Suhail Khan
SRINAGAR, June 22: Officials of the Wild Life Department have sounded an alarm over the rising population of wild boar (Pig) with over 100 animals present in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district alone.
On Sunday, a dead wild boar was found at a graveyard in the Boniyar area of Baramulla district.
The presence of wild boar or pig, which is not a native animal of Kashmir, has created a scare among people.
“This is scary to see pigs roaming in various parts of Uri. Locals from various parts of Uri have seen wild boars a number of times even in residential areas,” Mohammad Sharif, a resident of Uri, said.
Range Officer Wildlife Department Baramulla, Altaf Koul claimed over 100 wild boars are present in Baramulla district alone.
“They (wild boars) mostly reside near the Line of Control. They have tusk teeth and can attack people. The wild boar is a wild species of pig. If anyone found dead wild boar anywhere, this animal should be burnt immediately to contain the spread of disease,” Altaf told news agency.
He said Kashmir being a Muslim dominated society won’t accept the presence of this animal. “People won’t allow these animals to go in their areas. These could be sighted in Kazinag National Park, Limber Wildlife Sanctuary, and Lachipora Wildlife Sanctuary. There has been a rapid increase in their population in north Kashmir,” he said.
He said he will also write to District Development Commissioner Baramulla how to deal with the situation.
“Before it becomes a nuisance for us, we have to think about what should be done. So far, the Wildlife Department has been chasing them to go to upper areas near the LoC,” he added.
The Wildlife Department is clueless about their number in Kashmir as it has done no survey so far.
Wild boar has also been sighted in the Dachigam National Park of Srinagar in recent years.
In 2010, a dead wild pig was also sighted in Lachipora Wildlife Sanctuary of north Kashmir by a team of researchers when they were surveying for Markhor.
The species was considered locally extinct even from the Dachigam National Park, and according to the State Wildlife Department, was not sighted from the park and its adjoining areas since 1984. The sighting of the wild pig in Dachigam after a gap of about 30 years however proves that it still survives in Dachigam, a 2018 research paper says.(KINS)
