Debrigarh Sanctuary to conduct a survey of carnivores and herbivores

Bhubaneswar: The Debrigarh Sanctuary, located under the Hirakud Wildlife Division, is set to conduct a comprehensive sign survey of carnivores and herbivores from May 28 to June 2.

A total of 26 teams, consisting of 52 trained staff members, have been formed to carry out the census and assess population density. The survey will be completed within a span of six days.

During the initial three days, the focus will be on conducting the census and calculating the density of carnivorous animals. Subsequently, the following three days will be dedicated to determining the density of herbivores.

Anshu Pragyan Das, the Divisional Forest Officer of Hirakud, shared insights about the survey, stating, “This pre-monsoon sign survey will provide valuable data regarding the density of prey species within the sanctuary. Previous density calculations indicate a range of 29-38 individuals per square kilometer in the sanctuary.”

Among the herbivores, the Sambar population stands out as the most abundant. Additionally, there is a balanced distribution of deer, Indian Gaur, wild boar, and four-horned antelope (Chowsingha), among other species, within the sanctuary. So far, a total of 70 leopards have been sighted.

The sanctuary has also captured an image of one tiger through a camera trap, leading to the belief that there may be another tiger present as well. DFO Das stated, “Over the past 7-8 months, the male tiger has been consistently captured on camera within the sanctuary. Around 140 cameras and 12 tiger monitoring teams are diligently observing the tiger’s activities day and night.”

To minimize disturbances caused by human activities, the jungle safari within the sanctuary will remain closed during the morning hours from 6 am to 9 am from May 31 to June 2, in light of the ongoing census.