Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The ongoing operation ‘Capture Black Buck’ was suspended in Shajapur district on Tuesday as the forest department granted a day holiday to its field staff to celebrate Diwali.
The operation, aimed at capturing and translocating Black Bucks and Blue Bulls, will resume on Wednesday.
On Tuesday — the second day of the operation — forest officials surveyed areas in the district to ascertain the presence of Black Bucks and Blue Bulls, said forest officer Veerendra, who is part of the operation.
Notably, the operation began on Monday and a Robinson helicopter has been deployed to assist in capturing the animals. On the first day, 45 Black Bucks were captured and later translocated to Mandsaur’s Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary. The operation will continue for twelve more days, and the captured Black Bucks will be shifted to Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary to increase the prey base for Cheetahs there.
On the first day, villagers gathered in large numbers to see the Robinson chopper chasing the Black Bucks toward the Boma in Imlikheda village of Shujalpur. The exercise has brought relief to farmers, as Black Bucks had been destroying their crops and had become a challenge for them.
Why Operation Black Buck
The rapidly growing population of Black Bucks and Blue Bulls has become a challenge for Shajapur district. These wild animals have been destroying standing crops. For many years, farmers have been demanding a solution to the problem. The forest department has roped in a 15-member South African team of experts to capture and translocate the animals.
The South African team includes a pilot who is an expert in flying the Robinson chopper.
Forest team learning tactic
The South African expert team is also training forest department officials in capturing Black Bucks through the Boma technique, which can be deployed in other parts of the state as well.
