Debrigarh celebrates Indian bison festival | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: In a first for the state, Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary celebrated the festival of Indian bison on Wednesday to promote conservation efforts by involving students, teachers, eco-development committee (EDC) members and officers from various departments.
The mega herbivore plays a pivotal role in maintaining an equitable and healthy ecosystem that can sustain tigers. It is the largest prey biomass and an important prey for tigers and Debrigarh has the highest density of bison in Odisha.
“The event is aimed at raising awareness for conservation of the Indian bison of Debrigarh. Experts on herbivore ecology and habitat management conducted sessions on different aspects. Through the event, we encouraged the conservation of the mega herbivore and make people aware of bison, which serve as ecological engineers in the Debrigarh-Hirakud landscape,” Anshu Pragyan Das, the divisional forest officer of Hirakud wildlife division, said.
As many as 68 EDCs, students and teachers from 37 schools surrounding Debrigarh, 60 youths serving as Debrigarh volunteers for protection, birdwatchers, photographers and nature lovers from three districts — Sambalpur, Bargarh and Jharsuguda — surrounding Hirakud lake, members from different civil society groups, frontline staff of the sanctuary and officials participated in the event.
As per wildlife officials, the Indian bison is among the four mega herbivores in India and among the two mega herbivores in Odisha, with elephant being the other one. The bison census at Debrigarh last year revealed that the habitat has 669 such animals, out of which 30% are juveniles.
“Though Debrigarh is capable of supporting a larger population of bison, maintaining the male/female ratio, focused habitat management, monitoring ecological indicators and protection remain crucial for healthy wildlife management,” Das added.
This summer, more juveniles were sighted in Debrigarh compared to last winter. Now the leopard is the only predator in this landscape.
The day-long deliberation on the ecology, behaviour, habit and habitat of the animal was followed by field visits for all participants to the sanctuary, officials said.
Debrigarh has sustained bison in its habitat because of 2,000 hectares of productive meadows, apart from around 30 sq km of amphi-terrestrial habitat bereft of any toxic plants.
The Debrigarh authorities said they took conservation measures such as the installation of two new check gates and a three-layered enforcement strategy to cut down on biotic disturbance in the whole landscape. Also, a core zone for bison was created. The sanctuary has no vehicular movement between 6 pm and 6 am. During daytime, foot patrolling is also conducted.
The mega herbivore plays a pivotal role in maintaining an equitable and healthy ecosystem that can sustain tigers. It is the largest prey biomass and an important prey for tigers and Debrigarh has the highest density of bison in Odisha.
“The event is aimed at raising awareness for conservation of the Indian bison of Debrigarh. Experts on herbivore ecology and habitat management conducted sessions on different aspects. Through the event, we encouraged the conservation of the mega herbivore and make people aware of bison, which serve as ecological engineers in the Debrigarh-Hirakud landscape,” Anshu Pragyan Das, the divisional forest officer of Hirakud wildlife division, said.
As many as 68 EDCs, students and teachers from 37 schools surrounding Debrigarh, 60 youths serving as Debrigarh volunteers for protection, birdwatchers, photographers and nature lovers from three districts — Sambalpur, Bargarh and Jharsuguda — surrounding Hirakud lake, members from different civil society groups, frontline staff of the sanctuary and officials participated in the event.
As per wildlife officials, the Indian bison is among the four mega herbivores in India and among the two mega herbivores in Odisha, with elephant being the other one. The bison census at Debrigarh last year revealed that the habitat has 669 such animals, out of which 30% are juveniles.
“Though Debrigarh is capable of supporting a larger population of bison, maintaining the male/female ratio, focused habitat management, monitoring ecological indicators and protection remain crucial for healthy wildlife management,” Das added.
This summer, more juveniles were sighted in Debrigarh compared to last winter. Now the leopard is the only predator in this landscape.
The day-long deliberation on the ecology, behaviour, habit and habitat of the animal was followed by field visits for all participants to the sanctuary, officials said.
Debrigarh has sustained bison in its habitat because of 2,000 hectares of productive meadows, apart from around 30 sq km of amphi-terrestrial habitat bereft of any toxic plants.
The Debrigarh authorities said they took conservation measures such as the installation of two new check gates and a three-layered enforcement strategy to cut down on biotic disturbance in the whole landscape. Also, a core zone for bison was created. The sanctuary has no vehicular movement between 6 pm and 6 am. During daytime, foot patrolling is also conducted.
