A file picture of tribals with their prey, a wild boar, during Bishu Shikar in Dalma

Jamshedpur, April 24: Man will provide extra cover to animals and birds to protect them — from who else but humans — during Bishu Shikar on April 30 at the Dalma hills.

The Ranchi wildlife division has arranged for the services of adivasi vigilante teams from Purulia and Bankura in Bengal to prevent tribals from hunting animals and birds during the annual festival locally known as Sendra.

Officials are loath to disclose when adivasi teams are due to arrive but sources revealed they would be present at Dalma on April 28.

“We have already informed the Bengal team on the date of Shikar. Two groups will stay till the afternoon of April 30,” a forest officer said.

The Ranchi division has kept its plan of bringing the expert teams under wraps because it does not want to alert hunters on the prowl.

A forest official said areas frequented by deer, sloth bears, giant squirrels, rabbits and other animals will be marked out. “The 60-member team, that will include forest officials, will remain on a constant vigil,” he added.

Explaining the procedure to ensure safety of the animals, he said the experts would rely on nets.

“Enclosures will be made with nets. Animals will remain inside the enclosures, which will be in place at various places until the end of the hunting ritual,” added the official, on condition of anonymity.

This is not the first time that experts from Bengal are visiting Jharkhand. Last year, too, the forest department had roped in the team to guard wildlife during Bishu Shikar.

“The adivasis in the team will be from Purulia and Bankura. They will mimic various kinds of calls to lure the animals out of their shelters,” another forest official said.

Though foresters are confident that none of the animals in the sanctuary would fall prey to hunters during Bishu, expert help, they feel, is a must.

“Not a single animal was killed when hunters from Asanboni entered the hills for Sendra yesterday,” an official said. “The hunters will climb the hills on April 29 and come down the next morning,” he added.

Forest staff from the wildlife divisions of Betla, Palamau, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Hazaribagh and West Singhbhum will also be on patrol in the run-up to the festival. Around 900 officials and staff will be present at the sanctuary a day before the hunt.

Besides, members of eco-development committees will be on duty for two days.

Dalma range officer Mangal Kacchap, however, claimed they had no plan to take help from Bengal experts.

“We are not taking any help from outside. We have our own men to protest the animals,” he said.

Last week, the wildlife divisions of Ranchi and Seraikela-Kharsawan had also alerted their network of informers to keep tab on hunters ahead of Bishu Shikar.

Also, the Dolma Buru Sendra Samiti, which organises the hunting festival in Dalma, has promised to prevent animal killings this year.