Jhargram: India’s second pangolin breeding and conservation centre — and Bengal’s first — is being built in Jhargram, along with south Bengal’s first 24-hour elephant monitoring centre.State forest minister Birbaha Hansda laid the foundation stone for the pangolin centre and inaugurated the elephant monitoring facility on Sunday. Currently, India’s only pangolin breeding centre is at Nandankanan in Odisha. Jhargram’s Jangalmohal Zoological Park will become the second.In India, the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, while the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is critically endangered. Both are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Pangolins are poached for scales and meat, face habitat destruction and are among the most trafficked animals in international wildlife smuggling.The elephant monitoring centre at Badarvhola beat office in Jhargram has over 16 AI cameras installed in Jhargram, Manikpara, and Lodhashuli ranges. Images of elephant movement captured through these cameras are displayed on two LED screens in the monitoring room, enabling forest officials to track real-time movement and respond quickly.The Rs 16-lakh facility will soon add thermal drones connected to the control room. Officials plan to install 50-60 more AI cameras. Nine forest personnel will handle monitoring.Several enclosures and cages for resident animals and birds were also inaugurated at Jhargram Zoological Park on Sunday. Tigers, lions and three crocodiles will soon arrive.The 1,850-square-metre tiger enclosure is nearing completion, and a lion enclosure is under construction. The crocodile trench is ready; three crocodiles will come from Alipore Zoo.The zoo hatches bird eggs using temperature-controlled incubators. There are eight macaws in a separate enclosure, and enclosures for emu and ostrich are planned. Around Rs 2.5 crore has been spent on zoo infrastructure, including boundary walls, cages and animal and bird enclosures.
