Chennai, Jun 8 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu forest department has appointed a five-member research team for the protection and conservation of the state animal, Nilgiri tahr.

According to the department, the team will conduct a month-long field visits to Nilgiri tahr habitats across the state and will interact with local NGOs and people who are involved in the conservation of the animal.

The team will function from the department's campus in Coimbatore North till a new building is constructed.

S. Balasubramanian, Field Director of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), briefed the research team on the nature and scope of the ambitious Nilgiris Tahr Project, which the state government launched in 2022.

GIS application will be used for tracking the animal population and senior WWF scientists who were present during the briefing explained the usage of technology in mapping the animal population.

The team is headed by the research coordinator and senior scientist S. Priyanka and comprises B. Subbaiyan (Ph.D Botany), S. Gokul Prasath (Msc. Zoology), N. Rajesh Kumar (Msc Environmental Science) and K. Manigandan (Msc Wildlife Biology).