Davangere is known for many things like textile industry,
butter dosa, wildlife conservation is not one of them. This article is about how a successful
conservation story was made possible through partnership of wildlife
biologists, local conservation enthusiasts, elected representatives and the
forest department.
The story starts in 2008, when wildlife biologist Sanjay
Gubbi along with local conservation enthusiasts, Ravi Kumar, doctor in a local
hospital and Srinivas, a local journalist, first noted the presence of
four-horned antelope (FHA), a shy and secretive antelope, in the dry deciduous
and scrub forests of Rangayyanadurga. The publication of the discovery in
scientific journals and press alike brought attention to this once neglected
forest. Following Gubbi's discovery of the FHA and his proposal to the
government and local leaders including the Member of the Legislative Assembly
put the wheel on roll to declare Rangayanadurga as a wildlife sanctuary. Importantly Gurusiddanagoudar, a senior
political leader and a nature lover, put his weight behind the idea and
convinced several other local leaders.
Forest officers Dilip Kumar, B.K.Singh, Meera Saxena,
M.H.Swaminath ensured full support for the cause. These honest, green to the
core officers, ensured that the notification to declare the area as a wildlife
sanctuary (77 sq km) came through.
The combined effort led to the declaration of the first ever
wildlife sanctuary in India for the protection of a lesser known species such
as the FHA in January 2011. The declaration sailed through despite severe
lobbying by vested interests, including some “green energy” companies who were
vying to setup windmills in Rangayyanadurga.
This success story sets an excellent example for a model
where in wildlife biologists, forest officials, conservation enthusiasts and
importantly political leaders could achieve remarkable results for wildlife if
they worked in tandem. It is essential for wildlife biologists to convince the
other parties involved, as can be seen in the case of Rangayyanadurga, if their
research results have to make a real difference to on-ground conservation .
The present scenario:
Basavraj has been working in Rangayyanadurga State Forest
(RSF) in Davangere District for all his life. When we met him last year, he was
still a temporary watcher, albeit with passion for wildlife and a will to
protect Rangayyanadurga. He could name almost all the trees in Kannada, patrol
the vast area even as others are having a shut eye. Today he is promoted to
permanent staff position and happily tells us how the sanctuary declaration
will help him to conserve the land for the diminutive FHA, curtail Illegal
timber collection, poaching, mining etc., when various wildlife policies will
be upheld under the wildlife sanctuary status. Post declaration, permission
given to windmill installations have been cancelled.
However, the forest
department is yet to transfer this area to the wildlife division which is very
critical in halting poaching of FHA and degradation of the habitat. The
territorial division which currently manages the area is not geared up to
handle poaching incidents while they focus more on developmental and forestry
activities. The transfer needs to happen soon if this areas’ wildlife
population has to be saved.
Short note on FHA
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The four-horned antelope or chowsingha (Tetracerus quadricornis) is a species of small antelope found in the open, dry, deciduous forests in hilly terrain in India and Nepal. It is the smallest of the Asian bovids with distinctive permanent four horns on the male FHA. It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Redlist due to habitat loss depicting the importance of habitat protection.
They tend to remain in areas with significant vegetation cover from tall grasses or heavy undergrowth, and close to water supply and stay away from human-inhabited areas.
Four-horned antelope are generally solitary animals, although they are occasionally found in groups of up to four individuals. Like other antelopes FHA also makes piles of droppings in their territories.
