Bhubaneswar: Jungle safari at Debrigarh Sanctuary under Hirakud Wildlife Division in Odisha’s Sambalpur will remain closed from May 31 to June 2 during morning hours (6am to 9am) to avoid biotic disturbance during the six-day sign survey of carnivores and herbivores (census or density calculation) from May 28.
According to sources, 26 teams with 52 trained staff have been formed and they will complete the survey in 6 days. The carnivores will be covered during the first 3 days and herbivores on the remaining 3 days, when there will no jungle safari from 6am to 9am.
“The survey will help us find the density of the prey base inside the sanctuary,” said DFO (Hirakud Wildlife Division) Anshu Pragyan Das.
The last sign survey in the sanctuary reflected density between 29 and 38 per sq km, Sambar population being highest among herbivores with equal distribution of deer, Indian Gaur, wild boar, Chowsingha and about 70 leopards were reported.
Presence of one tiger was also ascertained by camera trap. Since last 7-8 months, the male tiger is regularly camera trapped in sanctuary. Around 140 cameras and 12 tiger monitoring teams are regularly monitoring its movement.
This pre-monsoon survey will confirms its presence, she added.
