KENDRAPARA: Bhitarkanika National Park has registered a marginal increase in the population of mammals as compared to the last year. As per the census report which was revealed on Monday, the number of mammals in the sanctuary has reached 7,129. Last year, Forest officials had counted 6,122 mammals of 14 species.Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the park Bimal Prasanna Acharya informed that the mammal census was carried out in 50 forest beats of the park and its nearby areas from November 21 to 24.
As per the report, 3,184 spotted deer, 1,660 wild boars, 1,819 Rhesus Macaques, 15 common langurs, 224 jackals, 28 fishing cats, eight hyenas, 113 otters, 14 jungle cats, 14 mongoose, 28 foxes, 16 hares and four porcupines have been found in Bhitarkanika. Last year, there were 3,233 spotted deer, 1,252 wild boars, 1,257 Rhesus Macaques, 34 common langurs, 156 jackals, 216 fishing cats, 10 hyenas, 63 otters, eight jungle cats, 10 mongoose, 25 foxes, 11 hares and four porcupines in the sanctuary, the DFO said. The census report relied heavily on sighting forms, he informed.
The main objective of the census is to ascertain the exact population of mammals in the park. The water bodies of Bhitarkanika are a home to around 1600 salt-water crocodiles who are the only natural predator of spotted deer and wild boars in the park. “Crocodiles do kill deer, especially newborn fawns and baby wild boars. But the predators do not have any significant effect on the population of these mammal species,” Acharya said.
Spotted deer are seen in herds of 10-30 which contains two or three stags. The assemblage of several hundreds of spotted deer is also not uncommon in Bhitarkanika, the DFO said and added that the deer species is a prolific breeder.The census of mammals, particularly spotted deer and wild boar, is necessary to know the exact population of the two species since local villagers suffer crop loss due to these animals which often stray into paddy and vegetable fields of villagers. “The villagers rarely retaliate as they know it is an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 to attack or kill the animals,” the DFO added.