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| Indian elephants |
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| Bengal tiger |
The
central government of
Orissa has recently issued out a report indicating last month's mass slayings of
elephants by
poachers in the
Simlipal forest. To make matters worse, the forest staff destroyed the evidences as a way to hide the incidents. The report also added that Simlipal's
wildlife population, including
tigers and elephants, is drastically diminishing. This was provided with citations of field records and statements from the forest staff, including the field director. According to the report, Simlipal has also been suffering from
Maoist attacks and said that local villagers had admitted their "presence" in the area. Although there were two Social Operational Groups (SOGs) stationed in the forest, they never carried out patrols with the forest staff. This way, poachers and smugglers were being greatly benefited from the Maoist rebels.
I have a feeling that Simlipal is in a great need of help. It has not just been suffering from poachers, but also attacks from extremists. Therefore, the lives of both the forest staff and wildlife are at stake. Simlipal was known to be the first national park to be placed under
Project Tiger. But now, it seems that it's tiger population is under tremendous threat as poachers and Maoist rebels pour into the jungles. I can only hope that central government of Orissa, along with several
conservation groups and perhaps the
Indian government will team up together to place an end on not just poaching activities but also the repeated Maoist attacks that have been terrorizing the state for a long time.
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