The forest department of Madhya Pradesh has spent 11 days in herding out 913 blackbuck and Nilgai from revenue lands in Shajapur district of the state in order to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
The department commissioned an expert team from South Africa who used a helicopter to herd the herbivores towards boma enclosures made from grass and green netting walls and then captured them without any human contact.
These herds, once gathered in the desired area, were then sent to the Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve, Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuno National Park.
“There are an estimated 15,000 blackbuck and Nilgai on revenue land which has no forests. They pose a risk to farmers and their crops. After receiving complaints about frequent crop losses, the state government decided to translocate these animals to specific protected areas,” said divisional forest officer Beerendra Kumar Patel. He was designated with the responsibility for the task.
Citing an example, Patel said, “Imagine even a small herd of 50 blackbuck, with four legs each, passing through an agricultural field. Such heavy movement affects farming at every stage — from sowing (as it disturbs the seeds) until grazing on the nutritive food once the harvest is ready.”
Patel said the operation was planned over a period 20 days. But operations were feasible only on 11 days due to technical reasons. A team of about 150 officials, experts and veterinarians was deployed on the ground. They spread out across a dozen districts to capture the herbivores.
It was a first-of-its kind operation in India to be performed successfully and on a large scale, Patel said.
The official said local villagers also helped share information on which areas to reach out on priority and shared locations of possible large herbivore populations, making it a focused operation.
He said the South Africa-based company, Conservation Solution, was commissioned as it had a track record of translocating elephants, rhinos and other herbivores.
“The method is non-invasive and contactless ensuring that animals do not come in interaction with humans. The veterinarians also used remote methods for medicating the animals when needed,” he said.
Terming it as a pilot project, the forest official said the experts from South Africa also trained Indian forest officials in the process, enabling the possibility to replicate the same in other parts of the country.
There were challenges too, according to Patel. They had to seek approval from the revenue department and ensure that neither humans were harmed nor were animals (they were herded from areas that had dense human populations). All this required the utmost caution.
Labelling it as a success, Patel said the move has garnered public support and farmers have been demanding to help them mitigate the conflict with wildlife. “The herbivores also benefit from it as they move out from human settlements to forests and protected areas with natural habitat,” he added.