The Buck Stops Here

The problem of plenty that the Delhi Zoo is facing with the 25 or so unwanted blackbucks that ended up there after being rounded up from ...

The problem of plenty that the Delhi Zoo is facing with the 25 or so unwanted blackbucks that ended up there after being rounded up from farmhouses, once again focuses attention on the role of zoos in India. Let8217;s face it: the zoos in the country are simply not equipped to cope up with any more animals than they already have. I agree with them that their job is to sustain a small population that should serve the purpose of education. But frankly, zoos have more of an entertainment than educational value in India.

Instead of sterilising the bucks, which are an endangered species, the simple and right thing to do would be to relocate them to the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur. The Park has seen its blackbuck population dwindle down the years from 20 in the 8217;70s to a mere six or seven. The grasslands of Bharatpur are extensive enough to support a population of a few hundred blackbucks, where inbreeding has caused their numbers to dwindle. Rehabilitaion of the zoo animals there will give the population in the wild a fresh infusion of genes and they will once again turn viable and multiply.

The Delhi Zoo problem will be solved, the animals will return to the wild and above all, as there is an absence of predators at Bharatpur, there is no danger to these bucks. Predators are often a major deterrent in relocation programmes.

But a lot has to be done before this they-lived-happily-ever-after ending can be achieved. The main problem with rehabilitating blackbucks is that being as sensitive as they are, they often die of trauma. It has to be ensured that they are transported carefully in a closed truck, so as to minimalise shock.

Often, people suggest culling or limited hunting be allowed to control the population of animals whose numbers are going up, but I maintain that this is only successful in an ideal situation, which is hardly the case in India. Here, rules are made to be broken and the difference between limited and unlimited is only in the law-maker8217;s mind.

The blackbuck numbers have also gone up in certain pockets in Rajasthan, where they have become a menace for the farmers whose crops they keep devastating. The possible solution could be to make an exclusive blackbuck sanctuary in that area, something on the lines of the Vellavadar Sanctuary in Gujarat. Not only will this protect the bucks but local farmers can also get jobs in the sanctuary. Experiments all over the country have shown that unless you involve the locals and give them a stake in the conservation efforts, you cannot hope to protect your animals.

Take the case of Karera National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Once the park alienated the locals, the latter had no qualms about shooting the blackbucks and Great Indian Bustards, wiping out the entire species to near extinction. In 1992, while I was there filming, I sighted a herd of about 200 bucks together. Such a thing is impossible to conceive now.

Story continues below this ad

Coming back to the role of the zoos, there have been proposals 8212; for instance, by Deepak Nirula, the ecologist and horticulture expert who runs the NGO, Trees For Life 8212; to get corporates to sponsor enclosures at the zoo. This will make sure that the animals are well looked after. This idea should be worked on and corporate houses can be roped in to sponsor breeding and other scientific research programmes.

It is time that the role of zoos is redefined.Delhi Zoo has enough space to encourage breeding projects that will help increase the overall population of animals. The zoo need no longer be the place where animals go to die, but a place where animals are sent out to their natural habitat, the jungle.