Sunday, August 24, 2003
Camel population registers decline in Rajasthan: Survey
HT Correspondent Jaipur, August 22
The population of camels in Rajasthan has been on the wane, found a random survey conducted recently by the Bikaner-based National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC) in the districts of Jaisalmer, Churu, Nagaur, Hanumangarh and Bikaner. No figures, however, have been released.
But expressing concern, GP Singh, the principal scientist and a member of the survey team, said that if the trend continues for another 15 years "camels would be visible only in zoos".
Singh said, "It is impossible to give exact numbers but all the villagers we spoke to said that their camels had been dying."
"But they would not become extinct," he said, added, "They would definitely become endangered."
The available figures (1996-97) say that the number stands at 6,69,443. The all-India population for the same period is 0.88 million.
A survey in 1992 had put the Rajasthan figure at 7,30,742, which means a decline of 61,299 camels in the state or a fall of 8.4 per cent each year. Fresh figures, however, are expected later this year.
However, MS Sahani, the director of NRCC, declined that it was a "matter of concern". "There has been a gradual decline in the livestock population and not just camels. In fact, the number of horses and donkeys in the State has fallen by around 40 per cent," he said.
Sahani also added that the number of camels in neighbouring states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had gone up by around four per cent in the last few years.
Camels have been the ambassadors of Rajasthan and for many, especially those who depend on them for survival, it would be difficult to conceive that camels would be found only in zoos and not in the deserts.
Shrinking grazing resources, mechanisation of farming and lack of specific fodder have been identified as the main reasons for this. "A lot of land in Rajasthan has been used for irrigation and has been fenced with barbed wire," said Sahani.
Moreover, the camel's breeding process is more complicated than other cattle. The gestation period is around 13 months and a female has follicular cycles where she can only liberate the ova after mating.
Other cattle, like humans, have regular oestrus cycles. Because of this Artificial Insemination (AI) in camels has not been possible so far and special hormone injections are being tested at the centre to induce ovulation.
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