Residents in villages on the close periphery of Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha’s Kendrapara district exude optimism that the rich mangrove forests cover along its internationally-acclaimed wetland sites would turn into savior for them amid apprehension of the region figuring on the line of cyclonic fury.

The State Forest Department has in the meanwhile kept the national park out of bounds for tourists from 23 to 25 October in view of the cyclone warning.

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The park will remain closed for three days from Wednesday. Its reopening will depend on the weather condition. We are quite hopeful that the well-protected mangrove cover here will ensure the safety of humans, flora and fauna as these species are gifted with capacity to withstand high wind velocity, said Sudrashan Gopinath Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division.

The mangrove may save us yet again. The coastal woodland has the capacity to withstand the wind velocity up to 200 kilometer per hour. We are a bit scared. Still we are hopeful that nature will arrest the stormy onslaught this time, said Pradip Das, a local of Dangamal village lying close to the national park.

Though there are no definite signs of a cyclone striking our area, we hope that the forest cover would protect us with minimal damage as it had been the case in past cyclones. We pray that the forest withstands the onslaught this time also, said Kamalakanta Nayak of park-side Talchua village.

It’s pertinent to note here that the national park had withstood the onslaught of several cyclones in the past including the catastrophic 1999 October super cyclone.

The lush-green luxuriant mangrove cover often acts as a protective barrier against cyclone and tidal surge. It is because of the mangroves that the coastal hamlets lying on the fringes of the national park could not be impacted by cyclones in the past. In the 1999 super cyclone, the area was also saved as the species bore the onslaught of gusty wind. The mangrove is a proven and time-tested natural barrier against tidal surge and cyclones in these parts.

Mangrove forests with its intricate root system stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides, said Divisional Forest Officer, Yadav added.

The flora and fauna of the park were unharmed due to the Amphan cyclone last year. The villages on the close periphery of the national park were also saved as the mangrove cover acted as buffer zone in protecting the human settlements, concluded DFO Yadav.

Bhitarkanika is one of the richest storehouses of mangrove genes. Researchers have come across 11 of the 70 mangrove species, which were at elevated threat of extinction in the world, in Bhitarkanika. Mangroves are regarded as natural barriers against the tidal surge and cyclones. Because of its rich mangrove cover, cyclonic storms from time to time have failed to make inroads into the wetland sites.

Odisha is endowed with a reserve of a mangrove forest area of 231 square kilometer with a major chunk lying in Bhitarkanika. It stands second only to Sundarbans in West Bengal. Besides Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara, the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Puri district are also home to mangrove, otherwise known as coastal woodland.

While 82 square Km area in Bhitarkanika is densely mangrove-infested while 95 square km area has moderate mangrove forest. 54 square km patches are sparsely covered under Mangrove forest.

The coastal patches spread across 672 square km were declared the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in 1975. The core area of the sanctuary, with an area of 145 km, got Bhitarkanika National Park tag in September 1998.

Bhitarkanika National Park is famous for its lush-green mangroves, migrating birds and turtles, estuarine crocodiles and countless creeks.

The rich biodiversity of Bhitarkanika serves as a sanctuary for leopard, wild boar, jungle cat, fishing cat, hyena, sambar, striped palm squirrel, gangetic dolphin while reptiles found comprise turtles including Olive Ridley sea turtle, crocodile, lizard, water monitors, python, and king cobra. Around 166 species of birds have been spotted in the park.