Fire hits wildlife in Suklaphanta area

April 7, 2000
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Mahendranagar, Apr.7: Fires started inadvertently by shepherds grazing their livestock inside the royal Suklaphanta Wildlife Conservation area and the resulting environmental pollution have impacted adversely on the nests of different varieties of birds and also on the health of rare wildlife.

Haphazard discarding of matches by the local shepherds after lighting cigarettes and bidis recently started a fire which spread from Mangal Shera to Radhapur post in the conservation area and destroyed the natural habitant of rare birdlife. The fire is spreading gradually to other parts of the conservation area, chief conservation officer Megh Bahadur Pandey told RSS.

Recent fire has also destroyed the habitat of other wildlife in the conservation area renowned throughout the Asian continent for herds of barasinghe deer, and also destroyed rare grass species.

Employees of the Conservation Area and army personnel are trying to put out the fire with the help of tree branches and leaves as there is no water.

Meanwhile, with local residents at the core of the conservation area grazing cattle haphazardly, the natural wealth there has been adversely affected also.

It is estimated that some 40 mammal species, 14 different varieties of fish and 332 local and rare birds shelter in the area. Besides this, 60 different varieties of trees and plants and 27 varieties of shrub grow there. The place is well known for a spotted tiger, barasinghe and other deer, pythons, cranes and a number of butterfly species.

It is feared that the recent fire will harm the rare python also.

The fire is being extinguished at the initiative of chief conservation officer Pandey despite the shortage of manpower and transportation.