HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, May 3: The field director (FD) of the Orang National Park and Tiger Reserve, Pradipta Baruah has highlighted the important role of the people in protecting animals that occasionally stray out of the protected areas like the national park.
The field director interacted with a group of school children, who were taken on a jeep safari inside the Orang National Park as part of the ‘Friends of Rhino’ programme of Aaranyak in collaboration with the park authority with support from Zoo Berlin.
The field director apprised the group of 30 school students about the rich biodiversity and importance of the national park and their responsibility towards conservation of biodiversity and nature.
Accompanying the group of school children during the park safari, Aaranyak’s senior official Arif Hussain apprised them about the characteristics of habitats of various animals and bird species including the one-horned rhinos.
The students during their maiden visit inside the national park and tiger reserve were enchanted at the sights of rhinos, elephants, Asiatic buffaloes, a large number of deer, wild boar, monkeys, numerous birds, snakes, various orchids, wetlands and water bodies, rich grassland inside the park.
The students from Luit Jatiya Vidyalaya, Sengelimari and Bidyasagar Jatiya Vidyalaya, Roumari participated in the Friends of Rhino programme along with their teachers in-charge.
The programme aims to instil a sense of responsibility and motivation among young minds in the society towards conservation of the precious one-horned rhinos and its habitat.
Field officials of the Orang National Park, local EDC officials and members and local environment enthusiasts also participated in the programme to encourage and motivate the students to acquire a penchant for nature conservation.