While intense summer heat has thrown normal life out of gear for the human beings, the animals and birds are not left behind. In the Athagarh Forest Division, hot temperature at 45 degree Celsius and scarcity of water has hit the beasts and birds.
The forest division is one of the largest units in the State. However, for the faunal population, the current hot days have been too painful.They have failed to get enough food, water and coolness in their habitat. Wild elephants, bears, monkeys, hares, civet cats, wolves, foxes, peacocks, bats, woodpeckers etc are found straying from the forest in quest of cover from the scorching heat.
To make matter worse, sporadic jungle fire, whether natural or man-made, is not only destroying the forest patches but also adding up to the atmospheric heat.
When the wild animals and birds are forced to stray into human habitations, they are falling prey to the poachers. The local environmentalists here have demanded immediate steps for the safety of the wild animals.