Forest officials of 3 states on alert over ‘mass hunting’ | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: With mass hunting (‘akhand sikar’) set to begin during Makar Sankranti next month, forest officials of Odisha and neighbouring Jharkhand and West Bengal are on alert about tigress Zeenat‘s movements in the three states.
During Makar Sankranti, tribal people hunt wild animals as a part of ritual and feasting. With Zeenat now in Bengal’s Jhargram forests and Yamuna in Kuldhia sanctuary (coming under Similipal biosphere), it presents a further challenge for the protection of both tigresses.
“Since Makar Sankranti is approaching, we are on alert. In Similipal, there is a robust protection mechanism with more than 200 anti-poaching camps and an armed Special Tiger Protection Force. Now, AI-based cameras are helping us track down poachers. Earlier, tribals had a free run, but now with human and technical surveillance in place, akhand sikar is a remote possibility,” said a wildlife officer of Similipal Tiger Reserve.
During the hunting season, poachers manage to enter the core areas of the reserve with weapons. In Similipal, authorities in the recent past used the services of reformed poachers to gather intelligence inputs for preventive arrest and arrest.
Similipal also maintains a database of poachers and reformed poachers. “We will involve the reformed poachers to organise a walkathon in poaching-sensitive villages. Forest personnel will also be a part of the rally,” the officer added.
Both Bengal and Jharkhand forest officials said since they are losing signals from Zeenat’s radio collar intermittently and Makar Sankranti is approaching, it is not advisable for her to move in the forest. “We shouldn’t grope in the dark because there are shadow patches resulting in poor signals from the radio collar, making tracking difficult,” a wildlife officer said.
During Makar Sankranti, tribal people hunt wild animals as a part of ritual and feasting. With Zeenat now in Bengal’s Jhargram forests and Yamuna in Kuldhia sanctuary (coming under Similipal biosphere), it presents a further challenge for the protection of both tigresses.
“Since Makar Sankranti is approaching, we are on alert. In Similipal, there is a robust protection mechanism with more than 200 anti-poaching camps and an armed Special Tiger Protection Force. Now, AI-based cameras are helping us track down poachers. Earlier, tribals had a free run, but now with human and technical surveillance in place, akhand sikar is a remote possibility,” said a wildlife officer of Similipal Tiger Reserve.
During the hunting season, poachers manage to enter the core areas of the reserve with weapons. In Similipal, authorities in the recent past used the services of reformed poachers to gather intelligence inputs for preventive arrest and arrest.
Similipal also maintains a database of poachers and reformed poachers. “We will involve the reformed poachers to organise a walkathon in poaching-sensitive villages. Forest personnel will also be a part of the rally,” the officer added.
Both Bengal and Jharkhand forest officials said since they are losing signals from Zeenat’s radio collar intermittently and Makar Sankranti is approaching, it is not advisable for her to move in the forest. “We shouldn’t grope in the dark because there are shadow patches resulting in poor signals from the radio collar, making tracking difficult,” a wildlife officer said.
