Rapid Fire
Invasive Chital Population in A&N Islands
- 09 Apr 2024
- 1 min read
The chital (Axis axis) population on Bose Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has exceeded the ecosystem's carrying capacity, prompting the Andaman and Nicobar Forest Department to consider relocating around 500 deer to a Biological Park in Port Blair.
- It was brought to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for hunting in the early 1900s by the British.
- Recent studies indicate that the invasive chital species is negatively impacting local flora and fauna, necessitating strategic management measures.
- Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, an Chief Wildlife Warden can permit translocation for the purpose of scientific management.
- The law mandates that such translocation should cause minimum trauma to animals.
- The chital, also known as the spotted deer or axis deer, is a graceful and elegant herbivore native to the grasslands and forests of India and Sri Lanka.
- They prefer open grasslands, savannas, and lightly forested areas.
- IUCN Red list: Least Concern
- WLPA 1972: Schedule II.
Read more: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
