HP sanctuary lets dogs out to tackle staff crunch

Himachal Pradesh’s biggest wildlife sanctuary, the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP), which has been reeling under staff shortage, has come up with a unique solution to their problem.

The sanctuary in Kullu district has raised a dog squad to keep a check on wildlife crime. At present, the park is manned by 25 guards and three forest rangers.

“We have staff shortage, to curb which, we have inducted three German Shepherds that will track hunters and herb collectors,” said RS Patial, director, GHNP. The dogs are being trained by the Word Wide Fund for Nature, an international NGO working towards nature conservation. The training of the dogs and their handlers is being carried out at National Training Centre of Dogs, run by Border Security Force (BSF) in Gwalior.

Patial added, “In the second batch, we will have two more dogs trained. This is for the first time in India that a sniffer dog squad is being deputed at such a high altitude area. Dogs are being trained to sniff leopard skins, birds’ plume and bear biles.” He further said, “Leopard bones are widely used in the traditional medicines while bears that have large gall bladder are used to treat liver and gall bladder conditions in humans. Also, rare birds like western Tragopan and Monal are killed for plumes, usually worn on Himachali caps.”

The Great Himalayan National Park, spread over 1,160 square kilometres, is located in the Banjaar sub-division of Kullu district in the far western Himalayas and boasts of a large variety of flora and fauna. However, the rich flora and fauna face threats from local villagers who venture into the woods to collect rare exotic herbs.

“GHNP is home to 832 floral species of which, 34 are highly endangered. Himalayan blue poppy, which is used for herbal medicines, is also found here,” the GHNP director said.

The sanctuary area, which was formally notified as a national park in 1999, is a relatively recent addition to a network of protected areas in north India and adjacent countries that provide protection to Himalayas.

“The local herbs available in the sanctuary have high value in international markets,” said Patiyal, adding, “These include herbs like Nag Chhatri and Himalayan Trillium that fetch around ₹70, 000 per kilogram.”

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