With the road connections between the Nubra Valley and Leh washed away, they are unable to reach the villagers who domesticate these endangered animals.
The extent of damage in the Nubra Valley, known for these camels and sand dunes at an altitude of about 12,000 ft is also unknown. If they are wiped out, it would be a big blow to Indian biodiversity.
“We just don’t know whether they have survived or perished. We are hoping for the survival of at least some of them so that we can start our conservation programme,” K M L Pathak, deputy director general in charge of animal sciences at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, told Deccan Herald.
Before flood struck the cold desert, scientists were fine-tuning a programme to conserve the bactrian camels—double humped ones—which are also found in the Gobi desert region in China and Mongolia, where they are endangered.
To bring back these animals from the verge of extinction, ICAR roped in defence research and development organisation and Sher-e-Kashmir University for a breeding project that was to begin after the winter.
“The flood has altered our plans completely. Now, we don’t know when we can start it,” said Pathak, a former director of National Research Centre on Camel in Bikaner that will play a key role in the project.
With the focus still firmly on the rescue missions for human, the people involved in relief and rescue operations have little time for these animals.
In the last seven days, IAF helicopters are rescuing people stuck at various points in the Zanskar valley and outskirts of Leh. With many local and foreigners still stranded, there is little hope for the scientists to reach the Nubra region till the road link is restored.
Gestation period
Carrying a breeding programme for an animal that breeds only once in a year, at 12,000 ft altitude is a big challenge. Double-hump camels have a gestation period of 13 months and always produce single offspring.
Even though conservation programmes are underway in China and Mongolia, ICAR have barely any information from those projects.
The NRC-C researchers first generated data on physiological parameters and nutritional need for the bactrian camels. Subsequently, Sher-e-Kashmir University and DRDO were roped in for using their facilities at Srinagar and Leh respectively.
Once the structure is in place, ICAR started its Rs 40 lakh breeding programme to save the double-hump camels from extinction, Pathak said.