Jack Lighting

[marksman]

Dear Members
Just out of curiosity, will I be held and hauled up by Wild Life Dept. if I decided to enter a forest with a spot light to observe wild animals. Especially the ones which are more active at night. Goes without saying that I certainly wouldn't be carrying any fire arm on my person or in the vehicle except for a good camera. I'd appreciate an early response.

Marksman.

[nagarifle]

when one is observing wild life at night one does not use spot light, spot light have the tendency to scare away the wildlife. most parks are closed to public at sunset. [not nice to be midnight snack for a tiger]why not ask this question to the wildlife park authority where you wish to observe the animals, having a spot light is not a crime under wildlife law as far as i know. as it is no more then a torch, yes people use torch light at night to insure they dont step on dogshit.

[eljefe]

Call the local/Zonal forest officer and check on prevailing thought processes ( rules), and whether that section of forest allows entry of public after designated visitor hours.
Good Luck

[marksman]

Nagarifle,
I am pretty much aware of park rules. in fact I forgot to mention (my bad) the forests out side the ambit of reserved forests and parks which also hold wildlife and which are much more difficult to locate and observe as they unlike the park animals are pretty shy of human presence in daytime.

Marksman

[nagarifle]

the thing to be aware of this that at night with spotlight one may be taken as a poacher an shot at, unless one has informed the park guards , maybe an inferred sight be the best option for the shey creatures

[Vikram]

I would repeat what Naga and Jefe said. Check with the forest authorities near the area you intend to visit and also inform them before you start your outing. I know of a few cases where going around with a spotlight was enough to warrant an investigation and even lodging a case.Also keep in mind that folks may alert the police if they see someone using a spotlight in the nights.Not that you would not know these things, I am merely sharing my opinions.

[marksman]

Guess I should do what you guys suggest. Thanks.

Marksman

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

In some of the reservation areas the watch towers have the search light facility to locate the animals in evening and early morning. They generally come for the salt patches made near the watch towers. But roaming with a spot light or search light inside a reserve forest is not permitted to the best of my knowledge. Most the parks closed after sun set. Only the forest guest house occupants are allowed to stay inside the area. But as the other seniors said it's the best I can say in my knowledge.

[Woods]

You can classify our forests into three categories - (1) national parks (2) wildlife sanctuary (3) reserved forests

You can't visit ANY National park with private weapon . And you can't visit them except allowed hours. And you can't even honk let alone roam with a vehicle mounted searchlight.

You have to check with forest officers to verify whether a private weapon can be carried into a particular wildlife sanctuary ( most of them allow). And you can visit almost all of them round the clock . Some sanctuaries ( like Satpura Tiger Reserve around Pachmarhi) have important roads across them .

You can definitely visit a " simple Reserved forest " any time by any vehicle and with any private weapon .

Poaching of wildlife is prohibited in any of the above and you are liable to questioning if found in suspicious circumstances.

Lately , Draft Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill 2019: is also under consideration which will ipso -facto designate any woods ( for example an urban jungle) to be a reserved forest. Right now every " forest like area " is not a Reserved forest unless declared by a notification under Indian forest act of 1921.

I can't recall exactly but maybe there has been a detailed discussion over similar topic in this forum before.