SARGODHA: The population of urial in Khushab district is at the brink of extinction as reportedly only about 150 animals have survived in the mountains of the district, mainly in the Soon Valley in the north west of the district.

The valley extends from village Padhrar to Sakesar in the Salt Range.

The ruins of a rest house in Sodi Jaiwal, at the foothills of the mountains, surrounded by a thick forest, reminds one of the days when it was used as a hunting lodge by Ayub Khan and Nawab of Kalabagh, the governor of West Pakistan, who used to camp there on poaching expeditions in this area.

The district gazetteer reveals that this valley was home to wild animals like tigers, leopards and wolves who preyed on chinkara and urials. In the 19th century, the British administrators planned to exterminate the wild animals which could harm the human population and cattle by announcing a cash reward for killing any such animal. In the five years until 1882, rewards were paid for killing three tigers and 11 leopards. By the end of 1895, the government reward was paid for three leopards only. These animal species have completely vanished from the area now. Same is the case with their hunt.

The Salt Range is the hub of urial but its main population is in the mountains of the range that fall in the districts of Jhelum and Chakwal. Its population in Khushab district is fighting for survival. Even the small population is constantly under attack as illegal poachers are active in the area. The trade of urial lamb along black partridges is increasing. Coal mining is also damaging the forests that reduce the wildlife habitat. Deforestation and burning of forests by the wood mafia are also direct threats to the wildlife.

Hardly 150 animals left in the district

There is no permanent wildlife check post from village Jabba to Sakeser, a stretch of 35km long forest of the Soon Valley. The contractual staff have little interest in performing their duties and they oblige the influential poachers for continuity of their jobs.

The office of Salt Range Field Force deputy director was set up at Kalar Kahar and Khushab district was part of this set-up but recently latter was linked with Sargodha division which would further affect the animal conservation efforts.

There is no collaboration of wildlife and forest department at field level and the regional office of wildlife department presents a deserted look with no official available for comments.

When contacted, an officer of the wildlife department says they are facing shortage of funds.

Although protected areas exist in the Salt Range but potential urial habitats of Sheink Dhaki, Khabeki and Rakh Gorra reserve forest are not legally protected while forest from Jabba to Sakeser are also not part of the protected areas for urial.

Muhammad Arif Haral, an old resident of Ahmedabad village, is one of the local conservationists resisting hunting for the last 25 years. Sharing his childhood memories from the 1950s to 1960s, he said large herds of urial were seen in the area and animals would move freely even near the human settlements. He alleged that the poachers were still killing urials and catching their lambs with the connivance of wildlife and the influential of the area. He said in last two months, four urials had been killed in Rakh Shinh Dhaki and Rakh Khabeki while the injured animals were not seen again in the area.

“I found head of a killed urial recently and handed it over head to wildlife officials for proceeding against the poachers. The officials of wildlife department, politicians and bureaucrats are bent upon eliminating urial in the Soon Valley,” Mr Haral added.

Khushab Wildlife Department District Officer Khalid denied that urial population had decreased drastically in recent times, claiming that the number of urials in the area was increasing due to efforts of the department with assistance of local volunteers.

He said that no licences were issued for the trophy hunting in the district since 1970. The Punjab government had declared 12 protected areas of different categories in the range where Punjab urial existed and trophy hunting was not being done in Khushab as licences were given only for the districts like Jhelum, Chakwal and Mianwali.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2017