Striped mongoose, hyena found in Papikonda sanctuary

Striped mongoose, hyena found in Papikonda sanctuary
x
Highlights

Papikonda National Park has rich bio-diversity  with densely forested hills, deep gorges, valleys, flowing streams and ponds spread across River Godavari in East and West Godavari districts within an area of 1,012 square km. New species like the stripe-necked mongoose and striped hyena were found in the Papikonda wildlife sanctuary which is spread over 591 sq kilometres in the park.

Rajamahendravaram: Papikonda National Park has rich bio-diversity with densely forested hills, deep gorges, valleys, flowing streams and ponds spread across River Godavari in East and West Godavari districts within an area of 1,012 square km. New species like the stripe-necked mongoose and striped hyena were found in the Papikonda wildlife sanctuary which is spread over 591 sq kilometres in the park.

  • Forest dept to conduct census in May
  • Papikonda National Park is spread over 1,012 sq km
  • Two tigers were spotted in the park last year

As different species of prey animals are existing in the park, the forest department has planned to conduct census in May this year.Conducting census in the Papikonda National Park is a huge task as it is a difficult terrain with high altitudes, hillocks with thick forest and as the park is spread across the River Godavari in twin Godavari districts.

The national park is blessed with wild animals including tigers, panthers, hyenas, bears and famous Indian bison (Gaur).
Though there have been reports over the years that tiger population is thriving in the park, they could not be spotted earlier in the difficult terrain comprising hillocks and valley.

After the wildlife department officials set up 125 trap cameras in specific locations in the park, they were able to spot two tigers last year. There have been speculations that there could be more tigers in the park which is blessed with thick vegetation and forest.

Successive governments failed to acknowledge the importance of Papikonda National Park. As far as the staff of the forest department is concerned, their strength is mere nine against the required staff of 26. The entire stretch of 1,012 square kilometres is monitored by one range officer. With the inadequate staff, the forest department is finding it difficult to make an assessment of the wildlife in the park.

Talking to The Hans India, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Rajamahendravaram, V Prabhakar Rao, said that base camps have been set up with tribals in the park to monitor the movement of wildlife and to protect the forest and added that each base camp in the deep forest comprises five tribals. He added that the tribals staying in the base camps were being paid Rs 45 per day towards their food.

Show Full Article
Print Article
Next Story
More Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENTS