E-Paper
Proposed ‘wolf breeding centre’ at Nahargarh hanging fire for 3 years
In 2014, the state forest department had proposed to convert the animal rescue centre, spread over five acres at the Nahargarh Park, into a wolf breeding centre to augment the wolf population.
As the wolf population in Rajasthan dwindle, a proposal to establish a wolf breeding centre at Nahargarh Biological Park, Jaipur, has failed to take off more than three years after the project was conceived.
In 2014, the state forest department had proposed to convert the animal rescue centre, spread over five acres at the Nahargarh Park, into a wolf breeding centre to augment the wolf population.
In the past, the wildlife authorities in Rajasthan have used wolves in exchange programmes and brought other wildlife animals like panther, lion and bear from other states.
Figures obtained from the forest department show that the wolf population in Rajasthan has come from 924 in 2011 to 892 in 2016. The population of wolves in Jaipur region has come down from 99 to 82 in the same period. What is more worrying is that during the 2016 census, no wolves were sighted in large parts of the state, including Alwar, Churu, Dausa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Pratapgarh, Dungarpur and Sri Ganganagar districts.
“The proposal to establish a breeding centre at Nahargarh is pending with the Central Zoo Authority of India,” assistant conservator of forest (Nahargarh Biological Park) Jagdish Chand Gupta said.
Ever since the park was inaugurated last year, most animals from the old Jaipur zoo have been relocated to Nahargarh. A few animals left at the old zoo, including wolves and deer, will also be relocated. In mid-2017, the death of six wolves at Nahargarh park over a two-month period had set the alarm bells ringing; however, no deaths have been reported recently.
Nahargarh Biological Park, a part of the Nahargarh sanctuary is located about 12 km from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Delhi highway. Spanning across 720 hectares, it is famous for its rich flora and fauna and doubles up as a place for education and research. It is home to more than 285 species of birds and houses animals like Asiatic lions, Bengal tigers, panthers, hyenas, wolves, deer, crocodiles, sloth bear and wild boar.
