WildFact
›
Information Section
›
Terrestrial Wild Animals
Vertebrate Zoology & Environmental Science of Kashmir
Vertebrate Zoology & Environmental Science of Kashmir
|
Vertebrate Zoology & Environmental Science of Kashmir
|
Vertebrate Zoology & Environment of Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir is one of the world's most beautiful regions and incredibly biodiverse. If you show a scenery of Kashmir to a layman, they immediately assume it is from Switzerland. The Kashmir region is also incredibly biodiverse as it is a part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot.  *This image is copyright of its original author WARNING! This section is about a complex geopolitical conflict. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! If you're passionate about this subject and are from one of the 3 countries that are in conflict over it, please read this post before engaging in this thread. Notes about the Kashmir conflict That being said, Kashmir is among the world's most militarized zones. The Kashmir conflict is among the world's oldest and ongoing conflicts. The roots of the conflict go back to the era of British colonial rule over the Indian subcontinent. India and Pakistan have fought 3 wars (1947, 1965 and 1999) and multiple confrontations over this region. The Kashmir conflict is linked to global terrorism, Indo-Pak conflict & rivalry, religious extremism (Hindu & Muslim) and nuclear war. In fact, India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war (or at least a full-scale deadly conventional war) in 1999, 2002 and 2019. The wishes of the Kashmiri people regarding the conflict is as follows: 1. Pro-Pakistan (merge Kashmir with Pakistan) 2. Pro-Independence (those who wish to see Kashmir as a separate state (religious or secular)) 3. Pro-India (merge Kashmir with India) (People are in this category regardless of religion) From the Uppsala Conflict Data Program of Uppsala University SUMMARY [India: Kashmir] The territorial conflict in Kashmir has been one of the most protracted and most serious regional problems confronting India during the last decades, with many of the conflict years having reached the intensity of war. The conflict pits a large number of insurgent groups, commonly referred to as Kashmir insurgents, against the Indian government. The aim of the insurgents is the Kashmir’s secession from India, a demand firmly rejected by India. The conflict has been closely tied to Indian-Pakistani relations, and India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of fueling the insurgency. Though the conflict intensity has not reached the level of war since 2005, it steadily increased from 2015 and reached its peak in 2018. This trend was interrupted in 2019 with a drop in the number of battle-related deaths. The conflict intensity decreased to an all-time low in 2023 as the number of battle-related deaths dropped to almost half that of 2022. While the conflict intensity continued to decrease, violence remained prevalent throughout Jammu and Kashmir state. The government of India remained focused on a mainly military solution to the Kashmir issue, and there has been continued criticism against the violence from security forces and human rights abuses in the region. In 2023, the groups within the actor Kashmir insurgents most active in the conflict were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), followed by Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).  *This image is copyright of its original author For a hyper-complex and historic and ongoing conflict like Kashmir, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of it so one does not fall into propaganda. Here is a list of literature regarding Kashmir, so the reader can have a comprehensive understanding of it and do not fall into the propaganda and lies (of any side). Asymmetric Warfare in South Asia The Causes and Consequences of the Kargil Conflict  *This image is copyright of its original author This book is essential as it gives objective look at the conflict compared to hypernationalistic ones written by Indian & Pakistani army officials. The book also heavily relies on primary sources and information from government and army officials directly involved in the conflict. All the planners of Kargil one of the key planners of the Kargil conflict. Images of the Pakistani generals that concocted the Kargil plan.  *This image is copyright of its original author More books & resources (the books include both Pakistani, Indian and pro-independence (explained before) perspectives)
Advise for those who want to post in this thread:
As of 2024, the region is ruled by 3 countries. Pakistan [Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas) and Azad Kashmir], China [Aksai Chin] and the rest is ruled by India.  *This image is copyright of its original author The aims of this thread:
 *This image is copyright of its original author Scientific literature on the vertebrate fauna of Kashmir:
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Incredible! The Eurasian lynx has been recorded in Kargil, Ladakh (Indian-Administered Kashmir). Article Link
Eurasian lynx recorded in Kargil, better conservation steps needed The first photographic evidence of Central Asian lynx is recorded in Ladakh’s Kargil district. The medium-sized wild cat, until now, was recorded only in the Leh district of the Union Territory. The cat was recorded during a camera trap study conducted by a team of researchers to study flagship species such as snow leopard in the region. The Central Asian lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) which is listed as a Schedule I species in India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Even though the Eurasian lynx is listed as a species of least concern in the International Union for Convention of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which indicates a stable population, the population of its subspecies found in India, Central Asian lynx, is very low. The subspecies, also known as Himalayan or Tibetan lynx, was recently included in the Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) of Wild Animals, giving it a greater protection status. Before being recorded in Kargil, that lies on the west in Ladakh, the Central Asian lynx were reported from the Hemis National Park, Chang Chenmo area, Nubra Valley, Changthang, proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary – all from eastern Ladakh. The species is known for feeding on rodents as well as on small and juvenile mammals. Welcome to Kargil An individual of Central Asian lynx was captured on a camera trap on October 28, 2020 in the Rangdum area of Kargil district. The location is at the altitude of 4,154 metres above sea level. “We could easily distinguish the species as Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) based on unique characteristics such as tufts on the ears and a short black tail. The valley where the lynx was captured on camera is on the route to Rangdum-Kanji and Dibling village,” noted the recently-published research paper.  *This image is copyright of its original author A camera trap image of a Eurasian lynx at Hemis National Park in Ladakh. Image courtesy of Forest, Ecology & Environment Department, Ladakh. “The camera trap method was the first extensive project of the Wildlife Protection Department, Kargil for population estimation of snow leopard in Kargil. Rangdum is one of the prime habitats of snow leopard. The first photographic record of Eurasian lynx in Rangdum is highly significant for the conservation of rare elusive species in western region of Ladakh (Kargil),” said Niazul Khan, a member of the Ladakh Biodiversity Council and lead author of the study. In the paper, the researchers also described the meadow-dominated habitat where the primary vegetation is willow, wild onion, twisted knotweed and Webb’s rose. Some other wild animals captured on cameras during the study period were red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus) and domestic cattle (yak). The trail where the adult lynx was captured is an important trekking route from Rangdum to Kanji and Dibling. With this new evidence, the presence of the species in the western part of Ladakh is established but the population still looks to be quite scanty in this region. “The presence of lynx can possibly be there at multiple locations, but out of the 223 camera traps deployed in Kargil only one camera trap recorded Eurasian lynx presence. This evidence indicates exclusivity of the species in Kargil region,” Khan said. Tsewang Namgail, Director and Senior Scientist at the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, a non-profit focused on wildlife conservation in Ladakh, suggested that there has been anecdotal evidence of the lynx’s occurrence in Kargil but the density is not that high compared to the eastern part of Ladakh. “The Rangum area, where this particular picture was taken, it’s a pretty good lynx habitat in many ways. We had been expecting its presence in that area and this shows that the species occurs there,” Namgail, who also reviewed the paper, said. Khan is also planning to understand the distribution and habitat use of lesser known carnivores in the western region of Ladakh. Threats in Kargil The species is known for livestock depredation in Ladakh and earlier studies ascribed 2% of total livestock depredation by wild predators to lynx in Ladakh. This leads to a potential threat of retaliatory killing. The paper suggests measures for the safety of livestock. “It is important to safeguard livestock in adjoining villages of Rangdum, which is remotely located from Kargil headquarters,” the paper suggested. Habitat loss and poaching are also major threats to the species in this region but the increasing population of free-ranging dogs is a growing concern. “There is some hunting pressure in Kargil that is known to everyone now, compared to eastern part of Ladakh, the Leh district mostly. We know in certain valleys in the Kargil district people still hunt for food. If the prey population is depleted there because of some hunting pressure by people, definitely that would have a bearing on the lynx population also,” said Namgail. Earlier, the issue of free-ranging dogs was less rampant in Kargil, compared to the district of Leh. But now Kargil too is facing the issue of free-ranging dogs. A study published last year, investigated the patterns of free-ranging dogs’ predation on livestock and wildlife in the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary of Ladakh, from 2015 to 2017, and found that there are 310 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Hanle area and 61 free-ranging dogs per 100 sq km in Tso Moriri area of the sanctuary. These places are known habitats of Central Asian lynx and even though these dogs don’t kill the cats, they still affect them by stealing resources and intimidation. “The intensity of free-ranging dogs was not prevalent in the Kargil region because of less tolerance towards dogs. Presently, there is an increase in the dogs’ presence near the army camps due to food subsidies,” said Khan. No Kashmir connection In the year 2019, a Eurasian lynx was sighted and photographed by the officials of the wildlife department at Dobjan forest area in Shopian district of the neighbouring South Kashmir region. When asked about a possibility of a corridor connecting Shopian, Kargil and other parts of Ladakh where the cat occurs, Namgail ruled out the possibility. “These animals occur generally in the landscape of Ladakh which is the southern edge of their distribution. It does occur in the dense thickets of the sea buckthorn bushes in Nubra valley. The one that was found in Kashmir is more significant because that means it kind of progressed further down south into the temperate forest area. But I don’t think there is any corridor that links the Shopian area,” said Namgail.  *This image is copyright of its original author A lynx in a sea buckthorn shrub. Image by Stanzin Chamba. Need for more awareness With potential threats such as retaliatory killing because of livestock depredation, hunting and the sighting location being a famous trekking route, awareness about the conservation of this species among locals and tourists becomes a crucial step. When compared to Leh district in Ladakh, the Kargil district lags behind in wildlife and environmental conservation. Namgail terms it ‘the conservation backwaters of Ladakh’ as not much happens there in terms of awareness. “Not much is known about the larger species in Ladakh, let alone smaller ones like the pikas and weasels and all. If we don’t know much about big species like these, it shows that we are really lagging behind. It’s important that all organisations and governments put some effort in developing some understanding of the species and their distribution. It’s high time we spend some time invested in understanding the distribution (of lynx) where these animals are,” Namgail said. |
| Users browsing this thread: |
| 1 Guest(s) |