Once a hunting hub of the erstwhile kings of Mayurbhanj district (then a princely state), Similipal Tiger Reserve is home to unique flora and fauna that represent peninsular and northeastern Himalayan components.
A series of policy initiatives, executive action and management i n t e r v e n t i o n taken up in the past few years are yielding results leading to transformation in the reserve.New protection regime with specialised force, use of advanced technology, village relocation from the core area, ecotourism activities have all added up to ensure a robust habitat.
With 12 tiger cubs born in 2023- 24, Similipal is seeing a revival in big cat numbers. Here are some of the transformative initiatives that have led to improvement in the reserve’s holistic health.
Tackling poaching
Poaching for bushmeat has been a major impediment for tiger revival in eastern Indian landscape, particularly Jharkhand and Odisha. Similipal with 39 tribal villages inside the buffer zone and about 200 villages within 1 km periphery, has been facing pressure from bushmeat hunting. The use of countrymade guns for hunting has created new challenges for the protection of the tiger reserve . A multi pronged approach was adopted to check hunting.
Firstly, action began with the transformation of Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), which was formed to tackle the armed poachers. They were given advanced training in arms handling and guerilla tactics. They were armed with modern weapons, bulletproof jackets, and night-vision binoculars. They were given independence in strategising and executing antipoaching operations. The results were exceptional. In six months since Jan, they were able to arrest poaching gangs and seize unauthorised weapons.
Forest fires
Similipal is vulnerable to fire from Feb to April every year. The usual method to prevent and control the forest fires is to use fire lines and firefighting squads with blowers.
Most of the fires occur in the buffer areas. These areas can’t be accessed by field personnel quickly. To solve this, an advanced AI system was established. The system has longrange cameras on towers and can watch up to a radius of 20km. Fire is detected by the AI system and it is then displayed in the control rooms. The system can detect fire within 3 minutes lending huge advantage to the ground staff in controlling it.
Community outreach
Engagement with communities in and around the reserve has been up-scaled. Each forest staff is given a schedule to interact with communities for grievance redressal to gain their confidence. To address the income generation of forest dependent communities, Similipal Tiger Conservation Foundation has started activities by forming ecodevelopment committees.
(The writer is field director of Similipal Tiger Reserve)