Karnataka forest department is in their bid to reduce man-animal conflict in the shrinking forest space are trying their hands on many new systems. In one such effort, the Karnataka forest department is launching a mobile rapid action force to assist wild animals in distress. The first exclusive rapid action force unit will be commissioned at Bandipur in the Nilgiri biosphere to help wild animals in distress. Wildlife activists agree that this initiative will certainly be a step ahead in reducing the increasing conflict to help wild animals in the shrinking space.
According to HC Kantharaj, conservator of forests and director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, this initiative would not only reduce the conflict but also help wild animals in distress.
He said “We are going to launch this exclusive rapid action force in the second week of June in Bandipur wildlife sanctuary. The mobile squad will comprise a veterinary unit with an ambulance equipped with necessary drugs, dart guns, and equipment to trap animals. This is donated by wildlife trust of India.”
According to forest officials Karnataka is going to procure many such vehicles. Kantharaj said each unit will operate within a 100-km radius and the protocol on the release of captured animals straying into human habitat is being worked out.
The mobile rapid action force will be equipped to deal with emergencies and to capture straying wild animals into human habitat. The animal in distress would be brought to Chamundi Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre on the outskirts of Mysuru for examination and medical treatment, and if found to be fit, will be released back into the wild.