Wild boars resurface in Valley

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 20

Wild boars — non-native animal to Kashmir — have resurfaced in the Valley and created scare in the localities surrounding the Dachigam National Park in Srinagar.

Officials said nearly 30 wild boars had been present in the Dachigam National Park for the past few years.

“The government has never made any attempt to conduct a census of wild boars. We don’t have exact number of wild boars present in Kashmir but there have been multiple sightings of wild boars in Kashmir in the past few years,” said an official of the Wildlife Department.

Locals in Theedh, Nishat and other adjoining areas of the Dachigam National Park said the wild boars were entering their houses, creating scare among them.

They took up the issue with the authorities during a recently held Back to Village programme where officials approved the construction of concrete wall around the park.

“We have constructed a concrete wall around the Dachigam park to prevent wild boars from entering into the residential areas,” said an official, who held the Back to Village programme in the area.

Officials said wild boars were brought to Kashmir by erstwhile ruler Maharaja Gulab Singh for game hunting.

According to the State Wildlife Department, the species was considered locally extinct and has not been sighted in the Dachigam park and its adjoining areas since 1984.

“The recent sightings of wild boars in Dachigam after a gap of over 30 years, however, prove that they still survive in Kashmir,” the department said.