Project report on conservation of Indian Pangolins released
As part of the World Pangolin Day celebrations, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department in association with Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society released a project report on the conservation of Indian Pangolins in Andhra Pradesh at Aranya Bhavan here on Friday.
Mangalagiri: As part of the World Pangolin Day celebrations, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department in association with Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society released a project report on the conservation of Indian Pangolins in Andhra Pradesh at Aranya Bhavan here on Friday.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) A K Naik and Additional PCCF Dr Shanti Priya Pandey along with Rahul Pandey and other senior officers released the project report for the ongoing conservation programme to study and conserve Indian Pangolins in Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve by Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society.
A poster on Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) was also released during the occasion.
The PCCF who is also Chief Wildlife Warden said that the tiger reserve is vast and uses camera traps and engaging local communities as informants who can help detect and prevent poaching activities. Though the reserve is protected, pressure from illegal logging, human settlements and road development in the fringe areas threaten pangolin burrows.
Additional PCCF Dr Shanti Priya Pandey said that the impact of the ongoing conservation programme became evident through a series of successful pangolin seizures across multiple locations. Forest officers, now equipped with enhanced investigative skill, were able to detect and intercept trafficking attempts more efficiently, she added.
Pangolins are traded for their scales and meat which are medicinally valued in China and Vietnam, though there is no scientific evidence for this belief. Indian Pangolin plays a key role in regulating insect populations in the forest by feeding exclusively on ants and termites.
