‘Leopards, hyenas and more in Gurugram Aravalis’

GURUGRAM: A wildlife survey has found that the unprotected forest tracts in the Aravalis in Gurugram and Faridabad harbour a rich variety of mammals, more than Asola Bhatti, the contiguous tract in Delhi that enjoys the status of a wildlife sanctuary.
During the survey, carried out over 2019 and 2020 by wildlife researchers with the support of several NGOs, striped hyenas, leopards, black-naped hares, Indian crested porcupines, small Indian mongooses and golden jackals were found to have healthy populations in the Gurugram Aravalis.
Besides, the wildlife density in the Gurugram section of the Aravalis and Mangar Bani was inferred to be higher than that of Asola Bhatti and the Faridabad Aravalis.
Aravalis suffer as no definition of forests in Haryana
The survey was conducted by a group of wildlife researchers, who were supported by Centre for Ecology, Development and Research (CEDAR) and WWF-India.
While Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area, the Aravalis of Gurgaon and Faridabad do not enjoy the same status as Haryana is yet to decide on the definition of forests and demarcate natural conservation zones.
During the survey, the researchers covered over 200sq km of wildlife area in four delineated zones — Gurgaon Aravalis, Mangar Bani, Faridabad Aravalis and Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. The survey emphasised what environmentalists seeking stronger laws to protect the Aravalis have been saying for years – that the Aravalis in Gurgaon and Faridabad, along with the Asola sanctuary, form a contiguous block of forest habitat that is an important wildlife corridor. A survey by Wildlife Institute of India in the Haryana Aravalis had in 2017 also showed a significant presence of animals in the corridor.
Ghazala Shahabuddin, an ecologist and a senior fellow at CEDAR, Delhi, said, “We found that three to four areas in the Gurgaon Aravalis have native species of plants that are not present in Delhi. For instance, the area around Damdama lake and two villages, Kot and Berhampur, were found to have remnants of Aravali forest patches. The entire region forms a critical wildlife corridor connecting the forested Aravali hills of Delhi and Haryana and providing a buffer to the wildlife of the Aravali hills of Alwar, including Sariska Tiger Reserve.”
The survey pointed out that in the Gurgaon Aravalis, the encounter rate of leopards is 2.7 per km compared to 1.4 in the Asola sanctuary. In Mangar Bani and Faridabad, it is 4.6 and 1.4, respectively. Encounter rates are based on the number of direct sightings and signs of each species recorded per km of transect, and have been used as pointers of mammal density in this study. “Mangar Bani and the Kot area showed an abundance of mammals. Encounter rates in the Gurgaon Aravallis and Mangar Bani were 30%, much higher than in Faridabad and Asola,” said Shahabuddin.
The survey found a healthy presence of rhesus macaque only in Asola — but this was primarily due to introductions from elsewhere — as well as scattered evidence of northern plains langur, honey-badger, Indian fox, jungle cat and ruddy mongoose.
This corridor, according to the survey, is the only place in Delhi-NCR where the rare honey badger has been recorded. The survey recorded the presence of nine mammal species in the area from Bandhwari to Damdama Lake.
Sunil Harsana, a wildlife researcher, said, “It is imperative to control land use change and protect this wildlife corridor and habitat from further fragmentation, construction and deforestation, given the range of species that are found here as well as the potential of several animal populations to recover to healthy levels.”
The survey also highlighted that forest restoration in the catchment areas of lakes can help revive perennial springs and streams, which will be important for the survival of small mammals, langurs and leopards.
M L Rajvanshi, the chief conservator of wildlife in Haryana, said, “We have been working on a habitation improvement plan for the state to conserve the wildlife in the Aravalis and Shivalik areas.”