BISWANATH, Jan 11 - With poachers increasingly targetting the �sixth addition� of Kaziranga National Park situated along the north bank of the Brahmaputra, conservationists have called for boosting the security mechanism in the area.
Since 2016, over 150 poachers have been arrested by the Crime Investigation Range under Biswanath Wildlife Division, the headquarters of the sixth addition - which exposes the vulnerability of the area. Around the same period, five rhinos have been killed by poachers.
The area has a presence of 60 rhinos and 20 tigers, as per last estimate. Aside being a large wildlife habitat, the sixth addition landscape is dominated by wildlife corridors that connect Kaziranga with nearby forests, especially Orang National Park and Laokhowa and Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuaries.
�The sprawling 401-sq km sixth addition area comprises largely the sand bars on the Brahmaputra river to the north of Kaziranga. These sand bars provide corridors for wildlife movement, especially long-ranging animals like tigers and elephants,� he said.
Conservationists attach particular importance to these riverine stretches as they hold the key to connectivity and long-term conservation of meta-population of tigers in the Brahmaputra Valley in the Central Assam Landscape of India.
�The entire landscape constitutes one of the best tiger habitats that include Kaziranga on the east and Orang National Park on the west, with Laokhowa and Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuaries in-between these two protected areas. The area is known to hold the highest density of tigers in the world with 32 tigers per 100 sq km,� he said.
Tiger sighting has increased in the sixth addition, with the latest count being 20 -up from last year�s 12.
�No doubt, declaration of the sixth addition as protected the area and the consequent improvement in security has led to greater animal movement in the area. But severe constraints in the form of frontline manpower shortage and logistics bottlenecks hinder our anti-poaching efforts,� a departmental source said.
The area has 27 forest camps but another 15 such camps are needed to be an effective deterrent to poaching. As boats are indispensible to counter poaching in the area, there is also an urgent need for more speedboats at the forest personnel�s disposal.
Compared to rest of Kaziranga, the sixth addition, which stretches from Gahpur to Kolia Bhomora, has less security and logistics presence.
�We need strong measures to save this wildlife habitat from encroachment and denudation besides poaching. Manning the area is difficult in view of the shifting river channels and shallow water-bodies where boating is difficult. We have seen poachers using large inflatable tubes of trucks for movement in the terrain. The thick fog during the winters is another hindrance,� the official said.
According to conservationists, the importance of the area can hardly be over-emphasized. �These corridors ease movement between related patches of habitats, consequently increasing gene flow and leading to greater genetic diversity of species. For the tiger in particular, the sixth addition holds critical importance,� he added.
