Wildlife Day webinar to focus on whale sharks

Asian elephants, tigers, olive ridley turtles and king cobras are among other topics

Amaravati: Whale shark conservation along Andhra Pradesh coast and similar efforts on Asian elephants, tigers, olive ridley turtles and king cobras among others are some of the topics the state forest department will deliberate, commemorating the World Wildlife Day.

“The panelists in the webinar include senior officials from AP forest department, senior level scientists from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), some eminent representatives from NGOs and individual researchers working in the field of wildlife conservation,” said Nandani Salaria, curator of the Visakhapatnam-based Indira Gandhi Zoological Park of Vizag Zoo.

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These officials will deliver talks aimed at creating awareness in the public about wildlife in the southern state.WII scientist K Ramesh will talk about Eastern Ghats landscape, its significance and the need for integrated landscape strategy. Rahul Pandey, chief conservator of forests, wildlife will raise awareness on tiger conservation in Nagarjunasagar – Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NTSR).

Likewise, Supraja Dharini from Tree Foundation will enlighten enthusiasts on integrated olive ridley sea turtle conservation along AP coast, which is a success story. Salaria will talk about ex-situ conservation in Vizag Zoo and the way forward.

Anant Shankar and Selvam, DFOs from Visakhapatnam and Rajamahendravaram respectively will speak on whale shark conservation insights and the future along AP’s nearly 1,000 km long coastline by the Bay of Bengal on the east coast of India.

Eastern Ghats Wildlife Society representative Murthy Kantimahanti will enlighten on king cobra conservation in north coastal AP. Finally, Rakesh Kalva will talk on Asian elephant conservation and the future ahead, followed by an interactive session moderated by Salaria.

Themed wildlife conservation initiatives in AP, the webinar is scheduled from 3.30 pm to 5 pm on Wednesday.