Today morning, as per my routine schedule, headed towards my bus stop to catch a bus to office. Entering the bus, as a daily dose, opened Hindustan Times, the one which I dutifully read entirely during my long journey towards my office. Very unfortunate to come across another Animal Human conflict right on the first page. This was not the first one I was going through in the span of a fortnight made me think of the terrible implications on this increasing conflicts on Mother Nature.
One would think that Tigers and Lions scare humans to death. I feel the other way round, humans are a biggest threat to Tigers and Lions and indeed they are scared of human more than anybody else. Infact I would like to put it this way, human greed is only responsible for the decline of the sacred gift from Mother Nature.
- Greed is revealed by humans when forest lands are converted in to luxury apartments and row houses sold at a premium rate with a USP tagged to it like “Make your home in the heart of nature” or some other crap!!! Ideally one should appreciate the fact that nobody can make a happy home for themselves by destroying others natural residence.
- Greed is revealed by humans when they poach animals for fur, skin, bones, and what not for neighboring countries. I did read it in the past that owls are captured for sale to some tantricks as their blood is used for black magic...
- Greed could be revealed by humans when they reclaim wetlands for commercial purpose without having any back up plans for the resident birds / animals.
Just a simple question one needs to answer… when there is a rodent trespassing in our house what do we do?? Obviously we are not going to pet it by letting it feed on the open food and vegetables in the kitchen. Immediate action is to either set a trap and catch hold of it or keep pesticides to kill the rodent – ultimately getting rid of it. This is quite similar a behavior done by poor animals when we humans intrude their habitat - THEN WHY SUCH DISCRIMINATION. Humans are considered to be civilized race but unfortunately they are the one who follow the jungle law by getting rid of the weak links for thier selfish motives. Thus many a times such attacks on humans are considered as a fault by poor animals. The big cats are either been tagged as Man Eaters and are either killed or are encaptivated.
I seriously wonder how can anybody kill such a majestic animal “TIGER”. Could not resist myself in spilling down my thoughts……
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| Picture of T 39 (2 year old female cub) sitting in the water hole at Ranathambhore National Park |
Just an attempt to list down few of the incidences happened in the span of 15 odd days.
Crocodile kills man at Powai lake
Hindustan Times 27th Aug 10
Conflict between man and animal in a city, which has a national park in its midst, surfaced again on Thursday morning when a crocodile killed a 32-year-old man at Powai lake. Vijay Rajiv Bhure, an operator with a private crane hiring company, was fishing along the eastern bank of the lake when the reptile attacked him. He fell off the inflated rubber ring he was sitting on. “He fell into the lake and the crocodile dragged him inside,” said Senior Police Inspector Ashok Jadhav. “People nearby alerted the fire brigade. His body was brought out 30 minutes later.”
Bhure was taken to Rajawadi Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Environmentalists said the incident was a result of beautification and construction tampering with the lake’s periphery. “Earlier, there were bushes and slopes for crocodiles to bask on. Now, their natural habitat has been replaced with walls and jogging tracks,” said Sunish Subramanian, secretary, Plant and Animals Welfare Society.
Powai resident and activist Pamela Cheema said wildlife was reacting this way because of quarrying around the lake. “The authorities should have considered these problems before the rampant destruction,” she said. The number of crocodiles in the 6.61-sq-km artificial lake is not known because there has never been a count. “Crocodiles come into Powai lake when water from Vihar lake flows into it. People know this but still go to the lake for fishing,” said environmentalist Debi Goenka. The Powai police have asked the civic body to cordon the lake.
Two injured in attacks by wild animals
Source TNN 23 Aug 10
BAHRAICH: The flood water has entered the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary area and the nearby villages. As such, the animals have started moving to places on higher altitudes, while the villagers are also shifting to safer places in the nearby forest area. On Saturday night, a youth and a girl were seriously injured after a tiger and a leopard attacked them in two separate incidents. The youth was grazing his cattle when a tiger attacked him in Kakraha range of Katarniaghat reserved forest area. The youth was admitted to the primary health centre (PHC) in Mihinpurwa. In the second incident, a leopard attack a girl who had gone to attend the nature's call along with her mother. The girl was also admitted to the primary health centre. According to reports, two more people got injured in similar attacks by wild animals in the area.
Two injured, one critical, in tiger attack
Source: DNA 21 Aug 10
Two people, including a forest ranger, were injured when a tiger attacked them on Friday morning in Ranthambhore. The forest ranger, identified as Daulat Singh, was critically injured when a tiger attacked him in the northern area of Ranthambhore National Park on Friday. The incident took place when a team of forest officials were trying to tranquilise the big cat. Singh lost his right eye and an ear in the attack. His condition is now stable. The tiger also attacked another man, Babu Lal Meena of Uliana village in Sawai Madhopur, on Friday when he was pelting stones at the animal. The man, however, escaped with minor injuries. The forest ranger was rushed to the Sawai Madhopur General hospital from there he was airlifted and brought to the SMS hospital.
Ranthambore Tiger attack: FIR against NGO, villagers
Source: Bhaskar News 24th Aug 10
An FIR has been lodged against an official of NGO 'Tiger Watch' and villagers near Ranthambore National Park for obstructing forest work and provoking a tiger to attack a forest ranger. Ranger Daulat Singh Shaktawat was attacked by a tiger on the outskirts of the park on Firday while he was performing his routine work. The case has been lodged under Sections 353, 332, 816 of IPC and Section 3/51 of the Forest Act. In the FIR lodged at the Mangla Dungar police station, officials named Dharmendra Khandal of the NGO Tiger Watch, besides villagers Mahendra Kumar, Rupa, Kanhaiya, Lari, Ramkesh, Hanuman, Manoj, Hakiya, Mandraj, Siyaram and Haria. Khandal allegedly clicked pictures of tiger attack. The exclusive pictures of the incidents are with Dainik Bhaskar. The FIR, lodged by the assistant conservator of forests, alleges the named people snatched away the tranquillizer gun from the official and pelted stones at the tiger. Most Sections cited are for disrupting public servants’ work and contain sentences of two or three-year terms. “What happened on that day is the result of a total militancy by villagers and NGOs who, instead of being sensitive towards the limitation of the department, not only obstructed them from working but also provoked the tiger by constantly pelting stones at it,” said R N Mehrotra, PCCF and Head of Forest Forces, Rajasthan.
Youth killed by big cat in Ranthambore
August 16, 2010
A 22-year old youth, who had gone to a temple in forest area in Ranthambhore, was killed by a big cat here, police said on Monday. The youth identified as Hemraj Gujjar of Gopalpura village had gone to a temple but did not return till late. Locals later found his his mutilated body there," they said. "Locals, who were first to spot the body, claimed that it was a tiger attack. They reportedly saw the animal near the site," police said. "It is a south-west boundary area of the park and is frequented by tigers and leopards. Anything regarding the attack can be said only after detailed investigation," DFO R S Shekhawat said. He said the animal had attacked the neck of the victim and ate one of his arms. Last month, a 25-year-old youth Ghamandi Saini was also attacked by a tiger in the reserve area.
