Call of the wild

REDISCOVERIES of species is a sure source of jubilation as it indicates that the species is not extinct despite its projected disappearance. And with a spurt in the interest for wildlife studies,examples of rediscoveries are emerging. There are re-entries ofwildlife species into the Indian wilderness and addition offirst-hand notes on natural history. Yet, there are a few problems which seem to stalk this heartening trend: most wildliferesearch is becoming byproducts of conservation pursuits.

Wildlife research does not seem very popular with the jobseeking graduates and post-graduates. Besides, almost all goodhabitats are under the 'Protected Area' network and difficultto negotiate with. Inhospitable areas, 'surveilling eyes' and theabsence of definite wildlife research wings in governmentdepartments act as further deterrents to potential researchers.

Biodiversity surveys can, of course, help one obtain amore complete picture of the distribution of less studiedgroups and examine both links and changes in species distribution patterns. The latter is significant in correlating andappreciating impoverished habitats and changing biodiversityvalues. During the early '70s, with the beginning of theCrocodilian Conservation Programmes, research personnelwere inducted into various state forest departments. This sawfull-time young wildlife researchers working under the aegis ofpremier institutions like the Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS), or working part time for projects under the ZoologicalSurvey of India or veterinary institutions of Kerala andIzatnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

A workshop jointly sponsored by the us Fish and WildlifeService and the Government of India brought together about100 such people to Kanha, Madhya Pradesh, in 1982. Theresult: field research stations, field camps, status surveys andabove all, "rediscoveries" with natural history notes.

The Cane Turtle (Geoemyda silvatica), now known asHeosemys silvatica, was known from just two specimens fromKerala in 1912. It was rediscovered in 1982, after 70 years.After a lapse of 86 years, Jerdon's or Double-banded Coursebird (Cursorius bitorquatus) was rediscovered and photographed near Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh, in 1986. Described from a single specimen collected in 1949, SalimAli's Fruit Bat (Latidens salimalii) was rediscoverd by the BNHSin 1993.

There are a few instances since the '80s, when importantspecies were noticed by the conservation-community as aresult of status surveys. The Great Indian Bustard (Choriotisnigriceps) was brought to the notice of conservation biologistsin, many new areas, mainly Andhra Pradesh and MadhyaPradesh. The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in Chambal riverwas not studied during the launching of the CrocodilianConservation Programme. During the '80s, however, a fieldcamp for the erstwhile Central Crocodile Breeding andManagement Training Institute, Hyderabad, was establishedat Morena in Madhya Pradesh. Only then, besides the gharial,the freshwater turtle, gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica),otter and wetland birds could receive due attention of the conservationists.

In the Indian subcontinent, in fact, most fauna werealready known before the 20th century, and their nomenclature histories were recorded in treatises like the Fauna ofBritish India and the Cambridge Natural History in the early'60s. Nevertheless, later, birds were exhaustively dealt with bythe late ornithologist Salim Ali and his co-author S DhillonRipley. Also, while only 77 amphibian species were reportedby 1890, the number has more than doubled now.

Talking about flora, the enumeration of orchids continuesto be enlarged and updated. Goodyera thilandica and Malaxispurpurea orchids were discovered in Simlipal, Orissa, in 1980,while Eria meghasanienis is just new to science. The SpeciesSurvival Commission of the World Conservation Union,while choosing the world's 24 most endangered orchids, mentioned about Drury's slipper orchid (Paphiopedolul druryi),which has not been found in its only locality in Kerala since1972, although its rhizomes or seedlings probably survive.

The Asiatic cheetah (acionyx jubatus jubatus) is thought tobe extinct since 1949, after the last three members fell victimsto shikaris in the then princely state of Korea in Madhya Pradesh.

It is pertinent to examine the reason for designating a finding as rediscovery. First, there may have been no referenceabout the species for long; second, during the course of normal faunistic surveys, the species was not recorded; third,despite a long systematic search for a/the particular species, itwas not located until the date of rediscovery.

Also, there are instances when facts remain unnoticedbecause of communication gaps or loss of research findings ina not-too-relevant journal. For example, a few four-hornedantelopes, Tetracerus quadricornis, which reside in the SimlipalTiger Reserve, went unmentioned in a 'recent' publicationreviewing species distribution and status in the area.