Bhubaneswar: Around 100 students of different schools in Odisha capital took a nocturnal tour of Bharatpur forest in Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, following the launch of first-of-its-kind trail at night in Odisha on Monday evening.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda flagged off the night trail vehicles, carrying students of KISS, SAI International, DAV Chandrasekharpur, Kendriya Vidyalaya of Chandrasekharpur and CRPF campus and Triveni School, at 6 pm.
The students sighted elephant, deer, wild boar and rabbit from a safe distance. They were also briefed about different species found in the Chandaka-Dampara wildlife sanctuary, Chandaka divisional forest officer (DFO) Sarat Chandra Behera informed.
The night trail in Bharatpur forest will be available initially for three days – Monday, Thursday and Saturday – between 6 pm and 8 pm. The trail in the first slot will start at 6 pm and the second from 7 pm. Two vehicles will be used in each slot. “If wildlife is not disturbed during the trail, we may increase the number of vehicles as well as number of slots,” the DFO added.
Several wildlife species including elephants, barking deer, and porcupines abound in Chandaka-Dampara sanctuary spread over 194 sq km area. While hundreds of deer have already been relocated to the trail site, there are also plans to subsequently introduce Sambar and Gaur to enrich the habitat.
