Forest Dept. embarks on estimation of gaur population in the Nilgiris

Move comes in the wake of rising human-gaur conflicts in the region

Four persons have died in gaur attacks in the Nilgiris this year.

The Forest Department has embarked on estimating the population of gaurs in the Nilgiris and come up with better, more effective conflict-mitigation strategies.

The exercise is being undertaken in all ten forest ranges in the Nilgiris division with the help of department staff, said District Forest Officer D. Guruswamy. The number of gaur herds, their composition and the number of individuals in each herd is to be ascertained.

“We hope that with better understanding of actual gaur numbers, more effective strategies to prevent problematic human-gaur interactions can be formulated,” said the DFO.

With four deaths resulting from human-gaur conflicts in the Nilgiris this year, Mr. Guruswamy said the department had also found that while the majority of the human victims who died in gaur attacks this year were over the age of 70, many of the animals involved in the attacks were also quite old and usually not part of a herd.

“This indicates that people who die in gaur attacks are unable to react in time to get away from the animals, while the physiological condition of the animals themselves, be it their age, or other factors, such as poor eyesight due to old age could also be playing a role in the attacks,” said Mr. Guruswamy, who added that four people died in gaur attacks in the Nilgiris this year.

K. Sankar, Director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), said that there had been a noticeable uptick in the amount of problematic human-gaur interactions across India.

“Such incidents are most concentrated in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, as well as parts of Karnataka,” said Dr. Sankar, adding that deaths resulting from gaur attacks had become more prevalent only recently, possibly due to a number of overlapping factors.

“There is no denying that gaur populations have increased due to better conservation, though that is yet to be established with a proper census. Meanwhile, habitats used by gaur have shrunk due to expanding cultivation and also because of the spread of invasive flora, such as wattle, which have taken over many of the animals’ grazing areas. These factors, in turn, push them into closer proximity to humans, increasing chances of injuries to and death of people,” said Dr. Sankar.

SACON is also working on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for nine species of wildlife, including gaur, which will serve as a blueprint nationwide for dealing with and managing human-animal conflicts.