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.