There has been a marginal increase in the Population of the Nilgiri Tahr in Nadu, an endangered species and the state animal, says a study taken up by World Wide Fund for Nature – India (WWF-I).
As per the study, which has been submitted to the state forest department, the number of individual animals in the state is estimated at 3,122, but a WWF-I source said the figure cannot be looked at in isolation as the Tahr would move frequently across the borders of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The population of the Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) is broadly distributed across the Nilgiri hills which include Mukurthi National Park, forest divisions of the Nilgiris and Gudalur, Siruvani hills, the upper ranges ofPalanihills, which includedAanamalaitiger reserve (ATR) in Pollachi, Munnar in Kerala and Chinnar in the ATR besides Kodaikanal forest division.
Grazing of cattle in the Tahr habitat, man-made forest fires, unauthorised trekking and other human activities such as firewood collection, camping and tourism have been identified as major threats to the survival of the species