Local communities living in and around the wildlife habitats are the real linchpins in any conservation program. Driven by both biology and community-based approaches, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection (DWP), Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been working on Markhor (Capra falconeri) and Hangul (Cervus hanglu) recovery projects for the past two decades. Over the years, various anthropogenic activities like the construction of roads, linear intrusions, power lines, army settlements on the borders, heavy livestock grazing, and poaching have caused a disastrous impact on the habitats and populations of Markhor and Hangul in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

To reduce the extant threats in the area, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in partnership with the Department of Wildlife Protection Jammu &Kashmir (UT) and with due support from Astral Foundation and the Serenity Trust, conducted a one-day capacity-building program for the Markhor and Hangul Watchers at the Range office, Baramulla, J&K. The purpose was to train and boost the morale of the Markhor and Hangul watchers to carry out effective patrolling during the winter season when the mountain ungulates migrate to the lower elevation.

The capacity strengthening workshop was conducted in Baramulla, J&K | Photo by Tanveer Akbar

Poaching is one of the major threats to Markhor as well as other threatened wildlife in and around Kazinag National Park and other Protected Areas. During the rutting season in autumn and winter, mountain ungulates like Markhor and Hangul confine themselves to the lower elevation areas to avoid heavily snow-covered areas in higher elevations, thus coming into close contact with humans and, thus becoming vulnerable to the threats of conflict and poaching during these seasons. The role of the ‘Markhor and Hangul Watchers’ is to support WTI and the DWP, J&K in monitoring the animal movements and reporting and controlling any illegal activity in the concerned areas. We trained the teams on how to collect and share information on wildlife movements and also introduced them to important facets of identifying hoof marks, scats, pellets, and other indirect methods to identify a species’ presence during the patrolling surveys. We also trained them on how to use GPS devices, deploy camera traps, and monitor wildlife presence and movement in the field. We equipped all the 25 participants with waterproof jackets. While boosting the morale of the Markhor watchers during her session, Dr. Tanushree Srivastava, Project Head and Manager, J&K, WTI stressed on the importance of such patrolling sessions in keeping a check on the wildlife crime-related activities.

The participants were equipped with waterproof jackets provided by WTI & Astral Foundation | Photo by Tanveer Akbar

Mr. Mohammad Maqbool Baba, Wildlife Warden (North) and Mr. Altaf Kaul, Wildlife Ranger, (North) said such events are the need of the hour, and that the formation and institutionalisation of different community-based organisations in the Park are not only the key to the empowerment of local communities, but are also instrumental in the prevention of illegal activities related to these critical wildlife species.

The Markhor and Hangul Watcher group’s knowledge was evaluated through pre and post-tests on the training module. WTI found an increase of knowledge of 75% amongst the participants with about 90% of the trainees indicating that the training was very innovative and relevant to their work. The team is motivated and has made a resolve to be on a constant watch on the Markhor in their rugged habitats and Hangul in all the corridor areas throughout the species distribution areas in the valley.

Read more about our Kashmir Markhor Recovery Project.