Chennai, Dec 28 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday issued orders to conserve the Nilgiri tahr through a project that is touted as the first in the country.

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The Rs 25.14-crore project would be implemented during a 5-year period from 2022-2027, and follow a strategy including synchronised surveys to estimate numbers of the tahrs through radio telemetry and radio-collaring, among others, the government said.

Locally known as Varaiaadu, the tahr has been an endangered species and protected under schedule-I of the Wildlife (protection) Act of India, 1972. The animal is endemic to the Western Ghats, which are internationally recognised as a region of immense global importance due to its bio-diversity.

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As per a Worldwide Fund for Nature Report 2015, there are 3,122 Tahrs in the wild. The species once inhabited a large portion of Western Ghats, but it now restricted to a few pockets. This was because of habitat loss, biotic pressure, invasive and exotic species and adverse impact of climate change.

The project - the Nilgiri tahr - aims to restore its original habitat and try to re-introduce the species in areas where they originally lived, an official release here said.

The project would have also a major component to restore the fragmented habitat. Restoration of shola grasslands which is the major habitat for the animal would be taken up as a priority, the order said.

Further, every October 7, would be observed as the Nilgiri Tahr Day coinciding with the birth anniversary of E R C Davidar who pioneered the first study on the animal in 1975 to enhance awareness on the need for conserving the animal, the order said.

It is proposed to re-introduce development of tahr-based eco tourism under the leadership of a director who would have an assistant.

There are several references to the Nilgiri tahr in the 2,000-year-old Tamil Sangam literature. Two of the five great epics of the Sangam period, Silappathikaram and Sivaka Cintama?i include descriptions of the tahr and its habitat.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)