Kendrapara: The ongoing lockdown has badly affected the summer preparation for the wildlife animals at the Bhitarkanika National Park due to non-availability of labourers.
The water bodies, including ponds and ditches, at the national park are normally renovated during the summer, DFO of Rajnagar mangrove forest and wildlife division Bikash Ranjan Dash said.
With the arrival of summer and the rising of mercury level during the day many animals, especially wild boar and spotted deer, sneaked from the park to nearby ponds and other water bodies of nearby villages, to quench their thirst.
The animals could not get sufficient sweet water to quench their thirst in the slithering heat as the water bodies and ditches dried up inside the forest.
Accordingly, the park officials made arrangements to ensure there is adequate drinking water and the animals do not dehydrate and skip from the forest to the human habitation within the fringes of park.
However, the work of renovation of water bodies has been stopped mid way due to lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. The forest department had renovated about half a dozen of existing ponds and ditches within the Bhitarkanika National Park before the lockdown.
The department had planned to renovate some other water bodies along with setting up couple of more ponds to mitigate the water scarcity and to provide sufficient water to the animals in the ongoing summer. With the lockdown coming into force in the country the forest department failed to carry out the renovation work of water bodies and undertake the digging of new ponds.
This apart, funds allotment has not been made by the state forest department.
“We are waiting to get funds from the state forest department to complete the renovation work of existing water bodies and create new ponds for the wild animals,” the DFO said.
Meanwhile, the forest department has intensified patrolling to restrict the spotted deer and wild boar from straying from their natural habitat and trespassing into human habitation in search of water.
Recently, a couple of spotted deer were nabbed by locals while the animals had sneaked into a human habitation in two places in search of water, Dash said.
To contain the spread of Covid-19 among the wildlife, the forest personnel have also taken adequate measures such as maintaining physical distance from the wild animals while monitoring their activities.
To feed the captive salt water crocodiles, including a couple of albinos, in the pen, the forest department has ensured the staff would get sanitised before going to feed the crocodiles.
PNN
