On Nilgiri Tahr Trail

New Indian Express

25-04-2025

The dawn breaks over Akkamalai Grass Hills National Park, painting the rolling meadows in hues of gold and green. At 7 am on Thursday, our trek begins, marking the first day of Tamil Nadu's second synchronised Nilgiri Tahr survey. The air is crisp, the terrain unforgiving—rocky slopes, steep gorges, and blistering heat by day give way to icy nights that chill to the bone.
Armed with just tomato rice, a boiled egg, our team of forest staff and I set out across the Thanakamalai beat, one of seven survey blocks in Grass Hills, home to the largest meta population of Nilgiri Tahr.
Grass Hills, sprawling over 65 sq.km of vast grasslands and montane shola forests, is a safe heaven for the endangered Tahr. At 2,513 meters, Thanakamalai's cliffs offer perfect escape routes from predators. 'No scat, no pug marks—no trace of tigers, leopards, or jackals,' notes T Shiva Kumar, a watcher, his eyes scanning the horizon. The team's excitement peaks as we spot close to 100 Tahrs on day one, their lithe forms darting across the slopes.
'Look at the young ones! The male-to-female ratio looks healthy,' beams G Venkatesh, Valparai ranger who himself is a passionate wildlife photographer, looking at the visuals. April, post the January-February breeding season, is ideal for counting newborns, explains Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra: 'This timing gives us a clear picture of population growth and reproductive health.'
The survey, spanning 176 blocks across 14 forest divisions, is a monumental effort. Up from 140 blocks in 2024, it includes 36 new blocks and Kodaikanal's historic Ibex Hills. Over 700 trained personnel, will for 2,000 km over four days collecting fresh pellet samples and assessing threats using Bounded Count and Double Observer techniques. 'This is science-driven conservation at its best,' says Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. 'From radio-collaring to genome sequencing, we're setting a global benchmark. I thank our partners—IUCN, WWF-India, WII, and AIWC—for their unwavering support.'
Grass Hills tells a story of resilience but also of lessons hard-learned. In March 2023, a wildfire tore through hundreds of hectares, fueled by 4-to-6-foot-tall dry grass—untouched by controlled burning for over a decade. 'Kerala's Eravikulam National Park does cool burning annually, keeping grasslands vibrant. We didn't, and we paid the price,' said an official. The fire spared the Mango and India shola patches, thanks to heroic efforts by ground teams battling fierce winds.
'We had no choice but to let it burn out,' recalls an anti-poaching watcher. 'The soil here is moist, the nights freeze, but unchecked grass turned this place into a tinderbox.'
A conservationist from Coimbatore says, 'Shola forests and grasslands are water reservoirs for these mountains. Lose them, and they're gone forever—climate change won't let shola seedlings grow back.' The senior officials say controlled burning will be incorporated in the new Tiger Conservation Plan. The 2023 fire, while devastating, spurred fresh grass growth, aiding Tahrs, but the lush meadows of neighbouring Eravikulam National Park in Kerala visible even to the naked eye, highlight what's possible with proactive management.
Project Nilgiri Tahr, launched in October 2023 by Chief Minister MK Stalin is rewriting the species' future. The 2024 survey pegged Tamil Nadu's Tahr population at 1,031, with Grass Hills hosting 276. A November 2024 sighting of five Tahrs in Pasumalai hints at range expansion. Three Tahrs have been radio-collared—a first in India—with two still tracked for movement data. 'Radio-collaring shows how Tahrs navigate fragmented landscapes,' says IUCN country representative Yash Veer Bhatnagar. '
The project's scientific feats include sequencing the Tahr's mitochondrial genome and treating lump-infected individuals, like a female in Mukurthi National Park cured of tapeworm. Restoration is gaining ground. At Upper Bhavani, invasive wattle is being cleared to revive shola grasslands; Mukurthi National Park has reclaimed 57 hectares, with 50 more in progress. 'These corridors will let Tahrs roam freely,' said MG Ganesan, director, Project Nilgiri Tahr. A habitat suitability study by AIWC is ranking sites for reintroduction, while a conservation center's design takes shape. 'Captive breeding, done scientifically, is our next frontier,' Sahu adds, drawing parallels to other global efforts like bighorn sheep to snow leopards.
For understanding the nutritional intakes by the Nilgiri Tahr, the project unit has collected 31 important fodder and plant species from Anamalai tiger reserve. The collected species different nutrient level such as carbohydrates, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, moisture, ash, minerals, salt etc have been analysed. Apart from above nutrient level, each species gross energy level has also been quantified to check their energy provision to Nilgiri Tahr. Further, the team is working to collect more fodder species for further nutrient analysis to check their importance to Nilgiri Tahr in physiologically and seasonally, Ganesan said.
As we descend from Thanakamalai, the Tahrs' silhouettes fade into the mist. The survey's data, due soon, promises fresh insights. As per official sources, on day one, data has been received from only 26 survey blocks, of which Nilgiri Tahr were sighted directly in 11 blocks. In 5 blocks, only Tahr pellets were recorded. In 10 blocks, no Tahr were sighted. Five Tahrs were recorded in Bodivarai area of the newly added Kodaikanal division.