On the pilgrim trail: Let the marmot remain wild

The Kashmir Himalaya is rich in wildlife, particularly across its alpine areas. Among its most pristine and wildlife-rich habitats is the high-altitude landscape along the Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra trail.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims throng the holy cave, undertaking a spiritual journey through the mountains, either from Pahalgam or Baltal. For many, the Yatra is not only a pilgrimage but also an encounter with a landscape very different from the world they leave behind.

For a few weeks each year, this remote Himalayan landscape experiences an extraordinary influx of people. With that human presence come food, packaged items and, inevitably, food waste.

For a pilgrim encountering wildlife during this spiritual journey, the sighting can be a joyful and memorable moment. Someone may suddenly spot an animal beside the trail, take out a phone, click a photograph and preserve the moment forever. The fascination is understandable, and for many people, it may be their first close encounter with a wild animal.

Sometimes, affection and a sense of compassion can take the encounter a step further, and food may be offered to the animal.

This is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. Feeding wild animals, particularly monkeys in and around places visited by people, has become common in many parts of the country. But in the alpine landscape, another animal increasingly finds itself at the centre of such encounters — the marmot.

The Long-tailed Marmot (Marmota caudata) — is a characteristic rodent of the high-altitude areas of the Kashmir Himalaya. It inhabits alpine meadows and rocky slopes, where its life is closely linked to the seasonal availability of vegetation. Herbivorous by nature, it feeds on vegetation in its alpine habitat. Its stocky body, distinctive appearance and habit of sitting upright make it one of the more charismatic mammals that a visitor may encounter in the high Himalaya.

Social media, however, has revealed another side of these encounters. Videos and photographs circulating online show pilgrims not merely photographing marmots but offering them food, taking selfies with them and, in some instances, even holding them in their laps. At first glance, these may appear to be innocent moments of curiosity and affection. The person may simply be fascinated by an animal that has suddenly come close enough to touch.

But there is a larger conservation question hidden behind the photograph: what happens when a wild animal begins to associate people with food?

It is important not to place the blame on the pilgrim. Someone who sees a marmot and offers it food is rarely trying to harm the animal. Quite the opposite — the gesture may come from affection, excitement or a simple desire to share a moment with a fascinating creature.

The problem lies in how such seemingly harmless interactions can gradually alter natural behaviour. If an animal repeatedly receives food from people, it may begin associating human presence with an easy source of food. Repeated feeding can make wildlife less wary of people and encourage animals to approach humans in expectation of food. Human food may also be nutritionally inappropriate and interfere with natural foraging behaviour.

What begins as an isolated encounter can therefore become a pattern. The distinction between observing wildlife and interacting with it then begins to disappear.

There is, however, nothing wrong with admiring a marmot or photographing it. Indeed, such moments can create a lasting connection between people and nature. A pilgrim returning home with a photograph of a Himalayan marmot may develop an interest in the species and the fragile alpine ecosystem in which it lives.

The best wildlife encounter is perhaps one in which the animal remains free to decide how close it wants to come. A marmot disappearing among the rocks is still a successful wildlife sighting, while one sitting beside a trail can be appreciated for what it is — a wild animal in its natural habitat. A photograph taken from a respectful distance can preserve the memory without changing the nature of the encounter.

There is simply no need to feed, touch or hold the animal. Wild animals do not need to interact with us for us to appreciate them.

The challenge becomes particularly complex in the case of the Shri Amaranth Ji Yatra. The number of pilgrims moving through the landscape is enormous, and expecting forest and wildlife field staff to monitor every interaction between a pilgrim and a wild animal is neither practical nor realistic. A marmot may be beside a trail one moment and have hundreds of pilgrims pass the same spot over the course of a day. Even with field staff present along the route, every act of feeding or handling wildlife cannot be individually monitored.

The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board and the agencies involved in managing the Yatra already have the challenging task of facilitating a pilgrimage of enormous scale while safeguarding the fragile Himalayan environment. Wildlife conservation in such a landscape, therefore, cannot depend on monitoring alone. The behaviour of individual visitors becomes an equally important part of the conservation effort.

The objective should not be to discourage pilgrims from enjoying the wildlife they encounter, but to encourage a deeper appreciation of it. The journey to Shri Amarnath Ji takes pilgrims through an extraordinary Himalayan landscape, with alpine meadows, streams, rocky slopes and wildlife that has evolved to survive in some of the most challenging conditions on earth.

During the Yatra, this remote landscape becomes a meeting ground between people and wildlife on an extraordinary scale. Perhaps this presents an opportunity for a pilgrim who encounters a marmot to become not a feeder, but an ambassador for the animal. Instead of offering it food, they can give it space; instead of holding it for a photograph, they can photograph it from a distance; and instead of making the animal comfortable around humans, they can help ensure that it remains comfortable in its own natural world.

The Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra is a journey of faith and devotion. Respect for the landscape through which that journey passes can become a part of that experience too. The next time a marmot appears beside the trail, perhaps the most beautiful response is simply to stop, watch and let it be.

Mir Faizan Anwar is a Range Officer with the J&K Forest Department and a wildlife enthusiast

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth