Warangal: In their bid to save animals from succumbing to heat, the Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district forest officials have set up artificial saucer pits and cement rings and are filling them with drinking water in the Eturnagaram wildlife sanctuary.
The Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district has the highest forest cover in the state at 4.70 lakh hectare and is home to many animals. However, due to the heat, several animals die of thirst. To avoid this, forest officials have decided to take precautionary steps.
“District forest officer T. Ravi Kiran said, the presence of saucer pits, cement rings, and fodder plants in Eturnagaram Sanctuary ensure that wildlife does not succumb to heat. This summer, in the North and South ranges, 12 saucer pits, 25 cement rings and 30 percolation tanks have been arranged,” he said.
Officials also took a program to take up wildlife calculations. Camera traps have been set up at the water bodies since last year. In addition to this, the movement of wildlife and the population are also being recorded. Eight cameras have been set up for this purpose as of now.
Eturnagaram forest divisional officer Pradeep Kumar Setty said that the trap cameras helped them decide if more water is needed and alert them in case of food or water scarcity. They are also marking the areas where they need to provide them and taking relevant action. “These camera traps are not only useful to monitor movement of animals but also find poachers. We will take stringent action against anyone found hunting animals,” he said.
Officials had set up solar water pumps at 17 locations. These pumps are coming in handy for the officials to fill the pits.
