Odisha's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Wildlife stated in March 2021 that the fire did not cause any loss of wildlife and had not affected the core area of the tiger reserves.[1] The statement was reiterated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who stated in March that the fire had not caused loss of life to people or fauna.[33] This was disputed by a local educational and research institution, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, which stated that the fire had "....endangered flora and fauna, decimating medicinal plants and displacing countless wildlife & adivasi communities..."[33] In addiiton, local indigenous communities living within the biosphere reserve, as well as environmental activists, described the spread of the fire as unprecedented and causing loss to many native species of flora and fauna.[3] The Wildlife Society of Odisha described the state's claim that no serious damage had occurred as "...ridiculous." pointing particularly to the effect on many native lizard and orchid species.[21] Conservationists have also questioned whether this claim about the impact on fauna can be made before the government undertakes surveys to examine the impact of the fire on local flora and fauna.[4]