Threat to my habitat: a Markhor’s open letter to mankind

I am a Caprinae Falconeri, known to you as the Markhor. Due to my graceful appearance, I have heard some people calling me “king of the goat family”.

Many of you may know that I am found on snow-clad mountains of the Himalayan, Karakoram and Hindukush ranges spreading over China, Afghanistan, Nepal and India as well as my home country — Pakistan.

I am the most educated of my fellow wild goats, still alive, though there are not many of us left anymore. Hence, I have been asked by my peers to write an open letter to you, the “super creature” of the world, telling you about the adverse affects of your activities on us, whom you call animals.

We, the markhors, feed primarily on leaves and grasses, and because of the increase in human settlements, urbanisation and deforestation, our suffering is increasing day by day.

Farmers and villagers from low altitude migrate to higher altitude during the summer along with their livestock which graze on our pastures, not only disrupting the habitat but also creating competition for the limited resources we have access to.

Do you know? This behaviour has expedited the rate of decline in our family numbers. Cruel hunters, who come from the big cities, wearing camouflage jackets, carrying shotguns on their shoulders, make base camps at the foot of the mountains and shoot us from far off distances.

My heart bleeds when I think of all my friends and fellows, who once used to play with me in my childhood and are now hanging as trophies in the houses of the so-called “elite” in your language but devils in ours.

At least four Markhors are killed every year, legally, and are later callously skinned. Hunters roast their hunt on fire and eat it, and many of them become millionaires by selling our horns and heads as trophies. Yes! It is cruel.

Oh! I have still not recovered from the state of melancholia because of the killing of my brother, last year. I saw him being skinned and later eaten up by members of your race right in front of my own eyes!

Alas! How can we convey our pain and agony to these hunters? For them it is a thrilling sport; but for us it is the loss of precious lives. It is purely for the pleasure of a handful of thrill-seekers that we markhors, like many other species, gradually becoming extinct from this planet.

Let us not only blame these hunters for our annihilation — Those living in metropolitan cities are equally responsible for polluting the environment we are living in. The environment, the air, water, land and all other resources that lie therein are God’s gift to all living beings and not only to humans.

The heavy consumption of wood as fuel, extraction of minerals from mountains by mining and increased usage of carbon in smoke- emitting factories are all contributions of human beings to the degradation of the environment. This, and much more, is leading to the most-discussed yet least-addressed issue of global warming.

This global warming is changing the ocean cycles and depleting the ozone layer which in turn is causing the glaciers to melt and waters to dry. This whole change brings with it climatic changes that affect all living beings including us Markhors.

My dear inhabitants of the Planet Earth!

I am young but am getting old quickly because of the abuse done to my environment and habitat. I am only seven and, though healthy Markhors live till the age of thirteen, have started to feel the environment taking its toll on my physical and mental health.

We, the Markhors of Pakistan appeal the people of Pakistan to join hands together and save us from extinction. Please protect us by saying no to deforestation and encouraging afforestation and reforestation. I would strongly suggest, on behalf of my community, that our habitat be declared as “wildlife parks” where our harassment and abduction should be banned.

We are not averse to tourism; on the contrary. Please encourage eco-friendly tourism by raising awareness of tourists to obeying the etiquettes and the “dos and don’ts” of eco- tourism.

Please educate tourists not to leave behind non-biodegradable garbage as it becomes a source of our death. Porters and local guides should also be trained on preserving the natural habitat for us and protection of the environment.

We request the government of Pakistan to limit tourism in our habitats as we, wild goats, are very shy and don’t like people intervening in our territories.

We request the government to make private homes for us called “sanctuaries” where we can live in peace without any fear of being dead the next minute. The government can hire trained breeders, who can breed Markhors. Being the national animal of Pakistan, we think that we deserve respect and honour. I hope our appeal will not fall upon deaf ears and our fellow earthlings will pay heed to our suggestions. I will be anxiously and eagerly looking forward to the governmental reforms in the Markhor society and change in the attitude of people after knowing the story from the other side of spectrum.

Thanking you all in advance for the efforts and the hard work, you all will put in to save us from extinction and changing our status from an endangered specie to an unthreatened member of the animal kingdom.  

Yours sincerely,

  Markhor

Pakistan’s national animal

The article has been written by Hamza Butt, a student of O-level second year in an Islamabad school. He can be reached at butt.hamza@gmail.com