Species Translocation, Gift Or Curse?
For millennia, organisms have been existing in a plethora of shapes and sizes speckled throughout different geographic periods. From zebras to dolphins, these organisms show the ability to migrate from one place to another for better feeding and mating grounds, a learned behavior that is passed down from generation to generation that has been a staple behavior observed in animals such as Elephants, Zebras, and even human ancestors migrated towards new regions when their present location has a scarcity of resources or change in physiological conditions.
The rise in technology gave rise to building structures that made traveling much more convenient at the time, boats were built that made traveling more convenient. Around the 1200s, the age of exploration was kickstarted that was primarily undertaken to gain different trading routes towards Africa and Asia.
The age of exploration brought about the translocation of humans to different lands that led to colonialism amongst the big empires of that time such as the British, French, and Spanish, they also bought animals from their lands introducing them to newly conquered settlements. This resulted in disturbing the preexisting gene pool and damaging the food chains that were prevalent at the time in that region. But in some cases, it resulted in the complete extinction of the species; A classic example of this is a dodo, dodo (Raphus cucullatus) that lived on the islands of Mauritius that went extinct by the 1780s. They were hunted by the Dutch settlers who arrived on these islands but the main threat to dodos were not the humans but the introduced animals that they brought with them such as rats and dogs. While the rats feasted on the eggs, the dogs hunted the dodos down. This resulted in complete extinction of the dodo.
Other such incidents of species extinction due to invasive species introduction can be that of the Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti) that went extinct in 1983 due to predation from the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) that was introduced in the islands of Guam in the 1940s.
Before you readers, yes I’m talking to you go towards your nearest search engine and type what’s translocation, I’ll tell you about it myself after all what are you here for to learn right? So in simple words “Translocation simply means moving from one place to another” In the case of animals it’s an intentional moving of animals to increase the survival of species that are having a decline in their population or simply put are closer to extinction. While in some cases translocation of animals in a different ecosystem can lead to the decline of certain species of animals in that particular area it can also lead to the restoration of some species of animals. In recent times, the reintroduction of several species of animals has been triumphant, a prime example of this is the translocation of Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) from South Africa to Rwanda. The primary reason behind this was to secure a strong breeding population of rhinos in East Africa that promote improvement in the numbers of these giants resulting in the long-term survival of species.
This was a huge success as it not only increased the range of these enormous organisms but also allowed as mentioned earlier a chance at the survival of the species as of 2021 numbers at around 15,940. The Indian One Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) has also been subjected to translocation to strengthen the population that has recently crossed the 4000 mark. Sub-adults and Adults have been translocated from Pobitora National Park and Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park with Manas NP now possessing a strong population of 54 rhinos that are steadily growing.
Another such translocation that is still in its infancy is the translocation of South African Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)to Kuno-Palpur National Park located in Madhya Pradesh, India. Cheetah existence in India has been documented to date around before the 20th century but an increased rate of trophy hunting of the “speed demons” of the savannah by the maharajas and royals of the past brought about the extinction of cheetahs in the Indian Subcontinent with the last cheetah being hunted down in 1948 and the species was declared extinct in 1952.
But talks about cheetahs being reintroduced into the wild started around the 1955s which would have seen the reintroducing of the Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus)back in India that were to be sourced from Iran. But in September 2022, about 8 cheetahs were brought to India under the project “Action Plan for the reintroduction of Cheetahs in India” and released in quarantine zones at the Kuno-Palpur National Park which is located in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Since then, 20 cheetahs call the Kuno-Palpur National Park home along with the birth of 4 cubs from one of the female cheetahs that was introduced during the arrival of the first batch of cheetahs in late September of 2022. This has hinted towards progress of the project but only time will tell about the possibility of the world’s fastest feline running around the open forests and plains of India.
Now, to conclude whether species translocation has been a gift or curse. Translocation of species has a primary focus on intentional reintroduction of animals from one place to another where the populations are declining or the animal is currently extinct in that ecosystem. Translocation of male Bengal tigers is also conducted towards strengthening the population of these big cats, this also helps in monitoring ecosystems and controlling the population of certain herbivores e.g. Spotted Deer or Chittal(Axis axis) may have an indirect impact on the vegetation resulting in scarcity of food for other herbivores.
The cons of translocation may include factors like having a direct negative impact on particular species and gene pool in the area the animal will be translocated in, also the risk of the animals getting injured increases along with the expense to conduct such procedures. Due to this, translocation is done only when the survival of an animal is under threat or to reintroduce certain species of animal that is recorded extinct in its home range.
This is my take on species translocation and whether it has a positive or negative impact on the ecosystems of today. If you are reading this article and like the content, please feel free to share it with your friends and fellow wildlife enthusiasts.
