Dang Dilemma A project to revive the food chain in Dang Forest

 The article speaks of the amazing project of re-populating the Dang Forest 'prey base' to solve the human-animal conflicts in the region.

- KRUNAL TRIVEDI 

Dang, meaning bamboo, is a district in the southeastern part of Gujarat, India. According to folklore, the district was named 'Dang' because of its dense bamboo forest. It is administratively divided into two parts: 'North Dang', which has the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, and 'South Dang', which has the Vansda National Park. The Dang forests were once home to many wild animals, herbivores and carnivores. Nearly four decades ago, the majestic Bengal tiger was found in these forests. With the passing years, development has led to deforestation, which has led to severe depletion of the biodiversity in these forests, resulting in the loss of most of its flora and fauna.

Among the herbivorous animals, there was a predominance of wild ungulates, namely, Spotted Deer, Four-horned antelope, Barking deer and Sambar deer, the prey base for the Tigers, Leopards and Wild dogs. Due to deforestation and hunting, the population of wild ungulates decreased, which resulted in the local extinction of tigers, wild dogs, and Sambar from the area. The Leopard, on the other hand, is still found in both protected regions. The existence of this predator, combined with the lack of herbivores, causes problems in many areas of Dang, particularly in the forest. This large cat frequently ventures out of its territory in quest of prey (food), resulting in conflicts with humans.

Decades of close interactions of Nature Club Surat (NCS) with the Dang Forests brought the realization that depletion of the 'prey base' had forced the Leopards, the highest order predator in the region, to venture into human habitats to attack livestock and at times even human beings, increasing the humananimal conflicts at an alarming rate in the region.