Equip Forest Guards to Protect Wildlife in India

Equip Frontline Forest Staff Of Tippi Wildlife Sanctuary With An Inflatable Boat

Pakke Tiger Reserve lying in the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh is a dense semi-evergreen forest. The forest falls within the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot and is home to over 2000 species of plants, 300 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 30 species of amphibians and 36 species of reptiles. Many species of flora and fauna are globally threatened and these forests are one of the last remaining strongholds left for these species.

Pakke has had a long horrid history of rampant poaching, but with the commendable initiatives of the forest department and the local communities the situation is well under control today. The frontline staff of Pakke often risks their lives while rowing across the dangerous Kameng River patrolling the forest. The forest being vulnerable to illegal activities requires constant patrolling and monitoring. Apart from patrolling, the frontline stuff also conduct rescue and rehabilitation for animals like barking deer, sambar, great hornbill, snakes and turtles. To conduct effective monitoring, the frontline staff required a suitable inflatable boat to maneuver through the forest cover.

With the support of GlobalGiving, WTI supported the staff of Tippi wildlife range with a 16-seater inflatable boat that would help in patrolling and rescue missions. The boat is being used judiciously for monitoring as well as addressing emergencies in remote villages in the area.

"We are overwhelmed by the prompt helping hand extended by your organization and it's donor" Kime Rambia, Range Forest officer, Tippi Wildlife Range, Arunachal Pradesh.

Wildlife Trust of India is thankful to all its supporters at GlobalGiving for helping us make a positive difference. Your support encourages our continued commitment to reaching our goal.

To address the ever increasing incidences of big cat human conflict (Reportedly 15 humans have fallen prey in the last one year) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, northern part of India, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) through your generous support, recently equipped the conflict mitigation teams of the forest department with two quadcopters (a type of unmanned aerial vehicle). By getting nearer to a ‘conflict’ animal  where forest guards can’t get close enough, the quadcopters with its bird eye view has the potential to easily cover a large distance of the conflict area, remotely identify the location of the animal and can helps the team to strategize procedures for tranquilizing and capturing the animal (if need be), without taking any risk of casualty to the team as well as the targeted animal. The aim of the project was to provide the conflict mitigation teams with a modern tool that could enhance their work efficiency in the field.

Last month in the fringe villages of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh the quadcopters proved their worth as they were extensively used to scout and establish the presence of a ‘conflict tiger’. An adult male tiger was constantly moving in the agricultural fields of Amariya tehsil (district) under Pilibhit forest division. In a span of few months, the tiger reportedly kill three humans. To address this grave issue, the Forest department along with WTI team initiated a search operation for the tiger. Given the vast landscape, covered in swathes of sugarcane crop interspersed with paddy patches and poplar tree line-ups the foot staff found it difficult to patrol. Even search operations on elephant back became futile. The quadcopters were flown daily in the morning and later afternoon hours, across patches indicated by local people, based on various claimed sightings. In one of its flight schedule, the team was able to locate a blue bull(a natural prey species of tigers) kill amongst a thick patch of sugarcane.The location of this kill jump started the operation and immediate efforts were made to localize the tiger within a smaller area. In total, the quadcopters had about 140 hours of flight time, covering distances ranging from approx 4 km, in scouting operations across terrain where monitoring on foot was near impossible (and/or time consuming) and a very risky affair considering the presence of a free ranging tiger in the area.

As of now, the tiger is yet to be captured however, by the team’s efforts it has not killed any human. The quadcopter thus, has been extremely useful in all the scouting and search operations, and is expected to be used continuously in this operation, until the tiger is captured.