“……There are millions of animal species but, man is the only animal capable of destroying them all……”
-Anthony Williams
India, a country of enormous diversity in flora and fauna, there always exist conflicts as the species co-exist. Some share common resources while others have common interest. However, “Mother Nature” has taught all the species to live in harmony. There lies one exception, human being. We are considered to be the civilized and social living being who have made it to the top of the food chain and have the power to change everything around us, making maximum use of them without considering the damage we are causing. Although there have been discussions and efforts to save the world for future, we have not stopped taking things for granted causing imbalance. However, we always have a convincing explanation on these acts of harming Nature.
Exploring the forest bordering protected areas and human habitats have been the keen interest on finding out the degree of harmony in the relationship between the human and animals. In most parts of India bordering the forest patches, the local human inhabitants rely majorly on agriculture, and forest products. Agriculture needs open lands leading to clearing the forest vegetation. This starts creating patches of forests and agricultural lands which hinders wildlife movement across and also within these forest patches. Agriculture requires adequate water supply which is got from the streams and rivers that flows through these forests. Locals also rely on forests for collecting fire wood, honey, bamboo shoots, timber and others for their needs. In worst cases, locals depend on forest for food too by engaging in hunting animals. These practices increase the interference caused to the peaceful world of wildlife which once did not experience a drastic change in the environment. Though there are protected areas with set of rules to govern the human interference, it does not apply to animal movement which might increase conflict. We have to realize that tolerance towards them should be extended to significant extent. There are areas which do not come under the protected areas but possess the most vulnerable species. However, unless the urge for conservation is felt, the change that all naturalists expect in human contribution to the nature is just a mirage.
Exploring the North Western Ghats of Uttara Kannada, it was found that the focus on saving the major species of animals in India has created a shadow over the other species about which the newspaper would be filled every day. Many perish unnoticed in the villages of Karnataka. A detailed investigation might be helpful in the understanding of this aspect of Human-animal conflict.
Sathoddi Falls
Ecotravellers set out on exploring the Western Ghat patch of a small taluk in Uttara Kannada, Yellapura. This patch lies in the bank of Kali river back water. This part of Western Ghats is found to have more than a dozen of waterfalls of which Sathoddi falls is the most famous. It is a 50ft high and 40ft wide waterfalls located in Yellapura near Hubli. The water falls is a tourist attraction in north Karnataka and it receives a great flow of tourists in the months of summer and winter. The Sathoddi is within the evergreen forest patch and is connected to Dandeli National Park. Surrounding the falls is canopy covers with transition to semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests of Uttara Kannada towards east. With a radius of 15Km from the Sathoddi falls the human settlements are sparsely distributed with an approximation of 40 families. Towards the water falls the human settlements dissolve down to one family for 3-4 Km range.The families are living in the area since decades and have spread across the area, depending mainly on agriculture and animal husbandry. There are no traces on whether hunting has been the source of food or income. However, a group of tribes also co-exist with the locals who are called the “Siddi”. They are believed to be the decedents of African race and pre-independence colonial rule immigrants. They work as agricultural labours in and around the city. The crops which are mainly grown include paddy, sugarcane, areca nut, pepper, fruits, vegetables and other minor crops. The animals reared are cattle, poultry, and sheep. Cattle are let to the forest to graze. This is practiced to cut down on expenses of fodder supply. In most of the houses there are dogs and cats as pets to guard the house and the fields.
A farmer with harvest
With all these activities around the forests, begins the human-wildlife conflict across the Western Ghat patch. The forest, which was once a home for wildlife, vanished only to be replaced by new house hold and agricultural lands. The Western Ghats housing a number of plants, mammals, birds,reptiles, amphibians, insects and worms that were existing with out disturbance and boundaries in the area. In some cases the animal gets killed due to its entry into the human territory and human activities in the forest bordering agricultural land. In others cases the animals gets killed due to the human entry into the forest for hunting, or as a reaction to livestock loss in the forest by a predator.
A bird caught in the net fencing fields
Cattle that go grazing to the forest might become easy targets to the big cats like tigers and leopards. In retaliation, people poison the dead livestock for the predators to eat, eventually death of the big cats or anything that feeds on it. Livestock also carries diseases which can spread to the wild species again posing thread to the herbivores of that area. Agricultural lands surrounding the forest patches attract wildlife as it provides easy food. Wild boars, bears and elephants find their entry into the fields. Farmers use nets to cover fence and protect the crops from these intruders. However, in most instances the birds get trapped in the net and get killed. Some of the birds are parakeets, mynahs, barbets and pea-cocks.
Another instance of Human-animal conflict is with respect to snakes. Snakes being cold blooded, seek a shelter with temperature that suits their body and metabolism. In rainy season or in hot summer the herpes seek shelter in the sheds, roofs and even enter the house in search for the same. They get killed when found because they are believed to be poisonous (venomous) and they might bite to cause deaths. Scorpions and tarantulas also face the same fate. Some of the snakes are vipers, kraits, and even harmless snakes like rat snake, water snakes face this danger. Some snakes like python may also get attracted to the rodents, pets and livestock for food. There are instances where these venomous snakes get killed even at the sightings in the forest area assuming that they might bite somebody someday. However, the endangered species of King Cobra and Spectacled Cobra enjoy the divine status and are usually relocated back to the forests safely although there are cases of them getting killed.
Hanuman languor and Bonnet monkey are two species which are considered to be trouble makers for banana and areca nut farming. The reason for their entry to the agricultural area is not well studied and documented. Various reasons have been put forth like, scarcity of food in the forest in some seasons, growing number of monkey population, and competition from other mammals and birds for food. The villagers also agree to the fact that deforestation of fruit yielding species has led to this problem and in some months of the year the monkeys are not sighted around the area. The commercial timber farming has become a prime reason for this as the timber yielding species like acacia, nilgiri, and teak are of less interest to the monkeys. There has been some effort in growing fruit yielding trees to restrict the entry of monkeys to agricultural area. The practice of scaring the monkeys by using canons, air fires, noise makers and hunting dogs have posed threat to bird species causing disturbance in their routine.
Instance of a road kill
Though the above discussed issues seem to be significant, the effects of growth in tourism seem to have profound effect on the wildlife. The attraction brings more interference to the wildlife thus the pollution. Not all come to enjoy the beauty of nature but are only nuisance to the peaceful nature. Increased vehicle movements cause disturbance to the free movement and peaceful activities. This may also increase the number of road kills. In the recent times, reports and traces of elephant herd movement indicate a bigger conflict in the near future.
Some of these issues are being addressed by the government, locals and NGOs but some are neglected. However, there lies other unexplored minor conflict which needs to be looked into as it is important to know the status before we can act upon them. We aim for these explorations and solving existing conflict to bring in harmony in Human-animal relation and Eco-friendly approach to living in the suburbs of the country.
“If we cannot tolerate, how can they?”
Prasanna Hegde
2013
