THATTA, Dec 8: A consignment of 200 chinkara gazelles arrived in Sindh from Punjab this week under an agreement signed by the provincial forest department with the H.H Sheikh Zayed Wildlife Conservation Programme for reintroduction and propagation of the deer species which used to be found quite abundantly in the province.

Out of the 200 chinkara gazelles which arrived from the deer breeding centre at the with the H.H Wildlife Park in Rahimyar Khan district, 100 were released in the Booharki Forest Park in Badin and Sufi Anwar Shah Safari Park in Ghotki districts.

Talking to Dawn, chief forest conservator for Sindh Riaz Ahmed Wagan said that the chinkara — usually referred to as the Indian gazelle — used to be common in reserved and protected forest habitats of Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Khairpur and Ghotki districts.

However, he said, over the years the species had become endangered due rapid shrinking of its habitat caused by unplanned development and excessive hunting.

He said that the chinkara lived in arid areas with shrub forests of India India, Pakistan and then Iran and could go days without water. In Pakistan it was found in till areas 1,500 metres above sea level. Chinkaras are shy animals and usually avoided human habitation and occurred in more than 80 protected areas in India, three in Pakistan and a few others in Iran.

Mr Wagan said that the number of chinkaras in Pakistan had been severely reduced by hunting and was included in ‘red list’ of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

He said that this translocation was one of the biggest attempts of introducing the endangered species in Badin area. “The Booharki forest is linked with the Runn of Kutchh used to be a natural corridor for several wildlife species including the chinkara gazelle,” said the chief forest conservator.

He said that the gazelles had been released under the provincial forest department’s scheme titled ‘Habitat restoration and promotion of wildlife safari in Booharki forest, Badin’, adding that a comprehensive plan had been chalked out for expand such ‘biodiversity hotspots’ in Miani, Pai, Khanani, Thatta, Karoonjhar mountain range and Bahman areas in the next three years.