pune the pune division of the forest department will encourage ecotourism and provide nature education for tourists visiting the bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary most tourists are pilgrims who visit the jyotirling temple located inside the sanctuary the forest department plans to sensitize them about the rich and diverse fauna in the sanctuary and keep the protected area litterfree m k rao chief conservator of forests pune told toi that nearly eight lakh tourists visit the sanctuary in a month the tourists litter the place which attracts dogs crows and macaques which harm the wildlife over 10000 vehicles arrive here on a single day and park on the foraging ground of animals he said we want tourists coming to the temple to appreciate the beauty and life forms in the forest we have to change the attitude of people and the way they look at forests and keep the area clean he said local guides guards and staff of the forest department underwent a threeday nature orientation training recently covering topics like the fauna amphibians reptiles insects mammals of the western ghats wildlife management mananimal conflicts and camera traps among others varad giri noted herpetologist and director of nature was the lecturer the sanctuary harbours 529 species of animals according to a study conducted by the zoological survey of india zsi rao said three buildings of the forest department inside the sanctuary were handed over to the village eco development committee the panel will now maintain them and take up ecotourism the locals will act as guides and offer food and accommodation to the tourists he said varad giri said the sanctuary was a protected area and home to the indian giant squirrel amphibians and reptiles frogs and lizards found here are important in the food chain and lifesupport system the forest guards and other staff of the department who are protecting the forest should know the local biodiversity as they are supposed to guide tourists visiting the sanctuary he said giri said that the sanctuary is home to endemic species restricted to this geographical area found in western ghats like deccan banded gecko a lizard and swamp eel one can also find atlas moth the largest moth in asia and golden emperor moth during the field trip we also found a frog with three legs which is an example of deformity in amphibians this area needs to be studied he added