Stray cattle and dogs, barbed ‘cobra’ wire and changed land use patterns spell trouble for the majestic State animal.

On the foggy winter afternoon of February 3, a phone call from a local resident, saying “..an injured blackbuck, apparently attacked by stray dogs, is lying on a farm in Sardarpur village...” was enough to send a team of forest and wildlife personnel into rescue mode. They quickly rushed to the spot in the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary (AWS) in a bid to save the blackbuck.

A young deer, about two years old, had been lying on the farm with multiple injuries, after being attacked by a group of stray dogs. Chased by dogs, the blackbuck had rammed into barbed wires, which enclose agricultural fields to avoid crop damage from stray cattle. His injuries proved to be fatal, even though medical treatment was given, and the blackbuck succumbed to its injuries within a few hours of the attack.

This is not an isolated incident. In 2019, so far, as many as eight blackbucks have died in the AWS, and a majority of them succumbed to their injuries, caused by barbed wires while running from an attack by stray dogs, officials told The Hindu. Other unnatural reasons for blackbuck deaths include road accidents, falling into water storage tanks, and concrete drains.

For the blackbuck, Punjab’s State animal, it’s a fight for existence at the AWS in the Fazilka district. It faces a severe threat from stray cattle, attacks by stray dogs, and habitat fragmentation due to change in land use and cropping patterns over the past few years.

Avoidable casualties

State government data shows that, in 2018, as many as 25 blackbucks died, while the wildlife wing was successful in saving the lives of 18 injured blackbucks. In 2017, 42 blackbucks died in the sanctuary area, while 33 were saved after being provided medical treatment.

A blackbuck herd at Sardarpura village in Fazilka of Punjab’s Abohar district on February 16, 2019. | Photo Credit: Akhilesh Kumar

“Most of the blackbucks here are dying due to injuries caused by the attack of stray dogs on them. Feral dogs target young deer and expecting females. The problem has been aggravated in the past few years as locals trying to save their crops from stray cattle have put up barbed wires and nets. This fencing of agriculture fields restricts the free movement of blackbucks and results in fatal injuries during dog chase incidents,” said Malkit Singh, Range Officer at AWS.

The district administration has banned the sale and use of barbed wires under Section 144 of the CrPC, yet it’s use continues unabated in the sanctuary area. Fencing agricultural fields, especially with cobra wires that have blade-edged iron wire mesh, has been a major cause of worry, and a key reason behind causing fatal injuries to blackbucks during dog attacks.

Increasing awareness

“We make people aware of the ill-effects of barbed wires. On Friday, in Khairpur village, our team convinced two farmers to remove cobra wires from their farms. This an ongoing process. We are making efforts to convince locals to take off these wires for the safety of blackbucks,” said Mr. Singh.

The AWS is an open sanctuary, spread across private land in 13 villages. The blackbuck was notified as the State animal of Punjab in 1989 and its presence in the State is confined to the AWS due to the unique habitat of semi-arid plains consisting agricultural fields, intermittent fallow-barren lands, scattered sand dunes, sand mounds and ridges.

Locals who have been peacefully co-existing with this near-threatened species of blackbuck for several years are annoyed about the alleged indifference of the State government towards solving the problem of stray cattle. They say that if the problem of stray cattle is resolved, then there would be no need for them to fence their farms with barbed wires, which would eventually allow free movement of blackbucks and help them thrive.

“It’s not by choice but out of compulsion that I have fenced my farm with barbed wire. Stray cattle will destroy my standing crop if I don’t take precautionary measures. I, or for that matter no one in my village, would want to hurt blackbucks, but what options do we have? We have to sustain our family,” said Naresh Kumar, who has sown wheat in his ten acres of family land in Mehrana village.

In AWS, where land in mainly owned by the Bishnoi community, there were 3,273 blackbucks according to the 2017 census, conducted jointly by the Punjab Biodiversity Board (PBB) and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Preservation (DFWP), against 3,500 in the year 2011.

Habitat disturbed

R.D. Bishnoi, State president of the Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Rakshak Bishnoi Samaj, said that, over the years, with habitat fragmentation due to change in land use and cropping pattern, the natural habitat of blackbucks has been disturbed.

“A few years ago, blackbucks in herds of 100-150 could be easily seen running here, but nowadays, you will only find a group of 20-25 deer. Over the years, the fallow-barren lands have turned into lush green fields due to better irrigation facilities. Scattered sand dunes and sand mounds, which provided a unique environment for blackbucks, are now vanishing, as the area is being brought under farming with the help of the latest machines. All these factors have contributed to the fall in the population of this majestic species,” said Mr. Bishnoi.

Stray cattle

Mr. Bishnoi said that successive governments have failed to find a solution to the problem of stray animals, which are not only destroying crops but have also caused the deaths of humans. “While the government collects cow cess in the name of taking care of stray animals, the problem continues to grow. The growing population of stray animals also competes with blackbucks for the already shrinking open grasslands, resulting in their migration to adjoining areas outside the sanctuary,” said Mr. Bishnoi.

AWS’ Sub-Divisional Magistrate Poonam Singh said that local administration, along with the Wildlife Department, has been persuading locals to remove barbed wires, especially the ‘cobra wires’. “We are creating awareness among people about the ill-effects of these wires. Also, our teams remove these wires from time-to-time,” she said.