Docs, anti-heat kits for lion census volunteers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: Keeping in view the scorching heat that enumerators will have to encounter during the lion census, the forest department is taking all precautions. It will include a team of doctors and a constant supply of drinking water, juices and biscuits for the volunteers participating in the four-day event beginning Saturday.

Among 1,300 volunteers and staff participating in census, there are 12 doctors and 11 researchers. These doctors according to officials would be there to take care of any emergency be it heat stroke or attack by wild animals.

This year’s kit would not just take care of the food for the enumerators but also mattresses to rest. “Any enumerator in the fields has to sit down on the ground if he wants to take rest. These mattresses would also come in handy for them. Also a cap and T-shirts marking them as census participants would help them get adequate support from the locals if they have spotted lion in the vicinity,” said an officer from forest department.

Deputy conservator of forests, Sasan, Sandeep Kumar says, “The kits would have water bottles, nuts, roasted grams, juices, first aid box, and a mattress.” He said that juices would definitely help them beat the heat. A senior officer said that this time there is a separate team to supply food and medication. Principal secretary, state’s forest and environment department, SK Nanda says, “During my visit we spotted two cubs with a lioness and also adult leopards, which is a good sign. This means that there is good conservation work happening here. However, these were in category of two-three months and thus vulnerable and hence during the count, this would also be kept in mind.”

Nanda says, “We have identified 450 spot after a nine-month long survey of the lion movements and sightings. These include settlement colonies where lions are seen regularly.” “The census teams are backed up by GIS and GPS devices for the marking location of lion, spotting places, roaming area of pride and their prey area,” he adds.

“The time is perfect for the census as visibility in the jungle is high. One can easily see half a kilometre inside the jungle. The drinking water facility also shrinks, making it easy to monitor the movement of the lions,” Nanda explains. For conducting the census, the group comprising of one enumerator, a sub enumerator, volunteer and local guide have to keep an eye over the selected spot continuously for 24 hours.

The computer analysis of census data will start from April 27 with forest department officials and experts from Wildlife Institute experts from Delhi.
Big cat lover Junagadh doc part of team too

Dr B Garana a medical practitioner is extremely excited about his new job in the jungle. Garana is a part of the medical team. He says, “This is my first such experience. Being from Junagadh, I have special attachment with lions. When I learnt about the census preparations, I decided to volunteer and sent my nomination.” Lions are not just pride of the state but that of the nation, hence getting associated with census was a matter of pride for me, he adds. Interestingly about 850 medical kits which includes medicines to boost nutrition and beat the heat would have also been sponsored by Garana. TNN

Bustard vanishes, govt shuts MP bird park

Denotifies Karera Sanctuary, Allows Land Sale & Biz There

New Delhi: With the disappearance of the magnificent Great Indian Bustard, this Earth Day was a glum occasion at the Karera sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

Following the Centre’s recent approval of a state government’s proposal for denotification the area, comprising nearly 32 villages, would be set free for villagers to carry out sale and purchase of land and other commercial activities.

The National Board of Wildlife, chaired by environment minister Jairam Ramesh, in a recent meeting approved the state’s proposal to denotify the sanctuary, after its officials said the bustard wasn’t sighted since 1995 and that most of the land inside the sanctuary sprawling over 202 sq km was private land and people were facing lot of problems.

“Notified in 1981, the sanctuary in Shivpuri does not have an inch of forest land. As much as 146.66 sq km is private land and the rest is revenue. As the villagers live inside the sanctuary, they can’t sell their lands and are prohibited from activities like digging and transporting material,” chief wildlife warden, R S Negi said.

However, the approval has come with a rider—the board has asked the state government to declare Dihaliya lake and a portion of the adjacent revenue land to be declared as a sanctuary and probe into the reasons for the disappearance of the bird.

The Great Indian Bustard, locally known as the ‘son chidiya’ or golden bird is the most endangered member of the bustard family in the world and the total population in the wild may not exceed 700. Poaching and habitat deterioration are the two main causes for the drastic decline of the bird, which is now limited to Rajasthan’s Desert National Park and the Lala-Parjau Sanctuary in Gujarat.

What concerns wildlife experts now is the fate of ungulates like black bucks and others species in the sanctuary in Shivpuri that are facing the threat of extinction