TAL CHHAPAR SANCTUARY - ENVIRONMENT
News: Rajasthan’s
Tal Chhapar sanctuary gets protection from plan to reduce its size
What's in the news?
● The
famous Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary
in Rajasthan’s Churu district has received a protective cover against a
proposed move of the State government to reduce the size of its eco-sensitive
zone.
● The
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)
has also taken up a major project for the conservation of raptors in the
sanctuary, spread in an area measuring 7.19 sq. km.
Key takeaways:
● The
Rajasthan High Court has intervened through a suo motu public interest
litigation to protect the sanctuary, taking cognizance of reports that its area
was going to be reduced to three sq.km. under pressure from mine owners and
stone crusher operators.
● The
court recently ordered a “complete prohibition” on any action to reduce the
wildlife sanctuary’s area.
Wildlife in sanctuary:
● The
sanctuary is host to about 4,000 blackbucks and other wild animals, over 40
species of raptors and more than 300 species of resident and migratory birds.
● The
raptors, which include predators and scavengers, are on top of the food chain
and control the populations of small mammals, birds and reptiles as well as
insects.
● The
sanctuary earlier had a large population of desert foxes and similar burrowing
animals, while the large colonies of the only herbivorous lizard, the
spiny-tailed lizard, exist as the prey base for raptors.
Issues in the sanctuary:
● The
issues confronting the sanctuary include hyper-aridity, grazing pressure, the
invasive weed Prosopis juliflora, and salt mines in the vicinity.
● The
sanctuary’s area is insufficient for its large blackbuck population.
Go back to the basics:
Blackbuck:
● Indian
Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is an antelope
and is the only living species of the genus Antilope.
● It
is considered to be the fastest animal
in the world next to Cheetah.
● The
horns of the blackbuck are ringed with one to four spiral turns and the female
is usually hornless.
Habitat:
● Blackbuck
inhabits grassy plains and slightly
forested areas.
● Due
to its regular need of water, it prefers areas where water is perennially
available.
● It
is found in Central-Western India
(MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Odisha) and Southern India (Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu).
Protection Status:
● Hunting
of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule
I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
● It
has been categorized least concerned
in IUCN Red Data Book.
● The
Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is
known worldwide for their conservation efforts to blackbuck and Chinkara.