SEIJOSA, Jun 6: A team of camera trappers that managed to get a pregnant tigress on film won the first prize in the annual camera trapping event organized on the sidelines of the two-day World Environment Day (WED) celebration here in East Kameng district on Tuesday.
The second and third prizes were given to the teams that got a beautiful frame of two yellow throated martens and a melanistic leopard.
The prizes were given based on a public voting campaign initiated by the Pakke forest department and Conservation India. This year 330 votes were received from all across India.
PB Rana, Ranger of Seijosa Wildlife Range and Dr Rinku Gohain of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) gave away the prizes to the winners, and the award for the ‘best staff’ to Rakesh Nabum, who courageously survived a leopard attack while on duty last year. The award has been supported by the WTI for frontline staff.
Ex gratia was also given to members of the general public who suffered from incidences of human-wildlife conflict.
Later, field biologist of Pakke, Chandan Ri presented a report highlighting the first photographic record of a ferret badger from within the reserve, and a pregnant tigress from the core area.
Pakke Tiger Reserve Divisional Forest Officer Tana Tapi, who also attended the event, said that giving away prizes in such a unique way encourages the staffers and creates more enthusiasm amongst them.
Earlier in the day, a plantation drive was organized at the Seijosa range forest which saw the participation of members of the general public, gaon burahs, panchayat members, and staffers of the forest department and the block administration.
On the second day, the Khellong EAC and the DFO, along with the Pakke Tiger Reserve DFO, local youths, and staff of the Tippi wildlife range organized a plantation drive in Dezzling.