August 24, 2023
By Vandana Kannan, Chandrasekar Das & S.P. Silambarasan
Biodiversity Conservation team
The wildlife team conducted an Ecology and Field Techniques training on August 24 in Cairnhill, Ooty. The District Forest Officer of Nilgiris, Mr. Gautham, and Range Officers of Kotagiri and Ooty South inaugurated the training and highlighted the importance of the subject. 54 Anti Depredation Squad members (ADS) and Anti Poaching Watchers (APW) participated from 12 ranges in Nilgiris. Chandrasekar, Simbu, and I gave the training.
Topics covered include basics of evolution, ecology, and biodiversity, direct and indirect sign surveys, bird identification, invasive plant identification, snake identification, field equipment and field ethics. A practical session was also done to apply the theory knowledge and identify animal signs and birds in field.
The trainees were very responsive and interactive throughout the course. They found the subject intriguing and useful and showed interest in attending more sessions with us.
We hope to conduct this basic training in other ranges across Nilgiris and follow-up with in-depth sessions on requested topics such as rescue and camera trapping.
