Ten blackbucks, stranded and at risk after post-cyclone flooding inundated their habitat, were pulled to safety from Balia village in Khallikot Range — a quiet but telling measure of how Odisha's forest machinery swings into action when disaster strikes. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi shared details of the operation on Sunday, 1 November 2026, highlighting a coordinated wildlife rescue mission mounted in the aftermath of Cyclone 'Arnab'.

From Balia village to the forests of Chikiti Beat

The ten blackbucks were retrieved from Balia village, Khallikot Range, under the Berhampur Forest Division in Ganjam district. After veterinary care, the animals were released into forest land near Bania village, Chikiti Beat — returning them to a more secure, natural environment away from the flood-hit zone.

Blackbucks are a Schedule I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the highest protection category under Indian law. Ganjam district has been a focus of blackbuck conservation efforts since the early 2000s, making a successful post-disaster rescue here more than routine — it is a test of those years of groundwork.

24-hour control rooms and four emergency response teams

The operation was far from improvised. Chief Minister Majhi noted that 24-hour control rooms were established across the Berhampur Forest Division and all its ranges. Four ranges had dedicated Emergency Response Teams deployed specifically for the crisis period.

These teams worked in coordination with Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs), the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC), and other government departments. Together, they cleared fallen trees, restored road access, and maintained continuous surveillance over wildlife in the affected zones — a multi-agency grid rarely seen outside a major cyclone response.

Odisha's template for cyclone-era wildlife protection

This rescue reflects a protocol that Odisha began formalising after Cyclone Fani in 2019 — integrating wildlife rescue into the state's broader disaster response architecture. Coastal Odisha's exposure to recurrent cyclones pushed forest divisions to build standing capacity: pre-positioned teams, inter-departmental coordination drills, and rapid veterinary support.

The Berhampur Forest Division, covering biodiversity-rich southern ranges, has been among the most active in applying this framework. Each cyclone adds to an institutional memory that makes the next response faster and more effective. Ten blackbucks walking free into the Chikiti forests is the human — and animal — face of that accumulation.

Eyes now turn to post-cyclone wildlife monitoring reports from Ganjam and whether this emergency mobilisation translates into longer-term infrastructure investment in Odisha's forest emergency response system.