As a new initiative under the humane approach of taking proper care of wildlife, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has decided to set up two mega rescue centers at Amreli and Jambughoda for the leopards whose numbers are increasing in the state’s forests. The Vadodara Wildlife Department under the State Forest Department has undertaken the preliminary process of setting up a relatively large mega rescue center in the Jambughoda Sanctuary area.
Ratan Mahal and Jambughoda Sanctuaries in the eastern belt of Central Gujarat and Kevadia forests in Chhotaudepur are connected by natural corridors and the area is inhabited by leopards and the number has increased due to the careful supervision of the Forest Department. Small rescue centers have been set up in leopard-populated areas to keep, treat and rehabilitate them after they get injured.
In the Sadra forest of Jambughoda, there is a rescue center with three cages and two yards as well as a facility for the treatment of injured leopards. A new mega rescue center has been planned at the foot of Dhaneshwari Mata Dungar and in front of the existing Center. Under the guidance of Aradhana Sahu, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kevadia Forest Circle, and under the supervision of ML Meena, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Department, Vadodara, Assistant Conservator of Forests HD Raulji and his team are contributing to the construction in this sanctuary.
Expressing the feeling that this center will be useful for the entire forest area of Central Gujarat, Raulji said that a good number of male and female leopards can be kept in this center. There will be a facility to treat the injured or sick, which will include the cage and the adjoining yard. In addition, it is planned to keep a separate cage for a pregnant leopard to be sheltered here and for a baby to be born or a baby leopard needs to be kept. The target is to complete this work in the current financial year.
Jambughoda is a sanctuary surrounded by human-populated villages. The Wildlife Department, Vadodara has taken an approach to engage people in the protection of forests and wildlife. To increase the participation of local people in wildlife conservation, the department has entrusted the management of nature tourism centers to local communities which provides them employment and income.
