THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, April 19: Since April 18, two days of training on MSTriPES have been conducted in the Palamu Tiger Reserve. The training has been sponsored by the government of Jharkhand and the forest department.
Wildlife Institute of India
Dr Anup Kr Pradhan of the Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun was the key person who introduced MSTriPES. Shahzada Iqbal accompanied him.
Technology to manage wildlife
P K Jena, deputy director of the north division of PTR, said, “Technology matters most in the management of wildlife. It’s now a proven fact. Technology makes us reach wildlife faster, as one can monitor and track it very efficiently.”
Jena said, “When our ground staff goes into the jungles here in the PTR, his eyes just meet a myriad of things there, like grass, trees, water bodies, insects, straying cattle, human intrusion, etc., apart from his object of duty—the wildlife.”
Also Read- Jharkhand Election: AITUC disowns BJP candidate Dhulu Mahto
Sensitive positioning of cameras
Jena added, “It makes good headlines these days when a tiger or leopard is caught in a camera trap in a tiger reserve. People talk about it. For us, our sensitive positioning of the cameras in the jungles helps capture images of the tigers. Our approach is purely scientific.”
Such trainings help the PTR workforce understand the value of documenting wildlife, not just that one finds wildlife passing this side or that side.
Jena reiterated that MSTriPES helps connect management personnel with wildlife as it shortens the hiatus between humans and wildlife.
Pre-monsoon census
This training is a precursor to the 8-day-long pre-monsoon census/ estimation of the wildlife in the PTR.
This eight-day pre-monsoon census will start on April 23 and conclude on April 30, with a day break to consider where there is still more to be done.
One of the eight days, the last day of April 30, is dedicated to sighting or noticing vultures and other big birds.
Signs and surveys for big carnivores and herbivores like elephants and gaurs will be done.
