People Interventions In Margalla Hills Disturbing Wildlife Habitats

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Sep, 2019 ) :The people living in the villages around the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) were disturbing wildlife habitats posing threat to their natural occupation.

Talking to APP, Islamabad Wildlife Management board (IWMB) Assistant Director Sakhawat Ali said the wildlife including wild boars and leopards existing in the Park had been facing serious habitat problems.

He said boars mostly lived in specific areas where females among piglets used to leave such area in search of food. However, dumpster placed on the sides of the the Federal capital roads had been a very good source of food for the wild boars but the boars are being migrated to Ayubia and some other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to human and wildlife conflicts.

" Their migration to Ayubia is a good sign as boars would survive as they were mostly the preys for leopards, however, KP will be a different situation for the boars as the environment was not suitable there," he added.

Sakhawat said: "Wild boars had been in abundance across the subcontinent where anthropogenic activities reduced them to certain limited habitats.

Long time ago there had been Asian Lion reported to be existing in MHNP where hunting pressure resulted in its extinction. It now exists only in India and might have migrated due to unfavourable conditions," he added.

To a question, he said wild boars are omnivores and feed on everything, adding, "In MHNP they eat the calves of barking deer, chicks and eggs of pheasants in the park." The park, he said was the last habitat for the indigenous flora and fauna of the Himalayan foothills. Moreover, around 25 villages with a significant population were living at the outskirts of the park with over a hundred thousand domestic animals.

The increasing population pressures, cutting of trees for fuel wood, hunting of wild goats and jungle fowl and grazing of domestic animals may lead to human animal conflicts," he said, adding a research by an IWMB official was underway to ascertain the prevailing scenarios.

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