Kendrapara: The forest department has taken all necessary arrangements to protect the wildlife from the scorching heat and humidity in the summer in Bhitarkanika National Park situated in this district.
Keeping in mind the hot summer and rise in day temperatures which normally irritate the wild animals, forest personnel have made arrangements to ensure that there is adequate drinking water so that the animals do not dehydrate, DFO of Rajnagar Mangrove (forest) and wildlife division Sudarshan Gopinath Jadhav said.
With the rise of mercury level along with high humidity during the day hours in coastal Kendrapara, many wildlife fauna, especially wild boar and deer, generally sneak from the Bhitarkanika National Park to nearby ponds and other water bodies of nearby villages, located at the fringes of Bhitarkanika National Park.
Jadhav said as many as 12 existing ponds along with some ditches have been renovated and a new pond has been excavated under Kanika forest Range with an aim to mitigate the water scarcity and to provide sufficient water to the hoofed animal and wild boars for drinking purpose.
He further said special care has also been taken by the forest officials to protect the penned estuarine crocodiles, including the 48-year-old albino Gori, 20-year-old albino Malli and 5-year-old albino Sundari.
The forest department has already cleared weeds from the ponds and also renovated the pens, Ranger of Kanika Forest (wildlife) Range Manas Kumar Das said. The forest personnel have also taken steps to provide a better cooling environment to nearly a hundred estuarine crocodile hatchlings inside the hatchery at Dangamal Crocodile Research Centre.
Since the reptile hatchlings are more susceptible to the heat, the forest personnel have taken all efforts to ensure that the heatwave does not cause any casualties this summer, the DFO said.
PNN
