Species Recovery

1. Species Recovery Rahul Kaul Wildlife Trust of India

2. Our Earth

4. How many species do we have? Source: UNEP-WCMC 2000

5. Rainforests cover only 7% of the Earth's land area but are believed to contain over 50% of the world’s species.

6. Are all species integral to maintaining life on Earth? There is still much debate as to whether species act as rivets on a plane, where the loss of each rivet weakens the aircraft, or whether species are like the people on board – Only a few (captain and other crew members) are necessary and the rest are like passengers, superfluous.

7. Ecosystems • Ecosystem Processes • Energy flows • Ecosystem services

8. Valuation of the world’s ecosystem services and global capital (Constanza et al. 1997)

9. India’s Biodiversity India has about 0.64% of world’s landmass but has a total of about 870,000 species (7.09% )

10. Reason to worry! • Present phase of species loss seen as the sixth wave of mass extinctions. • Argued that we may lose 50% of our species in the next few decades. • Estimate by some indicate that we may be loosing 27000 species annually.

11. Species Loss • Habitat loss • Poaching for trade and • subsistence hunting • Invasive species • Climate Change • Use of pesticides • Hybridization Extinction

12. Rarity • One important co-relate of extinction vulnerability • A species that is rare is more likely to become extinct than the one which is wide-spread • Therefore understanding the patterns of rarity remains central to conservation of the species

13. Rarity • Rabinowitz 1981 • Range • Populations • Habitat specificity

14. Rarity Seven Forms of Rarity based on three traits after Rabinowitz, Cairns and Dillon 1986

16. Pheasants of India

18. Red listing by IUCN Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable Near threatened Conservation dependent Least concern

19. IUCN Threat Categories

20. IUCN Threat Categories

21. Threatened Species of India(973)

22. Species Recovery

23. Species Recovery • The aim of species recovery should be to help conserve and reverse the declines of the target species. • This can be achieved by: • identifying the needs of individual species • to understand how to reverse declines, • undertaking practical action, including • reintroductions, to help threatened species • populations to recover.

24. Species Recovery in India The government of India under its Integrated Development of Critical Wildlife Areas has identified 16 species for recovery. Guidelines for submission to MOEF are available from their website

25. Species under consideration Mammals (9) Snow Leopard, Hangul, NilgiriTahr, Asian Wild Buffalo, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer Birds (5) Vultures, Bustard (including Floricans), Edible Nest Swiftlet, Jerdon’s courser Nicobar Megapode Marine (3) Dolphin, Marine Turtles, Dugongs,

26. Recovery of the Wild Buffalo in Chhattisgarh

27. Wild Buffalo • Is an endangered Bovid • Present in India, Nepal Bhutan, Western Thailand and Cambodia and Vietnam • In India they are found in the Central India and the north east, predominantly in Assam • Is the state animal of Chhattisgarh • Precursor to all domestic buffalos

28. Past Distribution

29. Present Distribution

30. Aim • Research • Amelioration of threats • Steps to speed up recovery To secure wild buffalo in their natural habitats in Chhattisgarh Strategy

31. Research • Populations and distributions • Ecological requirements • Assessment of threats

32. Distribution

33. Populations

34. The numbers

35. Study area

36. Ecology of wild buffalo in Udanti • Where are they distributed? • What habitats they like? • What foods they eat?

37. Home Ranges

38. Habitat Concentrated in the central parts of the sanctuary, occupying the lowlands Pre-dominantly forest species, coming out only at night All individuals showed use of habitats in proportion to the availability of vegetation types like dense forest, open forest and non forest.

39. Food • Buffalo is a grazer and needs grassy patches • Feeds largely onHeteropogoncontortus, Themedatriandra, and Bothricholoa sp. Digitariagranularis, Eragrostispilosa, Imperatacylindrica • Also indulge in crop raiding

40. Threats To Animals: • Killing/poaching • Numbers • Landuse/disturbance To Habitats • lack of water availability during key periods • Lack of feeding areas • Fire

41. Poaching Mainly from Paradh Killing also due to crop retaliation • Improve patrolling • Monitoring by local team of trackers • Crop depredation compensation

42. Numbers Augmentation • Conservation breeding • Translocation and restocking

43. Conservation breeding • The only surviving female was taken into captivity • She was mated with three different wild males and produced three male calves • One male calf was released into the wild and is being monitored.

44. Patchy distribution of grassland in MH adjoining to Indravati TR Wallowing points of Wild buffalo in MH adjoining to Indravati TR Translocation • Female buffalos from adjoining populations

45. Translocation From Assam?? Wild Kaziranga and Udanti buffalos may be genetically similar to allow translocations.

46. Human presence • Human settlements and expanding villages • All the flat open grasslands seem to be farmland now • Wild buffalos pushed to the forests • Relocation in the offing • Domestic buffalos • Graze in the sanctuary, use the water holes and drive away the wild buffalos. • Male buffalos find mating opportunities near villages • Hybridisation and possible disease transmission • Buffalo exchange scheme by the government

47. Availability of water

48. Invasive weed species

49. Fire

50. Other Initiatives The role of media Expertise (national and International)