Int’l Day of Markhor being observed today

International Day of Markhor is being observed on Sunday (today).

Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly following a resolution spearheaded by Pakistan, this observance highlights the ecological importance of the markhor, its natural habitat, and the need to protect this endangered wild mountain goat.

This year, official theme of the day is “Markhor and Mountain Biodiversity: Strengthening Global Efforts for Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Development.”

The Markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it is also known as “screw-horned goat.” The resolution invites the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate the observance of the International Day of the Markhor.

In Pakistan, Markhors are found in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province’s Chitral, Kohistan and Kalam regions, as well as the Gilgit-Baltistan region, the Balochistan province and parts of Azad Kashmir.

UNGA declares May 24 as int’l day of Pakistan’s Markhor

Once believed to be on the brink of extinction, Markhor numbers have gradually increased, doubling in a couple of decades, with a particular jump since 2014.

This is now the 10th straight year that numbers of the long-horned wild goat have grown.

“The population of the Markhor has been increasing with an annual ratio of 2% since 2014,” Saeed Abbas, an official with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Pakistan, was quoted as saying in a media interview.

The animalr’s current estimated population is between 3,500 and 5,000, a majority of them in KP, followed by Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan, according to Abbas.