Forest officials initiate plan to protect wildlife from blistering heat in Bhitarkanika

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20170412/3090895.html

With the unprecedented rise of day temperature, the forest personnel of Bhitarkanika National Park have initiated a series of steps to protect the wildlife from the scorching heat and humidity. The forest department has excavated a new pond at Dandituthapatia under Bhitarkanika Reserve forest inside the National park and planned to excavate another very shortly . Kanika Forest Ranger A K Nayak said the forest department would soon renovate and clear the weeds in a couple of ponds under Kanika Forest Range as the water level has started receding and silt have deposited in the ponds bed. “We will renovate ponds as 75 per cent of the total fauna population of Bhitarkanika national park generally reside within Kanika forest range,”said Mr Nayak. Though there were 40 ponds within Kanika forest Range, but it is not adequate for the increasing population of fauna within Kanika forest Range.

Generally, the animals get irritate when the temperature runs high. It is necessary to keep them cool and provide them with a near-natural habitat. So steps are taken to ensure that there is adequate drinking water so that the animals do not dehydrate and skip to the human habitation within the fringes of Bhitarkanika National park, Forest official said Mr Nayak said special care would be taken to protect the penned estuarine crocodiles, including albino Gori .If required motor pump would be used for filling water in the ponds, he said . The forest personnel also planned to cover the artificial hatchery of the crocodile at Dangamala Crocodile Research centre with coconut and mangrove branches to provide cool environment tonearly hundred crocodile hatchlings during the summer . As the hatchlings are more susceptible to the heat. The forest personnel are all set to ensure that heat wave does not cause any casualty,” said Mr Nayak The forest department has deployed fire fighter team one each at Kanika forest Range, Rajnagar forest Range,Mahakalapada forest Range and Kujang forest Range to douse fire if it breaks out DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove (forest) and wildlife Division Bimal Prasanna Acharya said.