The fauna, especially wolf, blackbuck and chinkara, is declining due to anthropogenic pressure such as illegal mining, habitat degradation, water scarcity and poaching in the Luni river basin, a study reveals.

The Luni river is known as Maruganga of Thar Desert in western Rajasthan.

It originates from the Naga Hills of the Aravalli Range in Ajmer district and flows through Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer and Jalore districts covering a distance of around 495 kms and disappears in the marshy land of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

The total catchment area of the Luni river basin in Rajasthan is 37,363 sq km, which makes it the second largest river basin of the state.

The study on desert wild fauna was carried out in 125 km length of the Luni river in Jodhpur district (from village Jhak in Bilara tehsil to village Dhundhara in Luni tehsil) from 2003 to 2019.

Apart from ungulates like Indian gazelle, blackbuck and nilgai or blue bull, wild animals such as wolf, Indian fox, desert fox, Indian porcupine are key species of the region.

“Three wildlife rich area Guda Bishnoi, Sathin and Dhawa Doli are situated at Luni basin of Jodhpur. These areas have rich wildlife. The population highest population density (4.47 individual/ square km) was noted from Guda Bishnoi and followed (3.45 indiv/ sq km) by Sathin closed area. But compared with the situation even a few decades ago, the present distribution of blackbuck in Thar desert is drastically reduced and the surviving populations are fragmented and usually very small,” said Hemsingh Gehlot, an assistant professor of Zoology at the Jai Narayan Vyas University.

”In the study, we found that there are many threats and conservation challenges due to expansion of human population in adjoining villages of Luni river bank. The increasing trend of human population has been affecting the antelope numbers and distribution, principally through the gradual contraction of their grazing and foraging areas in western Rajasthan,” he said.

The impact of mining on faunal diversity of Guda Bishnoian area at the bank of Luni river in Jodhpur district was assessed by Gehlot.

According to Gehlot, blackbuck prefers scrub land, while chinkara used recently harvested crop field or fallow land in Thar region. The biodiversity of desert landscape have been declining over the last few decades due to destruction of habitats, indiscriminate hunting, and increase feral dog, human and livestock population in their habitats consequently the major predator; the Indian cheetah has been totally vanished while the population of wolf declined harshly. Thus, the biological diversity of desert region is fast changing with man’s intervention.

As per the study, about 44.77% blackbuck were dwindled by feral dogs in Thar region of Rajasthan. Another hazard is the over speeding vehicles on national and state highways. The road accidents mortality was about 22% and poachers was responsible for 1% killings or deaths of blackbuck in arid region.

He said that 59.52% mortality of chinkara was even after strong enforcement of the Wildlife (Protection) Act by the wildlife department; the poachers were responsible for 25% killings or deaths of gazelle in Jajiwal and Guda area of Jodhpur.

Earlier, wild fauna were frequently sighted outside the protected areas, but now they can be seen in sanctuary, closed area or around Bishnoi villages.

First Published: Jun 08, 2019 12:19 IST