Bihar govt orders closure of tiger reserve, Patna zoo

PATNA: In adherence to an order issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the state environment, forests and climate change department has decided to keep Valimiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran and Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park in Patna closed for visitors and tourism activities till further orders.
The state forests department has also asked the staff at VTR to remain inside the tiger reserve to prevent spread of coronavirus.
The NTCA had asked all states on Tuesday to close down tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries till further orders, citing Covid-19 infection as reason behind death of a lioness inside a zoo in Chennai.
“As per the news reports, a lioness in Vandalur zoo, Chennai is suspected to have died due to Covid-19 infection and several other lions of the same zoo have tested positive for SARS COV-2. For preventing the possible transmission of Covid-19 from human beings to wild tigers and other wildlife, all tiger reserves should remain closed for tourism activities until further orders,” the NTCA order read.
Principal secretary (forests department) Dipak Kumar Singh said, “Following receipt of the order from NTCA, a correspondence has been made for formal closure of VTR, the only tiger reserve in Bihar. Besides, monitoring of the staff, their vaccination against the virus as well as health of the animals in the tiger reserve are being done regularly.”
Singh added identification of symptoms in tigers is initially done through change in their food habits. “Incidentally, no animal has been identified with any such symptom so far,” he added.
The letter issued by Rajendra G Garawad, deputy inspector general of forests (NTCA) to all states on June 7, stated that the latest instance of zoo animals getting infected by Covid-19 once again indicates the high likelihood of disease transmission from affected human beings to captive wild animals. “A similar transmission may also happen in tiger reserves,” the letter read.
Additional chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Prabhat Kumar Gupta told TOI on Thursday, “We have issued letters to officials at VTR as well as Patna zoo on the same day. They have been asked to close down all tourism-related activities. We have also written to Patna zoo on the same issue even though it does not come under the purview of the NTCA order and a similar order from Central Zoo Authority is also in effect.”
Gupta said VTR authorities have also been asked to vaccinate their staff on priority basis.