Kothagudem: Is the wildlife movement more in the forests of Bhadradri-Kothagudem forests than earlier?
The survey conducted jointly by Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society (HTCS) and Wildlife Conservative Society (WCS) is indicating towards an increase in movement. The two agencies commenced the survey on wildlife in Telangana and it started from Bhadradri district. The two-month long survey of the two agencies, which ended three days back, was done in the wildlife divisions of Yellandu, Paloncha, Bhadrachalam, Manuguru and Kothagudem and 24 forest ranges in the district including Kinnerasani wildlife sanctuary.
The survey revealed of movement of leopard in the forests apart from bison, wild boar, sambar and bear. The final report of the agencies will be readied after analysing the data collected. The team members travelled six to ten km each day and found the tracks of different wildlife. The most commonly used protocol to survey wildlife is line transects, in which data are collected along straight, parallel transects.
Wildlife densities from the line transect records and the perpendicular distances of the observations are measured. These distances will be analysed using distance sampling, in which measurements of the distances of objects are observed from a transect line, which are used to estimate the probability of observing an object. Dung counts and footprints are also the most practical measures in it.
Harshavardhan, who led the team, said that footprints of leopards were found in Bhadrachalam forest and Kinnerasani wildlife sanctuary. Such footprints are not available in the earlier survey, conducted in 2016. There is no presence of tigers in the forest.
The number of Gaurs came to be 100 in the wildlife sanctuary, in a study conducted of forest department four years back. Interestingly, the number increased a little bit and the flock movement increased from ten to twelve.
There was also movement of mountain goat, sambar, wild boar and bear apart from spotted deer and deer in the forests of Yellandu, Bhadrachalam and Manuguru divisions.
DFO, wildlife Damodar Reddy said, “We came to the conclusion that increasing greenery after checking podu may be one of the reasons. Plantation is done in 25,000 hectares in different forests and drinking water will be made available in summer by digging water pits and solar bore wells.”
