Tamil Nadu Launches First Pilot Study For Population Under Project Nilgiri Tahr (image-twitter/dhanu_paran)

Tamil Nadu government has decided to begin a pilot study to count the population of Nilgiri Tahr under its newly launched ‘Project Nilgiri Tahr’ to conserve the mountain ungulate. The additional chief secretary environment climate change and forests of Tamil Nadu, Supriya Sahu announced the governments new initiative through social media platform X.

As per her statement, the pilot study will be followed by a comprehensive synchronised census in March 2024 covering Tahr habitats in Tamil Nadu.

In the new study, a team of 25 people are drafted to implement the 3 day protocol for pilot study in western Ghats. Listing further details of the study, Supriya Sahu wrote, “The pilot study will test five different methods & arrive at the most suitable one for the Census in March. The study partners include the Wildlife Institute of India, Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation Tamil Nadu and WWF. The team has introduced drone surveys too for correct estimation”.

Tamil Nadu begins the first pilot study for population estimation of Nilgiri Tahr under its newly launched “Project Nilgiri Tahr” to conserve the mountain ungulate. The Pilot will be followed by a comprehensive synchronized census in March 2024 covering Tahr habitats in Tamil… pic.twitter.com/0ytOS6TtGD

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) January 6, 2024

The prime objective to launch the “Project Nilgiri Tahr” was to bring back the numbers of the Tamil Nadu’s state animals to a sustainable level. Tamil Nadu government issued orders to conserve the Nilgiri Tahr, the state animal, at a cost of Rs 25.14 crore, a project that is touted as the first in the country.

The government issued order in December 2022. In addition to that, the government also announced October 7 as Nilgiri Tahr Day in honour of Dr ERC Davidar. He pioneered one of the first studies on Nilgiri Tahr in 1975. Under the project, the department also decided to develop a better understanding of Nilgiri Tahr population, distribution and ecology, re-introduction of Nilgiri Tahr to their historic habitats, address proximate threat to Nilgiri Tahr, increase awareness among public, develop Nilgiri Tahr based eco-tourism activities at selected sites and develop educational material for school children.