Pobitora’s biggest wetland drying up

-By Sivasish Thakur

Guwahati , May 23: Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, which harbours the world’s highest density of one-horned rhinos, is facing an unprecedented situation with its biggest wetland, Tamulidoba, drying up.

Lying along the western boundary of the celebration rhino-land, Tamulidoba has been an ideal habitat for rhinos and buffaloes in particular, besides hosting wide-ranging water birds. The wetland is a major attraction for tourists, who can enjoy a panoramic view of Pobitora and its varied wildlife right from the road.

At the root of the parched-up wetland has been heavy situation that has effected a substantial rise of its bed-so much so that the wetland now resembles a field with hardly any trace of water.

The situation has forced the rhinos and the buffaloes-which need the swamp to wallow in mud-to shift to other areas of the sanctuary. And in an unprecedented development, rhinos and buffaloes were seen drinking water from the Haduk Beel, another deeper water-body.

“This has never happened before… none has ever seen rhinos drinking from this water-body earlier. This comes with ominous portents for Pobitora’s future,” a forest official said.

He added that the inlets and outlets with the Brahmaputra which submerges a major portion the sanctuary during the monsoons have undergone undesirable changes from human activities. “This is a factor worsening the ongoing situation,” he said.

The annual floods are critical to replenishing the wetlands and grassland of Pobitora.

When asked, Monica Kishore, DFO, Guwahati Wildlife Division, said that the forest department was working out an action plan for scientific desiltation of the wetland.

“We had conducted a scientific study on the problem and based on its recommendations, a proposal for desiltation has been submitted to the State government. Once it is approved with budgetary allocation, we will conduct a scientific desiltation exercise after the monsoons," she said.

Another unresolved issue that can wreak havoc with Pobitora's flagship rhino population is the unrestricted grazing of livestock together with the wild herbivores. This is because any transmission of disease from domestic cattle to the wild animals can wipe out their populations.

"This has been another nagging issue besetting the sanctuary. We are planning some intervention in collaboration with the Morigaon district administration. We need to work out a balanced solution for both wildlife and the local villagers who need space for grazing," the DFO said.

With a very high rhino concentration sheltered in its small habitat, Pobitora is also having a tough time managing the animals. The situation has triggered a spurt in the incidence of rhinos straying out of the sanctuary in search of food and space. Growing infighting among the males has been another disturbing fallout.

As the straying rhinos move a great distance from the sanctuary, this has necessitated constant monitoring by forest guards who follow the rhinos. According to a GPS mapping, straying rhinos effectively cover an area of 372 sq km whereas the size of Pobitora is a mere 38.81 sq km.

Some rhinos from Pobitora had been translocated to Manas under the ambitious Indian Rhino Vision 2020 project that aims at having optimum rhino populations in Assam distributed over seven protected areas.

“But more rhinos need to be taken away from Pobitora so that the rhino population is within the ecological and sociological carrying capacity of the sanctuary,” a conservationist said.