Human-wildlife conflict: Kerala plans relocation of Nilgiri tahrs from Eravikulam

Kochi: Kerala Forest Department is planning to relocate a section of the endangered Nilgiri tahr from Eravikulam National Park as part of a strategy to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Officials said the move aims to prevent the animals from straying into human settlements in search of food. A select number of tahrs will be shifted from Eravikulam to other areas in the state with suitable habitats.

The plan involves rearing and breeding the relocated animals in forest-adjacent zones within conflict-prone areas, and subsequently releasing them into the wild once they have adapted to the ecosystem.

The Nilgiri tahr is an endangered species, and Eravikulam National Park in Munnar has been central to its conservation. According to the latest survey, there are 2,668 Tahrs across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, 1,365 in Kerala and 1,303 in Tamil Nadu. Of these, 841 are in Eravikulam. Its populations are also found in Mukurthi National Park and Grass Hills in Tamil Nadu near the Kerala border.

Once widespread across the Western Ghats, Nilgiri Tahrs have disappeared from most of their former habitats. Last year, three Tahrs were sighted in the Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary in Thrissur.