Revival of Eastern Swamp Deer Rucervus duvaucelii ranjitsinhi (Groves, 1982) in Manas National Park of Assam, India
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Abstract
A healthy population of the threatened Eastern Swamp Deer Rucervus duvaucelii ranjitsinhi in Manas National Park was almost exterminated due to politico-ethnic disturbances in the late 1980s that culminated with the formation of Bodoland Territorial Council in 2003. The Swamp Deer population in Manas began to revive with augmentation starting in 2014, in keeping with a UNESCO World Heritage Site Committee mandate. The Eastern Swamp Deer population in Kaziranga was threatened by the annual flood of the Brahmaputra River, and to secure the future of this threatened species, 36 deer were relocated in two batches in 2014 and 2017 from Kaziranga to Manas. The population of Manas had grown to an estimated 121 individuals by March 2021. Swamp deer is considered an important prey species for Swamp Deer population top predators, especially tigers, which have also increased in number in Manas over the last decade. Thus the revival of Eastern Swamp Deer has contributed to the rewilding programme of the Manas landscape.
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References
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