Punjab Wildlife took first successful step to release rare species of black deer into its natural habitat to show constructive results as the population of the earlier extinct animal has increased after 53 years.
Last year in October 2020, total 17 black deer were released into the natural environment in Fort Abbas Tehsil in the Bahawalnagar district of south Punjab, and now their numbers are growing rapidly.
As per Punjab Wildlife officials, 25 black deer has been moved from Lal Sohanra National Park to the Pre-Release Center in Khairpur Tamiwali, from where these animals will be released into nature after familiarizing with the environment.
Read more: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa notifies 11 new protected areas for wildlife conservation
Pakistan’s rare blackbuck went extinct in 1967 whose natural habitat was considered to be the Cholistan desert. While talking to the media, District Wildlife Officer of Bahawalnagar Zahid Ali informed that Punjab Wildlife along with the assistance of the Pakistan Army, started work on the project to release the deer into the wild in the year 2000.
Mr. Ali described that there was a time when it was decided that the deer should be raised in an artificial environment and then unconfined into their natural habitat.
“For this purpose, black deer were released in Lal Sohanra National Park where they started to breed. Our main goal was to bring the black deer back to their natural environment,” he added.
In September 2020, the group of deer was shifted from Khairpur Tamiwali to another pre-release pen made in Fort Abbas, to support their acclimatization with the environment.
Finally, 17 black deer were unconfined into the wild.
“We have built water ponds at various places in the area before releasing them into the natural environment,” Zahid Ali said.
Moreover, to make sure the protection of the animals, numerous types of natural grass has also been grown along with the establishment of a monitoring system and checkpoints to fend off hunters.
Punjab Wildlife officials said that black deer are regularly being monitored after being released.
Besides, special attention is also being given to their food and water in the region, as water scarcity was the cause of their extinction in the past.
