WTI, Odisha Forest Department Commence Advanced Training Workshop in Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation at Similipal Tiger Reserve

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Group photograph of workshop participants, trainers and forest department staff taken from the new quadcopter given by WTI to STR

Similipal Tiger Reserve, September 23, 2016: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), working in partnership with the Forests & Environment Department, Government of Odisha, has this morning commenced a three-day intensive training workshop on rescue and rehabilitation of displaced wildlife at Ramtirtha, Jashipur, near Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

This circle-level advanced training is a culmination of a series of workshops conducted since 2015 at various divisions of STR at the behest of the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) cum Field Director of STR, Mr Harish Kumar Bisht, IFS. The initial workshops were held at Baripada (core), as well as the Rairangpur, Karanjia and Balasore (wildlife) divisions with the objective of identifying and constituting circle-level teams of five Forest Department personnel in each division. These candidates having been identified, this advanced training will now focus on equipping, sensitising and further enhancing their ability to handle emergencies related to displaced wildlife.

The workshop was inaugurated by Mr Bisht (RCCF-cum-Field Director, STR), Dr JD Pati, IFS (Divisional Forest Officer, Rairangpur), Mr AK Biswal (Assistant Conservator of Forests, Baripada STR), Dr KK Mondal (Honorary Wildlife Warden), Major Das (a retired army officer) and representatives from WTI. “The vision of this training is to address wildlife emergencies promptly, effectively, safely and systematically”, Mr Bisht told the participants; “in times to come incidences of human-wildlife conflict are bound to rise, making such trainings invaluable.” Major Das compared the Forest Department’s frontline field staff with army soldiers, encouraging them to develop a similar outlook towards forest protection as a soldier has towards protecting the country.

_{Harish Kumar Bisht, IFS (RCCF cum Field Director, STR) receiving the quadcopter from WTI’s Debobroto Sircar}

WTI, working through its Rapid Action Projects (RAP) division, also provided a quadcopter drone (a type of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/UAV) to the forest department on the occasion. “Through this urgent support, we are certain that STR’s surveillance capabilities will improve manifold”, said Debobroto Sircar, Project Lead – Wild Aid, WTI, handing over the device to Mr Bisht. The RCCF-cum-Field Director expressed his excitement and gratitude at receiving the quadcopter, a first for STR, and said that it would definitely be a boon to the conservation work being undertaken at the tiger reserve. Rudra Mahapatra, WTI’s State Facilitator – Odisha, who has experience with quadcopters, will train the participants on its usage during the workshop and continue to assist the Forest Department in future implementations.

The workshop will provide mainly hands-on training for the most part over the coming sessions, with some theoretical sessions on the foundations and protocols of wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, ethics and documentation. Today, Dr Khanin Changmai, Veterinary Surgeon with WTI’s Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) unit at STR, provided a demonstration and training on using immobilisation equipment, which included shooting practice for the trainees. Other practical sessions will include technical rope rescue training on land and water bodies, mock drills on emergencies involving elephants, leopards, bears and tigers, and human-snake conflict mitigation.

Abhishek Narayanan, WTI’s Officer In-charge, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation expressed his thanks to the Forest Department for partnering with WTI on this workshop. “More such trainings should be conducted in other states”, he opined; “they will help sensitise frontline staff towards wildlife rehabilitation and equip them to safely and successfully mitigate human-wildlife conflict and wildlife displacements.”