Karachi:
Pakistan’s floods – among the deadliest in the country’s recent history – swept villages, immersed agricultural land and forced over 2 million people from their homes, mainly in the northeastern Punjab province.
However, the consequences are not limited to humans. The catastrophic river has also destroyed the country’s already fragile wildlife.
“Whole habitats have been submerged, which includes everything from scratching forests and Rangeland to critical wetlands that act as wildlife shrines,” Rafiul Haq, a Karachi-based ecologist, told Anadolu.
Displeased jackals, wild boar, chinkara antelope and even evasive jungle cats now dare into villages in search of food and shelter, he added.
Such meetings bring new dangers. Studies show conflict with humans-Wildlife are rising sharply after flooding and Pakistan is no exception.
“Rural areas now burdened with displaced predators and omnivors are witnessing increased attacks on livestock including goats, sheep and poultry, leading to retaliatory killing that threatens to push rare species further against extinction,” Haq said.
Uzma Khan, a preservation specialist with wildlife with WWF-Pakistan, said fragmented habitats weaken the resistance of local ecosystems, leaving wildlife populations more vulnerable to conflicts with humans.
“Numerous snakes have entered society in recent days,” she said. “Many were rescued, but some, including pythons, were killed.”
She warned that flooding can also trigger disease outbreaks in livestock that is wasted into wild populations. Stagnant water, she said, gives breeding grounds to insects that spread infections.
“This requires close monitoring and vaccination of livestock to reduce the risk of outbreaks,” she added.
Animals swept over bounds
Floodwaters often carry ugasules such as sambar deer and pig deer from the entire border in India to Pakistan, which further strives for the country’s stressed ecosystems.
“These deer, which include rare chinkara species, are usually injured after being hit by rocks and trees in the rivers and require proper treatment before their release,” Kamran Bukhari told a senior conservator at Punjab Wildlife Department, to Anadolu, adding that they are closely monitored.
So far this year, dozens of Hog Deer, which is classified as threatened, has been rescued, he added.
Altaf Ali Shah, an official of the Wildlife Department in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said stormy rain and glaciers’ floods (glofs) have displaced Himalayas Ibex in Chitral District and destroyed habitats for birds, rodent and reptiles.
Aquatic species hit just so
Experts warn that danger extends below the surface of the water. Fishing and aquatic biodiversity is also threatened as flooding interferes with river systems and wetlands.
Aquatic species that are endemic to Pakistan, including Indus -River Dolphine, Freshwater Turtles and Crocodiles, are at risk, HAQ explained.
“Strong streams sweep these vulnerable beings in irrigation channels and distributors where the chances of survival are slim,” he said. “Rescue teams often find dolphins stranded far from their rivers – one of Pakistan’s recurring organic tragedies.”
The Indus Delphin, locally known as “Bhulan”, is found almost exclusively in Pakistan. Boing mainly in a 1,300 kilometer (807-mile) stretch of the river Indus, the endangered mammal is functionally blind and depends on echo to navigate the muddy waters.
A related species lives in Ganges and the Brahmaputra systems in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, but Indus Dolphin is genetically distinct and is considered one of the world’s most endangered freshwatercetaceans.
HAQ called for more coordinated rescue and conservation efforts.
Floods also bring renewal
Despite the destruction, Haq noted that the rain and floods carry a “double character” which sometimes increases wildlife.
“Floodwaters breathe life back into dry zones,” he said. “Species like Chinkara deer and wild cattle often find freshly sprouted grass at their doorstep after rain, which potentially increases their populations in the short term.”
Scientific studies, he added, shows that periodic floods increase the primary productivity of Rangeland and wetlands, trigger herbivor booms and draw migrant birds in larger numbers.
Uzma Khan of WWF-Pakistan agreed to note that natural floods, although increasingly unpredictable during climate change, also rehabilitate habitats that support fishing, waterfowl and endangered river species such as hog deer.
“The most important step is necessary is to protect flooding places from human intervention,” she said.
“As well as connecting rivers and affiliated lakes that not only help control floods, but also create reservoirs that maintain societies as well as wildlife such as waterfowl and freshwater turtles.”
She warned that uncontrolled leasing of soil around wetlands and forests undermines natural defense.
“Protection of forests is very crucial as they protect land from the devastating effects of skybursts and flash floods, which increase in both frequency and intensity due to climate change,” she said.
HAQ said the long -term solution lies in creating wildlife corridors, restoring habitats and adopting sustainable flood control.
“Without this, Pakistan risks losing crucial biodiversity and the ecological safety nets that support its natural heritage and ultimately its people,” he said.
