Balasore: The Kuladiha sanctuary in Nilagiri area of Balasore is known for its rich biodiversity, but it is gradually losing its wildlife due to a rise in poaching and a lax vigil by the forest department.
The Royal Bengal Tiger species has totally vanished in the last 20 years while only a few leopards are left in the sanctuary. Old-timers of the locality say the area once used to reverberate with the mighty roars of the RBTs, but the majestic beasts are no longer to be seen even as there is a drastic drop in the number of leopards.
Tourists and visitors hardly find any more leopards in the sanctuary. The number of leopards in the sanctuary stood at nine as per the 2012 census while it came down to four in 2016, pointing to the sharp decline in the numbers of the big cat.
Wildlife enthusiasts said if the present trend continued, it would be only a matter of time before the big cat totally disappeared from the sanctuary.
Kuladiha with a sprawling area of nearly 5000 hectares was granted sanctuary status in 1990. The area was abuzz with a large number of animals like tigers, elephants, deer and sambars.
After sanctuary status, the government made provision of its management jointly by Kuladiha sanctuary and Similipal sanctuary. Kuladiha was under Baripada range in Mayurbhanj. Elephant census was being conducted every two years while that of tigers was being held once in every four years.
According to a joint report in 1997, there were 40 tigers and 47 elephants in both Kuladiha and Similipal.
However, their numbers came down to 38 and 17 respectively in 2002. By 2013, the number of elephants rose to 93, but fell to 89 in 2015.
Environmentalists say that in the last two decades, tigers have completely vanished from Kuladiha sanctuary due to poaching and depletion of greenery. They also expressed their concern over disappearance of big cats, stating that other wildlife species are also on the verge of vanishing altogether.
It is alleged the department is trying to gloss over the root cause of the problem by submitting flawed reports about the status of the wildlife. Though the department has stepped up patrolling and vigil system, poaching has not been curbed inside the sanctuary.
Poaching has allegedly led to a rise in gunrunning in the peripheral villages. It is learnt that about 3,000 unlicensed guns are in the villages surrounding the sanctuary. The poachers make money by selling hides of wild animals and elephant tusks while meat of deer and sambar is sold in markets, eateries and hotels in the area. This meat is also supplied to neighbouring states, it is learnt.
There are special range offices and 18 forest outpost in Balasore.
On the other hand, lack of adequate manpower and arms and ammunition are said to be the main problem for the forest department to deal with poaching activities.
DFO Harshabardhan Udgata said several measures have been taken for protection of flora and fauna.
As for tiger population, the DFO said he has been here for the last three years. “We have no data about how many tigers were in the sanctuary earlier, but the 2016 census has put the number of leopards at 4,” he added.
At different times, poachers have been caught and sent to jail, he claimed.
Kuladiha ranger Laxman Pradhan said the department has undertaken strict measures to contain wildlife poaching while an awareness drive was taken up in the peripheral areas of the sanctuary. PNN