Eminent wildlife conservationist Biswajit Mohanty has been awarded PhD by the North Odisha University. He recently completed the PhD on the research topic of "Wildlife poaching in Odisha".
Prof Dr SK Dutta, presently teaching at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was his guide for the research.
Dr Mohanty’s interest in wildlife poaching was sparked off when he helped the enforcement authorities carry out a sting operation in Odisha in April 1996. At that time, the largest-ever seizure of 21 leopard skins was made in the State, which record is still unbroken even after 17 years. Dr Mohanty carried out research on poaching and trade in Odisha with focus on traditional hunting tribes, the hunting methods used and the various snares, traps, arrows, hooks, etc, used by them to trap or kill animals, birds and reptiles. It was very interesting for him as he not only learnt but also documented many previously-unlisted methods and hunting tools in his paper, said Dr Mohanty.