Special training for tiger protectors to combat poaching

With a view to checking the poaching of tigers, the Wildlife Conservation Trust, in association with global body, Panthera, is conducting a 'Site Security Training' for officials of the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) in two tiger reserves in Maharashtra.
The workshop that got underway today at the Pench and Tadoba-Andhari reserves will continue till March 3 with 24 STPF officials to undergo training. The sessions will cover various aspects of patrolling, including patrol tasking and planning, camouflage, concealment and obstacle crossing.
"Very recently, an STPF guard suffered serious bullet wounds while trying to nab poachers in the Pench reserve. Better trained officials will be able to minimise injuries to themselves during hostile situations," Mumbai-based WCT President Anish Andheria said in a statement.

The training will improve law enforcement in these two tiger reserves with the larger goal of reducing incidences of poaching, WCT said.
The STPF officials will be trained in the field of law enforcement, basic self-defence, responding to emergencies in a timely and effective manner, working as part of a team, etc.
WCT and Panthera plan to provide such training at other reserves in the country and the first batch of trainees will also be involved as training assistants for the future programmes, the statement said.

A follow up session will be conducted for these 24 officials in October-November, 2015, to both assess and reinforce their skills, it added.

According to the latest All India Tiger Estimation report, the Pench and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserves together are home to 688 tigers. That is approximately 31 per cent of the Indian tiger population, making it one of the most important tiger conservation units in the world.
Pench and Tadoba are the only tiger reserves in central India to have taken the initiative to constitute STPF units dedicated to protecting wildlife and mitigating human-animal conflict.
Panthera is a global body that works for the conservation of endangered cats like tigers, lions, jaguars and snow leopards.