‘Harsh winter forces animals to enter residential areas’
Srinagar, Jan 29: A rare female Kashmir musk deer and a wild goat were rescued from different parts of the Valley after they strayed into residential areas, officials said. Experts said such movements take place due to harsh winter conditions in the higher reaches.
Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a female Kashmir musk deer had strayed into Verinag village of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district following heavy snowfall in the upper reaches.
The animal was safely captured by the Wildlife Protection Department with the assistance of locals and police and later shifted to the Mini Zoo in Pahalgam, they said.
The Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus) is listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List.
Meanwhile, locals rescued a wild goat after it strayed into Sukhdar village in the Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The animal had entered a residential locality after being chased by stray dogs.
Raja Suhail, Block Head of the Wildlife Department in Uri, said that locals played a big role in rescuing the wild goat. “We will shift the animal to Baramulla headquarters for medical examination and later transfer it to Pahalgam,” he said, adding that wild goats in Uri block are mostly found in the border areas.
Speaking to KNO, Dr Tanushree Srivastava, expert on mountain ungulate ecology and Senior Manager and Head of J&K Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said both Kashmir musk deer and Kashmir markhor are found only in Kashmir.
“Markhor is near threatened, while the Kashmir musk deer is critically endangered,” she said, adding that these species migrate to lower elevations in winter to escape harsh weather and access forage.
Dr Srivastava said WTI has been working on the Markhor Recovery Project for the past 20 years in J&K. “The last census was conducted in 2023, during which the Markhor population in Kazinag National Park was estimated at 221, while sightings in Hirpora and Tatakutti wildlife sanctuaries remained very low,” she informed.
Kazinag National Park is located on the northern bank of the Jhelum near the Line of Control in Baramulla district, while Hirpora sanctuary lies in the Pir Panjal range in Shopian district and Tatakutti sanctuary in Poonch district.
WTI carried out the first comprehensive survey of the Markhor population and distribution in 2004 across its historical range, she added. (KNO)
