Srinagar, Sep 11: For the past two years, Ondrila Sanyal, 33, a Kolkata-based researcher with the Zoological Survey of India, has been documenting the spatio-temporal use of Asiatic ibex (Capra sibirica) in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP), where wild ungulates and domestic livestock share fragile Himalayan pastures.
Sanyal, who holds a postgraduate degree in environmental sciences from the University of Calcutta and has spent 9 years in wildlife conservation research with the Wildlife Institute of India, University of Kashmir (KU) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said her findings show ibex herds of 25 to 30 individuals frequent the same alpine grazing grounds used by nomadic livestock.
“The ibex is a true wild goat and a near-threatened species. It is also the primary prey of the snow leopard. If we want to secure snow leopards in Kishtwar, we must ensure the ibex population remains healthy,” Sanyal told participants at the 2nd International Conference on Hangul and Other Threatened Ungulates (2IHUC-25) at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K)’s Shalimar campus.
From May to August, nomadic herders bring sheep and goats into the park’s meadows.
Camera trap studies and field surveys revealed that livestock activity influences ibex presence and habitat use.
“They can’t entirely avoid livestock, so the management strategy should be to develop species activity-specific core zones inside the national park,” Sanyal said.
Her team has also reported the presence of musk deer – both Himalayan musk deer and Kashmir musk deer in the park.
Camera trap images captured the Kashmir musk deer in 2022 and 2023.
Unlike the ibex, musk deer are solitary and avoid large groups.
Along with the Himalayan goral, these species form part of the Chenab Valley’s greater Himalayan ungulate diversity.
Sanyal said the park holds “a healthy ibex population” and “good captures” in surveys, underlining its importance for snow leopard conservation.
“The study opens new frontiers for understanding predator-prey dynamics in the Himalayas,” she said.
The international conference, which began on Wednesday, is dedicated to the conservation of the critically endangered Kashmir red deer, or Hangul, along with related species such as the Bukhara deer, Tarim deer, and other threatened ungulates worldwide.
More than 200 delegates from across India and abroad are participating, including experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia.
Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, who inaugurated the event, said science, policy, and community engagement are key to wildlife conservation.
“Hangul occupies a place of pride in J&K’s wildlife heritage. This platform should help the next generation of scientists build networks and an actionable roadmap for conservation,” he said.
Commissioner Secretary, Forest, Ecology and Environment, Sheetal Nanda, and eminent international experts, including Dr Susana Gonzalez and Dr Stefano Focardi, also addressed the gathering, calling for coordinated strategies to protect ungulates against pressures of urbanisation, climate change, and disease.
Held under the banner of the International Support and Alliance for the Central Asian Red Deer with IUCN recognition, the conference covers a wide range of themes, including population dynamics, ecology, wildlife health, genetics, breeding and reintroductions, climate change adaptation, and community engagement.
Organisers said the event marks “a milestone of global conservation relevance” and underscores India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sanyal’s ibex research was conducted under the supervision of Dr Tauqeer Bashir of SKUAST-Kashmir, with funding from the National Development Foundation and the J&K Wildlife Protection Department.
