KANPUR: Wildlife activists have spotted a couple of damaged nesting sites of critically endangered (Schedule 1) gharial in the sandbeds of river Chambal at the National Chambal Sanctuary of Etawah district during the ongoing breeding season.
"At least seven to eight nests of gharial have been spotted near Kasauwa village while nearly three to five nests were sighted near Kheda Ajab Singh dotting the banks of the Chambal. One nest each were found damaged at both those sites in a survey. It seemed the nests were destroyed by predators, mainly jackal," informed a senior forest official. "Each sites have about 25-60 eggs. The eggs hatch through natural process in the last week of May or first week of June," he added.
Meanwhile, the forest department sources said forest personnel were keeping a strict watch over the eggs of gharial. "If it is true, then it will be a serious setback for this highly endangered specie. We will try to crosscheck the exact number of damaged nests first and will reach any conclusion only then," said principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) BK Patnaik while talking to TOI.
Another forest department official said gharial needed large areas of sandbeds if they were to breed and find enough food. "It is not possible for the forest officials to protect all the nests as it is a vast stretch of nearly 180-km and gharial make nest in sandbeds along the banks of the river," he pointed out. As per experts, there might be 50-60 nests in the Chambal region in UP alone. Last year also, the same number of gharial nests were spotted.
In fact, almost 435-km stretch of Chambal, from Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, is known as aquatic animal's haven. "Earlier, in the year 2008, the forest department had made some sincere effort to protect gharial's nesting sites by covering them with nets. But, it is no more being done now. The situation has worsened up to such an extent that beside poachers, all these spots have now become recreational sites for picnic-goers who throng these spots in huge numbers on weekends, thus damaging the nesting sites of gharial," said Dr Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, Society for Conservation of Nature.
After mating on the surface of the water, female gharial lays eggs on steep sandbeds near rivers. The female reptiles guard the eggs from predators like jackals, hyena, stork, vultures and other animals. "Anything that affects gharial breeding here is likely to have a negative effect on the critically endangered specie," he said.
In a latest survey by the Conservationist, the Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is in the list of critically endangered species. Besides Chambal, gharials are found only in the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi river systems in India and Nepal. In 2007, from November till March 2008, more than 112 gharial had died in the Chambal from unknown cause with gout-like symptoms. Further investigations by the IVRI suggested the possibility of poisoning by metal pollutants. Considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, just 200-300 gharial were believed to be left in the Chambal and Katarnia Ghat beside 2,000-3,000 across India.
"An adult male can measure up to 20-ft in length while female gharial can grow up to 13-ft," informed another wildlife conservator. "The long snouted mammal requires sandy banks to lay eggs," he explained. A huge sized gharial was last rescued from Kandhesi minor in Etawah district in 2009. In 2008, more than 100 gharial were released in the Ganga in UP.
Reproduction:
The mating season is during November through December and well into January. The nesting and laying of eggs take place in the dry season of March, April and May. This is because during the dry season the rivers shrink a bit and the sandy river banks are available for nesting. Between 30 and 50 eggs are deposited into a hole that the female digs up before it is covered over carefully and after about 90 days, the juveniles emerge. In the nest she will lay up to 50 eggs with each egg being approximately 150 g in weight.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Gharial-nests-getting-damaged-in-Etawah/articleshow/8101527.cms
"At least seven to eight nests of gharial have been spotted near Kasauwa village while nearly three to five nests were sighted near Kheda Ajab Singh dotting the banks of the Chambal. One nest each were found damaged at both those sites in a survey. It seemed the nests were destroyed by predators, mainly jackal," informed a senior forest official. "Each sites have about 25-60 eggs. The eggs hatch through natural process in the last week of May or first week of June," he added.
Meanwhile, the forest department sources said forest personnel were keeping a strict watch over the eggs of gharial. "If it is true, then it will be a serious setback for this highly endangered specie. We will try to crosscheck the exact number of damaged nests first and will reach any conclusion only then," said principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) BK Patnaik while talking to TOI.
Another forest department official said gharial needed large areas of sandbeds if they were to breed and find enough food. "It is not possible for the forest officials to protect all the nests as it is a vast stretch of nearly 180-km and gharial make nest in sandbeds along the banks of the river," he pointed out. As per experts, there might be 50-60 nests in the Chambal region in UP alone. Last year also, the same number of gharial nests were spotted.
In fact, almost 435-km stretch of Chambal, from Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, is known as aquatic animal's haven. "Earlier, in the year 2008, the forest department had made some sincere effort to protect gharial's nesting sites by covering them with nets. But, it is no more being done now. The situation has worsened up to such an extent that beside poachers, all these spots have now become recreational sites for picnic-goers who throng these spots in huge numbers on weekends, thus damaging the nesting sites of gharial," said Dr Rajiv Chauhan, secretary, Society for Conservation of Nature.
After mating on the surface of the water, female gharial lays eggs on steep sandbeds near rivers. The female reptiles guard the eggs from predators like jackals, hyena, stork, vultures and other animals. "Anything that affects gharial breeding here is likely to have a negative effect on the critically endangered specie," he said.
In a latest survey by the Conservationist, the Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is in the list of critically endangered species. Besides Chambal, gharials are found only in the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi river systems in India and Nepal. In 2007, from November till March 2008, more than 112 gharial had died in the Chambal from unknown cause with gout-like symptoms. Further investigations by the IVRI suggested the possibility of poisoning by metal pollutants. Considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, just 200-300 gharial were believed to be left in the Chambal and Katarnia Ghat beside 2,000-3,000 across India.
"An adult male can measure up to 20-ft in length while female gharial can grow up to 13-ft," informed another wildlife conservator. "The long snouted mammal requires sandy banks to lay eggs," he explained. A huge sized gharial was last rescued from Kandhesi minor in Etawah district in 2009. In 2008, more than 100 gharial were released in the Ganga in UP.
Reproduction:
The mating season is during November through December and well into January. The nesting and laying of eggs take place in the dry season of March, April and May. This is because during the dry season the rivers shrink a bit and the sandy river banks are available for nesting. Between 30 and 50 eggs are deposited into a hole that the female digs up before it is covered over carefully and after about 90 days, the juveniles emerge. In the nest she will lay up to 50 eggs with each egg being approximately 150 g in weight.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Gharial-nests-getting-damaged-in-Etawah/articleshow/8101527.cms
No comments:
Post a Comment