IUCN representatives will be observers in the Nilgiri Tahr survey in Tamil Nadu.
From April 29, the Tamil Nadu Government will execute a synchronized survey of the state animal with a resolve to remove the Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) from endangered status.
The three-day exercise is being conducted to estimate the population of Tahrs, which once roamed the length and breadth of the Anamalai and Nilgiri landscapes.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed this animal as an endangered species and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
According to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund India in 2015, currently, there are around 3,000 Tahrs in the Western Ghats, and a sizeable portion is concentrated in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).
In 2020, the Nature Conservation Foundation found about 510 individuals in ATR, the second largest population of the species after Eravikulam National Park in Kerala.
For the survey being conducted with the Kerala Forest Department, the habitats in Tamil Nadu have been divided into 13 forest divisions, 100 forest beats, and 140 potential blocks.
