IMPHAL, Nov 26 - Noted wildlife expert Dr MK Ranjitsinh, who had drafted the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, has expressed the immediate need of a second home of the Eld�s deer locally known as Sangai in Manipur.
In a chat with The Assam Tribune on the sidelines of the International workshop on Sangai deer conservation here, India�s first Director of Wildlife Preservation Dr Ranjitsinh said that there are chances of this wonderful animal in wild vanishing if such kind of initiative is not taken up.
The former nature conservation adviser of United Nations Environment Programme, Bangkok office, Ranjitsinh-led team had found just 14 Sangai deer at Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP) during the first Sangai census conducted in 1977. He expressed happiness over the increase in the number of the rare species presently and attributed it to conservation activities taken up by the authorities in association with the locals. The former bureaucrat had formulated one of the most successful conservation project, viz., Project Tiger.
Dr Ranjitsinh made a presentation on �Conservation propects of Sangai� in the International workshop where experts from Myanmar, Thailand, Veitnam, USA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) shared their wildife conservation experiences.
WII Scientist Dr SA Hussain spoke on evolution of Eld�s deer, known locally as Sangai. He suggested establishment of a genetically sound second population should be the first priority.
�A second site (for Sangai) needs to be expedited,� said Sangeeta Angom, another scientist. Interestingly, the carrying capacity of KNLP is said to be about 297 Sangai.
