The sighting of a rare striped hyena in Bejjur mandal in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on Wednesday once again threw light on the need for enhanced conservation efforts to protect the biodiversity in erstwhile Adilabad district. The Schedule I animal categorised as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature was sighted near Gollabavi cheruvu tank, about three km from the mandal headquarters by villagers of Mathadi who panicked assuming that it was a tiger. Forest officials led by Kagaznagar Forest Divisional Officer M. Ravi Prasad and Bejjur Forest range Officer M. Ram Mohan reached the spot no sooner the word of a tiger being spotted spread around.
The swift action not only provided protection to the scared scavenger animal but also resulted in its identification which was helpful in controlling the anxiety of the locals.
“We first identified the animal through its pug marks. Later, the identity was confirmed by directly sighted at its hiding place under a culvert near the tank,” recalled Mr. Ravi Prasad. Mr. Ram Mohan informed The Hindu that four guards are being stationed and camera traps set up near the culvert to monitor the movement of the striped hyena which seems to have its younger one moving with it. “Once the commotion is over, the hyena will move out,” he asserted.
The Forest Divisional Officer said that presence of a rare animal like striped hyena in Bejjur forests only shows the variation in its biodiversity.
