bhubaneswar the similipal tiger reserve str will soon form a dedicated squad to rescue distressed and straying animals at present it has no such squad to handle such cases at short notice on an average 80 to 100 animals are rescued from str and five forest divisions under baripada forest circle in a year some animals die before being taken for treatment as the rescuers lack expertise the baripada circle is headed by regional chief conservator of forest rccf h k bisht who is also field director of str we felt the need for experts and dedicated hands to tackle such cases forest guards are currently being pressed into the job animals get sacred during such operations and attack our staff said bisht the field director said the squad will be provided nets poles augers and power saws it will act on complaints about straying animals nets and poles will be used to cordon off an area if inhabited in the absence of poles the squad will use the power saw to cut branches of trees for the purpose he said the authorities would seek help of wildlife trust of india wti to procure the equipment he added last year the str launched a mobile veterinary service mvs in collaboration with wti the mvs unit is being used for rescue and rehabilitation of animals bisht said people of nearby villages would be made aware of ways to decrease mananimal conflicts straying animals get distressed when disturbed by humans he said official sources said majority of animals are rescued from villages in 201213 two elephant calves died after being rescued many spotted deer captured by villagers too have died