UDHAGAMANDALAM:
Villagers of Thalamalai and Dhimbam in Erode district are relieved
after a leopard which killed two people, including a forest guard in
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, was captured on Thursday. In the last
seven months, five people have been killed by carnivores in the fringe
areas of forests in Tamil Nadu. While three people, including two women,
were killed by a man-eater tiger in the north division of Nilgiri
forests in January, two men, including a forest employee, were killed by
a leopard in Sathyamangalam reserve area in the past one month. A year
ago, a 3-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Valparai area.
According to wildlife filmmaker-conservationist, Shekar Dattatri, the man-animal conflict is a complex issue. "As long as there are humans and large carnivores in the world, there will be some conflict and it will continue into the future," said Dattatri.
Stating that our sense of horror is much greater when a human is killed by a wild animal, Dattatri said, "While one cannot generalise, in some cases, good conservation measures result in increase in the big cat population in some reserves. When this happens, some young or aged big cats may get pushed to the forest fringes where they may come into conflict with humans. When cornered or taken by surprise, such cats may maul or kill a person in self-defence".
Sometimes, an injured or incapacitated tiger or leopard living on the forest fringes may turn into a man eater. "Each case is different and has to be dealt with as such. An accidental mauling need not be cause for great panic and may need no action at all," Dattatri said. However, when there is a confirmed man eater on the prowl, it will have to be captured and removed to a zoo for permanent captivity or put down, he added.
With the increasing forest cover in Tamil Nadu, the last few decades has seen a spike in wildlife population because of good conservation efforts and protection of animals in forest areas, said a senior forest official. "When the wildlife population grows, there will be a natural shrink in territory leading to in-fighting among carnivores. This forces the weaker big cats to move to the forest fringes for smaller prey," he said.
In addition, habitat improvement with huge prey base increases the population of wild animals, he said. A few decades ago, there was no concept of anti-poaching watchers which is now a core concept for the protection of wild animals from poachers.
"Creating awareness among the public located close to fringe areas of forests will go a long way," said the senior forest official. According to him, there is no shrinkage in forest cover in TN in the last decade.
According to wildlife filmmaker-conservationist, Shekar Dattatri, the man-animal conflict is a complex issue. "As long as there are humans and large carnivores in the world, there will be some conflict and it will continue into the future," said Dattatri.
Stating that our sense of horror is much greater when a human is killed by a wild animal, Dattatri said, "While one cannot generalise, in some cases, good conservation measures result in increase in the big cat population in some reserves. When this happens, some young or aged big cats may get pushed to the forest fringes where they may come into conflict with humans. When cornered or taken by surprise, such cats may maul or kill a person in self-defence".
Sometimes, an injured or incapacitated tiger or leopard living on the forest fringes may turn into a man eater. "Each case is different and has to be dealt with as such. An accidental mauling need not be cause for great panic and may need no action at all," Dattatri said. However, when there is a confirmed man eater on the prowl, it will have to be captured and removed to a zoo for permanent captivity or put down, he added.
With the increasing forest cover in Tamil Nadu, the last few decades has seen a spike in wildlife population because of good conservation efforts and protection of animals in forest areas, said a senior forest official. "When the wildlife population grows, there will be a natural shrink in territory leading to in-fighting among carnivores. This forces the weaker big cats to move to the forest fringes for smaller prey," he said.
In addition, habitat improvement with huge prey base increases the population of wild animals, he said. A few decades ago, there was no concept of anti-poaching watchers which is now a core concept for the protection of wild animals from poachers.
"Creating awareness among the public located close to fringe areas of forests will go a long way," said the senior forest official. According to him, there is no shrinkage in forest cover in TN in the last decade.
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