Concerned over the increasing number of man-animal conflict in Wayanad forest division the state government has decided to set up a permanent elephant squad in Wayanad forest ranges. "We are also planning to set up five forest stations in Wayanad wildlife division and south Wayanad division,' chief minister Oommen Chandy, who also holds the forest portfolio, said on Friday. Forest officials in Wayanad who have been trying to mitigate man-animal conflict with a meagre staff strength welcomed this initiative. In the Wayanad sanctuary, which is home to around 70 tigers, the wildlife movement has been disrupted due to heavy road traffic on Kerala-Karnataka border in spite of the fact that vehicles are not allowed to cross the border after 6pm till the next day morning. Wildlife officials with Wayanad sanctuary said this new initiative could go a long way in reducing cattle death here. "Though the number of deaths has come down by a good 25 last year, there is still a fear amongst people that they are losing their livelihood. But it should be remembered that there are 4,000 cattle grazing inside the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary, while there are only 2,000 bisons left here. Wayanad has always topped the list in cattle-death because of these reasons,' a senior forest official said. Forest officials said that big cats, like tigers, have not attacked any human being till date. "The state should also provide financial aid to cattle owners to construct permanent stables as today many of these animals are tied in the open backyards,' an official said. Domestic animals like cows, buffaloes and goats graze into the forest territory and are prone to attacks by leopards and tigers and this has been cited as one of the main reasons for unrest by people living in and around forest reserves and sanctuaries in the state. A senior forest official said that they have received complaints from dairy farmers that current compensation of Rs 10,000 is not adequate for a productive cow that has been mauled by a wild cat. "This should be increased or decreased looking at factors like age and health of the animal," the official said.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 05:06:51 +0000
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