Hog Deer.

The Hog deer Axis porcinus despite being an endangered cervid draws less attention from the conservationists. In South Asia, including Assam, there is an urgent need to update the status (IUCN 2009). In places like Manas, where hog deer used to be abundant in 1980s, has considerably lost its population. The lack of awareness, absence of monitoring and less focus (research priority) in the recent past created a void in our understanding on the species. The species being an obligate of the grasslands of Terai arc landscape, is facing enormous pressure for its survival. Except a few protected areas, the very endurance of the species is questionable. Even very few works have been carried out to understand the need of the species. Lack of awareness and its status in IWPA 1972 are possibly the only reasons for the absence of any monitoring of the population of hog deer within the current protected areas. This study will generate baseline information on hog deer status and also the status of the grasslands in Assam, as the species is an obligate to grassland.

In Manas, where woodlands are taking over too much of grasslands because of severe anthropogenic reasons, have contributed to hog deer habitat decline. The same can be attributed to elsewhere in Assam. The opportunistic hunting is a major concern for hog deer both inside and outside protected areas of the state. Hence the population of hog deer is dwindling and struggling for survival apart from Kaziranga National Park, where rhino umbrella has helped maintaining a healthy population. We presently lack any status information from Manas, Orang, Nameri and Bornodi Reserves in the north bank landscape of the river Brahmaputra in Assam. We plan to generate hog deer’s status, present distribution and prioritise threats to address conservation manual in Assam.