Members of the Muthuvan tribe of the Anamalai hills, who are known for coexisting with the wildlife with their traditional knowledge, have joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department for a unique task.
According to the Department, they will be part of the Project Nilgiri Tahr, which is aimed at protecting the State animal, conservation status of which is ‘endangered’ in the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
S. Ramasubramanian, Conservator of Forests and Field Director of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), said the Department was engaging members of the Muthuvan tribe for a community-based conservation of the mountain ungulate, population of which was limited to highly fragmented habitats in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
