In news- Recently, Africa’s Boma technique was undertaken at Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district for capturing and translocating spotted deer to improve the prey base in Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve, situated 450 km away.
What is Boma technique?
- The Boma capturing technique, which is popular in Africa, involves luring of animals into an enclosure by chasing them through a funnel-like fencing.
- The funnel tapers into an animal selection-cum-loading chute, supported with grass mats and green net to make it opaque for animals, which are herded into a large vehicle for their transport to another location.
- This old technique was earlier utilized to capture wild elephants for training and service.
- Following its adoption in Madhya Pradesh in recent years, Boma has been put to practice for the first time in Rajasthan for sending the ungulates to the prey-deficient Mukundara reserve as the kills for tigers and leopards.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority’s (NTCA) technical committee has approved a proposal to shift two tigers from Ranthambore National Park to Mukundara, which lost two tigers and two cubs in 2020 and is now left with an eight-year-old tigress.
- The passive capture of ungulates with the first ever utilization of Boma technique will make a significant contribution to the prey base management in the State.
About Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve-
- The Mukundara Hills Tiger reserve, also a national park spread across 759 sq. km area.
- It is located in the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests.
- The National park was established in 2004 and consists of three wildlife sanctuaries: Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary, and Jawahar Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It was declared as a tiger reserve in 2013.
- It has grasslands in between and also many dry deciduous trees. There are four rivers that flow in this region, the rivers are Chambal river, Kali river, Ahu river, Ramzan river.
- Mukundara Hills National Park was once considered for the reintroduction of the Asiatic lion.
- Apart from Mukundara, Rajasthan is home to four tiger reserves, they are Ranthambhore, Sariska , and Ramgarh Vishdhari(latest).
Source: the hindu
