NILGIRIS: As part of efforts to strengthen communication and protect forests and wildlife across three states, officials heading tiger reserves in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu met at the Theppakkadu Reception Centre in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris district on Saturday to discuss measures for better interstate coordination.
The meeting, held in accordance with the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was the first such meeting this year in Tamil Nadu. It lasted more than three hours. Similar meetings will be held in Kerala and Karnataka in the coming months.
One of the key decisions was to create a WhatsApp group comprising field directors, deputy directors, biologists and range officers to facilitate the swift sharing of information on forest fires, wildlife diseases and poaching incidents etc.
"Currently, we are creating fire lines along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala and Tamil Nadu-Karnataka borders ahead of the summer season. Officials and staff in Kerala and Karnataka are also creating fire lines on their respective sides to protect forests and wildlife. During Saturday's meeting, we discussed the possibility of creating a common fire line along the interstate boundaries," said an MTR official who participated in the meeting.
The officials also discussed sharing intelligence on wildlife poaching, particularly cases involving the illegal hunting of elephants for their tusks and big cats for their skins. Information about suspects and their possible links across the three states would be exchanged to help track down poaching networks.
Disease surveillance and prevention were other key areas of discussion. Officials said that if wildlife deaths caused by diseases such as anthrax or canine distemper were reported in any of the three states, precautionary measures, including vaccination wherever appropriate, would be initiated to prevent the spread of infection.
The meeting also focused on tiger population assessment, synchronised vulture population monitoring and ongoing efforts to remove invasive plant species that threaten wildlife habitats and populations.
"Within a month, range officers from the tiger reserves will convene another meeting to take forward the discussions held on Saturday," another official said.
MTR Field Director Kiruba Shankar; Venkateswaran, Wildlife Warden of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Nandish L, Deputy Conservator of Forests and Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, participated in the meeting.