Call of the wild Premium

Wild animals are entering human habitations in many parts of Kerala, as anthropogenic pressure paved the way for the invasion of pristine forests

The ever-increasing crop depredations and human casualties portray a grim picture of human-wildlife conflicts in Kerala. There are distressing reports of elephants entering human habitations in the central and eastern parts of the State and of cattle lifting by big cats in the northern district of Wayanad.

There is unfounded speculation that forest officials are hatching diabolic designs to get populated areas demarcated as tiger reserves and to coerce the public to opt for voluntary relocation schemes.

Confrontations with wildlife have been on ever since humans adopted settled agriculture. With a burgeoning population, the need for land for agriculture and infrastructure development has increased manifold. Anthropogenic pressures paved the way for the invasion of pristine forests and fragmentation of habitats.

Vast swathes of monocultures of exotics such as eucalyptus and acacia and infestation by invasive species have a cascading effect on the quality of habitats and lessened the availability of fodder and water inside forests over time.

The sensitivity over conflict zones no longer permit issues of human-animal conflict to fade away as before.

The usual pattern is of forest officials switching to defence mode soon after reports of sightings of big cats, whether directly or in CCTV images, emerge. They usually say the visitors from the wild are harmless and pose only a transient inconvenience. Soon, they will be at their wits’ end with recurring reports of cattle lifting and attacks on people. The situation may ultimately slip out of hand with an eventual onslaught on humans. And there will be a flurry of demands for killing the transgressor forthwith.

Claims of a quantum leap in the population of big cats, especially tigers, in Wayanad have no scientific validation per se. However, chances of injured carnivores and “floaters” (young animals in search of new territories) coming into direct conflict with humans cannot be discounted too.