WTI Introduces Mobile Veterinary Service in South India

The Bandipur Mobile Veterinary Vehicle.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve, June 9, 2015:For the ‎first ‎time in ‎Karnataka, ‎Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with Forest Department and Aircel started a Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) unit at the ‎Bandipur Tiger ‎Reserve(BTR). The MVS will facilitate the ‎rescue of wildlife in BTR and immediately respond to all wildlife ‎emergencies reported from the region. This dedicated mobile unit will have a trained ‎veterinarian and a ‎caretaker, who would be ready at any time of the day to respond to any such emergencies.The unit would be based at Melkhamanahalli Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) camp and will be operational 24X7 with a hotline wherein villagers can call in case of an animal emergency.

The MVS will be stationed at Melkamanahalli which is five kms from the BTR campus and any emergencies can be reported to the following numbers: 08762111704 and 0822926043. Mr HC Kantharaju, Director and Conservator of Forests, BTR, was elated with the launch of the MVS unit and said, “In the past couple of years there have been instances of large carnivores venturing out of the forests into human habitations which has resulted in human and animal deaths. With an MVS like this, we can immediately tend to these animals and put them back into the wild or provide necessary treatment if needed.”

Ms Brinda Malhotra of Aircel handing over the keys to Mr HC Kantharaju 

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is surrounded by close to 200 villages with a population of more than three lakh inhabiting these villages and over two lakh cattle. These areas surrounding Bandipur have witnessed frequent occurrences of conflict with tigers, leopards and elephants. In addition, the spurt in poaching activities and use of snares in Bandipur over the past few years have had authorities and conservationists concerned.

“This MVS unit will reach out to any wildlife in distress. The keypurpose of setting up this MVS unit is to ensure that every rescued animal is released back into the wild after it is declared fit to survive on its own by the veterinarian. All releases would follow the universally accepted guidelines on translocation and placement of confiscated animals,” said Dr NVK Ashraf, Senior Director and Chief Veterinarian, WTI.

Areas surrounding BTR do have frequent occurrences of conflict with tiger, leopard and elephant. This MVS unit will attend to all such cases under the direction of the BTR Field Director and CCF Bandipur. In association with the Forest Department, the MVS will also undertake disease screening of the cattle and wildlife in and around the park.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Brinda Malhotra, Head- Corporate Social Responsibility, Aircel said, “Tiger and Wildlife Conservation is core to Aircel’s Corporate Social Responsibility program and the introduction of a MVS unit in Bandipur is to ensure the wellbeing and rehabilitation of wild animals in the area. The Tiger census numbers has shown us that the steps that have been taken to protect the big cat are paying dividend, however, there is a lot more to be done to protect and preserve this delicate balance between progress and conservation.”Aircel’s Save Our Tigers campaign has been one of the most successful initiatives and the organisation is working very closely with the Forest Department to run and support on ground intervention across most of the Protected Areas and Tigers Reserves in India.

In case, if need arises, MVS will also attend to wildlife emergencies in other protected areas and will act as a training centre for forest staff to understand about rescue, rehabilitation and release of animals back in to the wild. This is the seventh WTI MVS unit in India and the first in southern India. The MVS units currently stationed at Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha have been phenomenally successful in carrying out rescue and release operations in their respective areas. “The success of WTI’s MVS units in the rest of India did play a crucial role in setting up this unit in BTR. We hope that with this unit, we would be able to reach out to as many animals as we can and save some lives to make a difference,” said Jose Louies, Regional Head, WTI.

Established in 1973, Bandipur Tiger Reserve falls in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts of Karnataka. Spread over 874.20 sq km, the reserve is home to tiger, elephant, leopard, gaur, dhole and 23 other species of mammals. A natural paradise, the reserve boasts of 258species of birds, 23 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians, 14 species of fish, 115 species of butterflies and 886 species of plants.