A month after a carnivore preyed upon a Nilgiri tahr that was radio-collared in the Mukurthi National Park for study purpose, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has fixed a tracking device on another individual.
Officials attached to the ‘Project Nilgiri Tahr’ said a team radio-collared an adult male Nilgiri tahr within the limits of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in August.
The tahr chosen for the study purpose belongs to a herd that is widely seen along the ghat section of the scenic Pollachi – Valparai Road. The herd is often seen at the ninth hairpin bend, also known as Loam’s Viewpoint. The adult male was radio-collared with the support of the WWF-India.
M.G. Ganesan, Project Director of Project Nilgiri Tahr, said the tracking device with GPS (global positioning system) emited signals and showed the location of the radio-collared individual every 12 hours. The device could generate signals in this frequency for more than two years.
“The location of the tagged Nilgiri tahr can be seen in devices installed with the user interface,” he said.
The radio-collaring and monitoring is one of the nine components of the Project Nilgiri Tahr, a special programme for the conservation of Tamil Nadu’s State animal. Monitoring the species with the tracking device will help the project team understand their home range and other behavioural patterns.
According to the Forest Department, the first Nilgiri tahr was radio-collared in the Mukurthi National Park in the Nilgiris district in March this year. The saddleback or fully grown male was found preyed upon by a carnivore in July. Since the deceased individual had a very short tracking period, the project team is not planning to use the tracking data for the study.
Lumps found on Nilgiri tahrs caused by tapeworm
The lumps found on some Nilgiri tahrs have been identified as fluid-filled cysts caused by carnivore tapeworms (Taenia multiceps). Examination of a lump found on a female tahr in the Mukurthi National Park showed that the cyst was caused by carnivore tapeworms in intermediate stages of their life cycle.
The project team found out that eggs of adult tapeworms that were present in intestines of carnivores (definite hosts) came out through faecal matter. The eggs were accidentally ingested by herbivores, including tahr, through grasses. The eggs completed their larval stage in herbivores (intermediate hosts) and formed the cysts. The lifecycle of the tapeworms completed when carnivores preyed upon the herbivores with the cysts.
As per laboratory examinations, it is inferred that “the lumps are not fatal to Nilgiri tahr by itself, unless the tapeworms invade the brain and it is a part of the normal sylvatic prey-predator lifecycle of tapeworms”.
Published - September 13, 2024 06:55 pm IST
