Officials Discover 5 Million-Year-Old #ElephantFossils in Forests Near #Dehradun
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(📸 : IANS)
A camera-trap study in the reserve forests near Dehradun, which was conducted to develop a new tiger reserve, led to the discovery of one of the world's oldest fossil remains of elephants, dating back to 5 million years.
"During #lockdown, such a rare discovery was a pleasant surprise, we are taking the help of 'van gujjars' (a forest tribe), to discover even more," says Sanjay Kumar, the Commissioner of Saharanpur Division of Uttar Pradesh bordering Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand.
The rare fossils of elephants suggest that the foothills of the Himalayas, the beautiful lush green Terai region in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, were once inhabited by giant elephants, giraffes, horses and hippopotamus.
The story, which led to the discovery of one of the oldest "habitat" of elephants, started when the government thought of finding a new reserve for the tigers in the Terai area.
The 33,000 hectares of reserve forests of Siwalik range in Saharanpur division, bordering the Rajaji National Park, was once inhabited by tigers. However, poaching and human interventions led to the disappearance of the large cats in the area.
The camera trap study, a powerful tool to investigate the presence of animals in a given area, was conducted with help of forest officials and experts of the World Wildlife Fund (@WWFINDIA) in Siwalik range.
"The scientists at the Wadia Institute have now opined the age of this elephant fossil, ranging from 5 million to 8 million years," said Sanjay Kumar, who now readies to conduct another detailed study of the area.
A team of forest officials and WWF led by Jain claimed that the fossil discovered by them is the first reported sample of an elephant in the region.
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