Minister CL John asks citizens to donate wild animals to Nagaland Zoological Park

DIMAPUR — Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, CL John, on Wednesday stressed on celebrating wildlife week more meaningfully, suggesting taking the message to people who still hunt wild animals and cut down trees by observing the occasion with them.

Speaking during the Wildlife Week 2023 celebration at the Nagaland Zoological Park (NZP) at Rangapahar in Dimapur on the theme “Partnerships for wildlife conservation”, the minister suggested villages and village councils to undertake an agreement during the occasion not to hunt or cut down trees.

He pointed out that the forest and tree cover in Nagaland was huge before receiving the statehood but tree felling became rampant after the Forest department came into existence.

The younger generation, he said, has the load to protect the ecosystem and do away with wrong practices.

Requesting the citizens to plant trees every year for ecological balance and to donate wild animals to the NZP, John also wildlife population is declining due to rampant killing.

He went on to suggest bringing the hornbill bird from the zoo to the Heritage village, Kisama, during the Hornbill Festival, saying that something is amiss celebrating the festival without the bird.

NBCC’s participation

Commissioner and Secretary Department of Forests, Environment and Climate Change, Y Kikheto Sema said that the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has issued a directive to all its associations to create awareness on protection and preservation of wildlife.

“Baptist churches will initiate climate change and eco-biological-friendly actions, sensitise on conservation of forest and preservation of wild life, and work closely with the community leaders and concerned departments for addressing the environment alarm,” he said, adding that the council has resolved to abstain from “using jungle meats during NBCC and church gatherings and discourage churches from offering wild animals during its thanksgiving service”.

Pointing out that Nagaland, although small in size, is rich in biodiversity but it is slowly vanishing, the bureaucrat suggested including a chapter on wildlife conservation in the state educational curriculum.

NZP attracts 1 lakh visitors

Kikheto Sema informed that the total area of Nagaland Zoological Park is 176 hectare and houses 363 different types of animals.

He added that the zoo attracts about one lakh visitors annually.

In his keynote address, Chief Wildlife Warden, Nagaland, Ved Pal Sigh stressed on the importance of conserving the ecosystem, saying that wildlife is just one part of it.

‘If we conserve the ecosystem, wildlife will spontaneously be conserved,’ he said, expounding how a small plant in the wild could aid in the manufacture of life-saving drugs used by pharmaceutical industries.

Natural ecosystem has evolved from millions of years and has stabilised, so our main objective should be to preserve the ecosystem, he asserted.

Frontline heroes awarded

The occasion also saw the NZP awarding four individuals in three categories — Range Forest Officer (RFO) Level, Forester (FR) level, and Forest Guard (FG) and equivalent level – for the first time to recognise the exemplary contribution in the field of wildlife conservation, with a cash prize of INR 10,000, a memento, and a citation.

Lansothung Lotha, Range Forest Officer, Doyang Beat, Wokha Forest Divisio, received the award for the RFO level for his contribution in the first-ever birding challenge in Nagaland – the Nagaland Christmas Birding Challenge (NCBC) powered by eBird India. He also launched the interactive bird poster for Nagaland, in collaboration with Early Bird India, as an educational tool for both students and adults, as well as received a certificate of appreciation for submitting 607 bird checklists on the globally renowned eBird application.

In Forester (FR) level category, Hukai H Zhimo, Forester I, Head of Wildlife Crime Control Unit, Dimapur Wildlife Division, was awarded for his consistent heroic role in addressing human-animal conflict and curbing wildlife crimes in the state. His other notable duties include animal rescue operations, detecting wildlife offence cases on social media, intelligence gathering, market and highway patrolling, searches and seizures, Amur falcon protection, and being first responders in the field during human-elephant conflict, including the tranquilization of elephants on musth for public safety.

In FG and equivalent level category, Y Limthure Yimchunger, Forest Guard, Kiphire Range, Kiphire Forest Division, was awarded during the occasion. He is the co-founder of the Bhutan Glory Eco Club at Fakim village in Nagaland, named after a very rare butterfly he and his team discovered in the village. The club was founded with the mission to “Shoot but with a camera, not a gun” to engage youngsters in conservation. It’s said that poachers’ trails into the forest in the Fakim area have vanished and are now covered by vegetation due to efforts of frontline staff like Limthure.

Bhola, Animal Keeper at NZP, Rangapahar, was also awarded in FG and equivalent level category for diligently serving in Nagaland’s only zoo as an animal keeper for more than a decade. One of the most hardworking and best employees at the NZP, he is said to have significantly contributed to the challenging task of animal breeding in the zoo.

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