An NGO Nature Conservation Society has been hired by the directorate tiger project Palamu to conduct survey of Jharkhand’s lone wolf sanctuary in Mahuadarn police station in latehar.
Deputy director South of PTR Mahalinga said the NGO has been given 200,000 rupees for this survey which will be a management plan for coming ten years for this wolf sanctuary.
Head of the NGO DS Srivastava said the survey work is on and it will take some more time to be completed.
He said so far 70 dens of wolves have been identified. Wolf habitat has been studied carefully. NO sight counting of wolf has been done so far. More dens are expected to be here.
Srivastava said, “This sanctuary is more a breeding one for the wolves. Wolves of Palamu latehar and Chhatisgarh come here, breed, deliver babies and then walk down from here. It is not a resident sanctuary for the wolves.”
Field director M P Singh said a management plan for ten years is on the anvil for this wolf sanctuary.
Sources said this sanctuary is fraught with many dangers. First is the hostility of the people as wolves are treated as big enemies of mankind. Second pack of wolves prey chicken, goat etc and this enrages the owners too much . Further there are people who are doing agricultural activities on the soil of the sanctuary much against the habitat of this wild life.
There are instances when locals have pushed in python in to the dens of the wolves to eat their babies!
M P Singh said the survey team found bamboo green pit viper. He said this snake is rare to be seen. This snake lives on trees and is active at night. Its strike rate is too pin point and precise and is deadly venomous.
D S Srivastava said this poisonous snake just did not hurt any member of the team but its presence in the wolf sanctuary is a good sign.
Wolf sanctuary is in split locations like lodh, Medhari Aksi and Orsa etc. He warned that people living around this sanctuary be told not to occupy acres of land of this sanctuary as days are not far off when there will be an acute housing problem for the wolves as well here.