03/05/09
Wildlife Dept seeks official consent to capture protected species
Link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=165573
Wildlife Dept seeks official consent to capture protected species
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
By Jan Khaskheli
Karachi
Following the request by the Karachi Zoo administration for providing pairs of various species, the Sindh Wildlife Department has sought the consent of higher authorities for capturing these animals from protected areas.
Department Conservator Hussain Bux Bhagat told The News that the Zoo administration had provided them a long list of wild animals they required, but since enough stock was not available in the wild they were looking for other options to capture these animals. Most of the species the Zoo has asked for exist in �protected� areas, he said. �After obtaining official go-ahead we can take further steps to get these animals and provide them to the Zoo,� he added.
�It will take time, but we have asked the Zoo administration to make arrangements for tranquilizer guns, relevant experts and transport because we do not have this facility,� he said. �These animals are usually captured from protected areas in winter.�
The list the Zoo administration had sent to the provincial Wildlife Department, includes: Hog deer (three pairs), black buck (two pairs), Chankara (five), Sindh Ibex (four), Urial (three), black bear (one), hyena (two), fox (two), painted stork (two) and flamingoes (three pairs). Apart from this, the Zoo posses singles of many species and it needs their pairs for breeding.
According to Bhagat, wolves, foxes and hyenas are the most threatened species in the province. There are hardly a few pairs of wolf in the Khirthar National Park and other protected areas since the population of these animals has disappeared from the areas due to increasing human penetration and decreasing forest cover in the region.
Zoos in Punjab and NWFP are being managed by the provincial wildlife departments, whereas in Islamabad, Karachi and Hyderabad, zoos are looked after by their respective district governments. �We have nothing to do with the Karachi and Hyderabad zoos administratively but we can provide them with wild animals and birds that they need,� he said.
Presently, the Karachi Zoo is lacking pairs of various mammals, reptiles and birds. The management believes that being a safe breeding place, the Zoo can be used effectively to have a sufficient stock of wildlife species, particularly indigenous, that are under the threat of extinction.
Information gathered by The News through wildlife conservationists from different parts of the province reveals that people kill foxes, wolves and hyenas instantly, because they attack their livestock at grazing fields and cattle farms in villages. Therefore, these animals are not visible in the province.
Some people say that small populations of these animals can be seen in Nagar Parkar, especially Karoonjhar Mountain, the Thar greenbelt, as they usually cross the border from the Runn of Kuchh, India.
Hyenas, foxes and wolves are inter-bordering migratory animals and they inhabit in Thar region.
Small populations of threatened hyenas also inhabit the west bank of River Indus near Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan and the mountainous range from Khirthar to Koh Suleman as well as in Cholistan, Punjab.
The routes of their appearance, however, are the same � they come from the Indian desert area.
People from the Indus Delta say that they have never seen foxes, wolves and hyenas in the entire vicinity for a long time. They recall stories they have heard from their elders about the animals attacking herds and killing their livestock due to which the farmers kill them instantly.
1 comment
thanks for showing too much informations. we need natural
animls for beauty. to protect them we hve to improve and redesign
our laws for zoo animls and wildlife. we also have to increase
the mechinery related to wildlife for its enpowerment and betterment.
