Evaluating the Feasibility of Using Pellets to Assess Age, Relative Abundance and Habitat of Nilgiri Tahr ( ) in Mukurthi National Park, of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India

Abstract

The Nilgiri tahr; Nilgiritragus hylocrius is an endangered mountain ungulate of India, endemic to two states comes under Western Ghats, It is a social and shy animal found in mixed herds composed of adult and their sub adult young ones. Due to its shy nature and rapid escape tendencies into sharp mountain cliffs the correct population estimation of it is always remain difficult. Thus to make the age -sex estimation of Nilgiri tahr populations feasible, we have used as tools its various sizes of pellets collected from habituated Tahr herd. In the present study, based on pellet sizes about 8o% of population were segregated into different age -sex related classes. Result revealed higher overlap in pellet sizes among few age and sex related groups. On the basis of the results the feasibility of using pellet to assess age -sex structure and proper habitat preferred by Nilgiri tahr has been discussed.