Foot patrolling by forest staff stepped up in Kawal Tiger Reserve

“Feel the Forest!” is the easy however efficient message that Divisional Forest Officer at Kawal Tiger Reserve S. Madhav Rao appears to have efficiently put throughout to his tried and trusted staff to grasp his dream of redefining the picture and topography of the Reserve overlaying 13 sections and three Ranges.

Posted to the workplace in 2019, Mr. Rao has used his technological background to begin new traits not solely in the conservation of the forest cowl but additionally in making certain that it’s free from any disturbances from human beings.

“This has not been an easy task. I had to take a lot of orientation classes for the staff (90 regular and some 100 outsourced). I keep telling them that unless you do foot patrolling around the forest, you will not know the ground reality,” Mr. Rao instructed The Puucho after the newest digital camera traps confirmed pictures of two pairs of leopards, a household of sloth bear and a pack of of jackals, among the many many species that quenched their thirst on the waterholes.

“My biggest achievement is that from an about 1700 km distance of foot patrolling covered by the entire staff every month we are now doing more than 6000 km of foot patrolling by using the M-STRIPES App developed by Wildlife Institute of India,” he says, with a way of satisfaction.

“The concept is simple. Walk the forest, get a feel and report anything new to the immediate superior. This has actually inspired many and thankfully, it has become some sort of a habit daily for them now, because everyone is expected to walk a minimum of four km daily for 26 days in a month,” Mr. Rao says.

“And, we are the only centre in Telangana to have a Geo-Informatics Centre, set up with limited resources, thanks to the encouragement of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R. Shobha and other senior officers,” he reveals.

“Definitely, there are a lot of hurdles when we have to ensure zero movement of human beings as for ages the people have been used to roaming around the forest without any checks. I explained to them and to my staff that if the curbs are not enforced there is no sanctity to the Kawal Tiger Reserve,” Mr. Rao mentioned, declaring that 15 gates had been set up across the forest perimeter to make sure this. “To ensure there is some source of fodder for the cattle, we have allocated about 1300 hectares of forest land for the purpose to see that they don’t trespass into the restricted areas,” he mentioned.

“We have also developed grasslands by initiating intensive management measures apart from improving the water availability to the wildlife during peak seasons,” he added.

“We are still in the process of doing many things and I am glad to have contributed in a little way to giving a new image to the KTR,” Mr. Rao signed off with a way of satisfaction.