Gorewada herbivores get maize bonanza from its in-house farm
Nagpur: Lush green maize fields sway in the pre-monsoon winds on the land owned by the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), part of a unique experiment to provide herbivores at Gorewada Zoo with nutritious and varied food.
Started last year, these in-house farms at Gorewada are meeting part of the herbivores' daily food requirements.
Sarika Khot, an ACF-rank official who is currently posted as assistant manager of Gorewada Zoo, said, "Animals are similar to humans when it comes to food; they love variety. And we wanted to not only add to their already varied food but also introduce new items." To revamp the menu for herbivores, officials at Gorewada Zoo took up planting crops on a patch of land adjacent to the zoo's entrance.
The current crop, maize, is something that herbivores are relishing. Khot said, "Every morning, a vehicle comes here to harvest fresh maize. Immediately afterwards, it's taken to the herbivore enclosure for feeding. The moment the herbivores see this, they chomp down on it. Whatever we put there is consumed instantly."
The current land is being harvested in phases. Khot said, "It's a rotational-based system. You have plantation being done on one patch, then at the next, you will see saplings growing bigger, and finally, the next patch has fully grown crops which are ready for harvest."
The fenced-off farm has been made herbivore-proof. Khot said, "Since we have forests all around, deer move around in this range, and they were jumping over six-foot fences. So we dug up a moat-like hole around the fence so that they don't get the platform to propel their jump."
Similarly, the base of the fence was reinforced with sand/mud/clay-filled bags as wild boars were breaking in. With all systems in place, the crops are in full bloom. After the success of their unique experiment, Gorewada Zoo officials are set to expand the crop base. Khot said, "The adjoining fields are almost ready, and soon we will begin plantation with new crops."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Gorewada herbivores get maize bonanza from its in-house farm
Nagpur: Lush green maize fields sway in the pre-monsoon winds on the land owned by the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM), part of a unique experiment to provide herbivores at Gorewada Zoo with nutritious and varied food. Started last year, these in-house farms at Gorewada are meeting part of the herbivores' daily food requirements. Sarika Khot, an ACF-rank official who is currently posted as assistant manager of Gorewada Zoo, said, "Animals are similar to humans when it comes to food; they love variety. And we wanted to not only add to their already varied food but also introduce new items." To revamp the menu for herbivores, officials at Gorewada Zoo took up planting crops on a patch of land adjacent to the zoo's entrance. The current crop, maize, is something that herbivores are relishing. Khot said, "Every morning, a vehicle comes here to harvest fresh maize. Immediately afterwards, it's taken to the herbivore enclosure for feeding. The moment the herbivores see this, they chomp down on it. Whatever we put there is consumed instantly." The current land is being harvested in phases. Khot said, "It's a rotational-based system. You have plantation being done on one patch, then at the next, you will see saplings growing bigger, and finally, the next patch has fully grown crops which are ready for harvest." The fenced-off farm has been made herbivore-proof. Khot said, "Since we have forests all around, deer move around in this range, and they were jumping over six-foot fences. So we dug up a moat-like hole around the fence so that they don't get the platform to propel their jump." Similarly, the base of the fence was reinforced with sand/mud/clay-filled bags as wild boars were breaking in. With all systems in place, the crops are in full bloom. After the success of their unique experiment, Gorewada Zoo officials are set to expand the crop base. Khot said, "The adjoining fields are almost ready, and soon we will begin plantation with new crops."
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Forest officials raze ‘illegal' sheds of tribals in Nagarahole wildlife range
The forest personnel on Wednesday dismantled six alleged unauthorised sheds erected inside the Attur-Kolli forest area of the Nagarahole Wildlife Range. This was in response to repeated resistance by tribal families who had occupied the land in early May and were reportedly obstructing forest department officials from accessing the site. According to Nagarahole assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Ananya Kumar, members of the tribal community entered the forest on May 5 and felled nearly 42 saplings to clear space for new shelters. 'Despite being served a notice on June 17 and given another chance on June 18 to voluntarily dismantle the new sheds, the encroachers blocked entry routes of officials,' Kumar said. 'Forest staff, under heavy police cover, accessed the area through an alternative path and proceeded with the demolition.' He said that claims by the tribal families that asserted ancestral links to the land could not be substantiated. 'The tribals claimed that they were the original inhabitants of the forest and staying since decades. But the documents available with department and surveys conducted by NGOs and even Google Maps found no human inhabitant in the area earlier. According to the Forest Rights Act, the inhabitants should have constructed their huts and cultivated the land in the forest before December 13, 2005. But there were no signs of human living, and the tribals failed to provide any proof of it,' he said, adding that the sub-division level committee (SDLC) had already rejected their land rights petition. He further said that while six new structures were demolished, six earlier sheds built in May were left untouched. Officials clarified that while the SDLC had turned down the land claims on May 22 this year, the applicants still have the right to appeal before the district level committee (DLC) within 60 days. The eviction has sparked a backlash from tribal rights activists. JA Shivu, president of the Nagarhole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samithi, said the affected families had long-standing ties to the forest and had only temporarily migrated for work. 'We are not demanding any new rights from government, it is our right which is given by the Act under the Constitution but forest officials are suppressing our rights. We will take up agitation till our right is given,' he said. In a statement issued by the Karadikallu Atturu Kolli Haadi Forest Rights Committee, residents claimed they had returned to their ancestral land on May 5. 'On 17-06-2025, we, the people of Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, been served a we should immediately destroy the they threatened that they will bring down the huts and file criminal charges against our people. This is a serious and absolute travesty of justice,' the statement read.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Croc caught from village pond
Kendrapada: A 6-ft-long male saltwater crocodile was caught by forest officials from a pond in Dangamal village within Bhitarkanika National Park on Tuesday. The forest department swung into action after owner of the pond, Rajesh Kumar Pati, told the forest department that a crocodile entered the pond from the nearby Balijori creek last week. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It ate fish reared by him, resulting in a huge loss. Around five forest personnel took a gruelling four hours to net the crocodile in the presence of many villagers from the pond. "I released fish fingerlings three months back in the pond by spending Rs 50,000 and hoped to make a profit by selling fish this month. But a crocodile ate many fishes. I need compensation from the forest department," said Rajesh Kumar Pati, the pond owner. The forest personnel released the crocodile into the nearby Bhitarkanika river within the park. "The crocodile did not attack humans. It was also not injured while being captured," said Manas Kumar Das, the assistant conservator of forest (ACF) of Bhitarkanika.
