

A large number of bird species, including ducks, geese, shelducks, pochards, quails, grebes, nightjars, swifts, crakes, storks, herons, ibises, thickknees, plovers, lapwings, jacanas, sandpipers, redshanks, buttonquails, vultures, buzzards, harriers, hornbills, falcons, parakeets, minivets, orioles, cuckooshrikes, pipits, wagtails, buntings, prinias, nuthatches, starlings, flycatchers, thrushes, and wheatears, can be spotted here. Apart from their impressive population of tigers, the regions also nurture leopards, barasingha, mouse deer, barking deer, chital, sambar, bear, black buck, blue bull, chousingha (four-horned antelope), langur, etc.

Kanha: Room for improvement

Considered one of the better managed national parks, Kanha does have a lot of room for improvement. According to a study by the Indian Institute of Forest Management in 2019, one of the areas that need attention is the inadequate number of guards at night, as it opens up potential for poaching. In addition, there appears to be a need for wider and higher use of technology in monitoring the forest areas of the park. It is also said that some regions of the park lack proper fencing, which again unwittingly aids in poaching. It is noted for its work on tigers and the swamp deer species called barasingha. However, there are a lot of other species too that call the forests their home. The study says that other vulnerable species such as black buck and mouse deer need more attention too, and this can be done since the park has the means to do it. Finally, since there are a lot of villagers surrounding the park, human-animal conflicts do occur. Efforts must be taken to resolve this, though usually villagers seem kinder to carnivores attacking their livestock than to herbivores destroying their crops.

Pench: The problem of plenty

In Pench, the very forests that inspired the classic “Jungle Book”, the good news is the bad news. A few years ago, there were reports that pointed to an increase in the tiger population at Pench. While this was heartening news, it also meant that the exact same area (or even less!) will be shared by more number of tigers, animals known for their territorial integrity. This is a problem because the Pench forests are not contiguous with its neighbouring region Kanha where the tigers could move into. In the face of severe space crunch, animals could end up killing each other in territorial fights, stray into human habitation leading to human-animal conflict or the animal could fall into the hands of poachers. Also, the management of Pench is complicated by the fact that it is spread across two States. Each State is said to be functioning differently, though it is just one contiguous forest. Remember, humans create boundaries, not Nature? For instance, when issues such as poaching or human-animal conflict come up, the system to resolve these could be complex due to the issue of boundary and State-based action.

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