Foresters clear fishing nets at Nagarahole to protect wildlife

Mysuru: Recently fishing nets were found entangled on the antlers of three deer inside Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. The deer may have struggled for days or weeks but after ground staff and tourists informed their higher-ups, they were quick to act. The deer were located, caught, and then freed from the nets and released back into the woods.
Taking a learning from the incident, Nagarahole foresters didn’t waste time and quickly responded to prevent any such incident in the future. Using a patrolling boat, a team of personnel cleared fishing nets that were visible to the naked eye from Udbur to Masthigudi, covering a distance of eight kms. The nets were taken off the river and then disposed scientifically.
The objective was to ensure the safety of wildlife in the forest. These nets could cause danger to their lives as they can choke the animals to death or restrict their free movement in their natural habitat.
Nagarahole director Harshakumar Chikkanaragund said that the fishing nets may have been left behind in the backwaters by dwellers on the riverside. Such nets may have ended up on the antlers of the deer while they were drinking water in the river. A day after three deer were rescued, a drive was planned to remove any such nets from the river to ensure the safety of the other wildlife. Our team members belonging to DB Kuppe Range conducted the drive and removed the nets from the river, he said.
An officer explained that even the local fishermen and tribal too were educated about the possible harm to the wildlife in the forest if the nets are discarded in the river. They were informed to facilitate the department in protecting wildlife.
Recently Nagarahole officials in association with a degree college students cleaned the backwaters of Kapila of waste materials, including plastic covers, non-bio degradable material, rubber products, bottles and et al.