Vanishing act? An Indian giant squirrel in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

Hazaribagh/Jamshedpur, Jan. 20: He is furry, black and bushy-tailed. And though forest officials say otherwise, he may just go the way of the dodo and the dinosaur.

A scientific survey by a team of Hazaribagh-based Neo Foundation, an NGO working for the protection of wildlife said the Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica), once abundantly found at Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary near Jamshedpur, is under threat.

NGO activist Satya Prakash who led the survey, said the species was the target of indiscriminate poaching by tribals during the sendra or bishu shikar, the ritual hunt in first week of February. Illicit felling created canopy gaps in the forest, restricting the leap of squirrels from one tree to another.

Talking to The Telegraph, Prakash said the 12-month survey was submitted to the Ranchi forest department on January 13, 2011.

Nesting, food and behavioural patterns of the animal was the survey’s focus. Prakash confirmed finding 1,452 squirrel nests in Dalma including 1,065 new and 387 old ones. He said feeding study was done by direct observation through binoculars and nesting survey was done in March and April, when trees were bare. He also suggested urgent conservation measures, including special awareness campaigns in schools to sensitise the young, besides stronger forest protection teams to ensure safety of squirrels habitats.

According to Prakash, local villagers admitted to seeing squirrels in large numbers at Dalma, which had decreased. “We didn’t have a survey on squirrels before, so lacked concrete evidence on numbers,” he said. Prakash said the survey revealed that other than hunting and felling of trees, manmade fires in Dalma disturbed the natural habitat of squirrels.

But Dalma range officer Sushil Oraon said otherwise. Though he admitted that conservation of Ratufa indica was never done specifically, he maintained hunting of wild animals had reduced. “The threat to Ratufa indica in Dalma has reduced. We are in touch with tribal outfits and organise events to sensitise them on conservation of nature and wildlife,” said Oraon.

He went on to say that after elephants, squirrels were Dalma’s other major attraction.

To prevent tribal hunting, Prakash suggested they be diverted to income generating schemes through traditional means, such as poultry, bee keeping or breeding goats, ducks and pigs. Villagers involved in felling trees should be motivated towards apiculture and plantation, he said.

But Dolma Buru Sendra Samiti that takes part in the ritual hunt at Dalma said they had stopped hunting squirrels altogether. “Last year, we observed a symbolic sendra . The forest department’s programmes asking tribals not to kill animals are getting effective,” said samiti member A. Tudu.