The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Hounded and harassed

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Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Hounded and harassed

B. Madhu Gopal

Eco activists attribute straying of leopards to felling of trees, flattening of hills and see an urgent need to declare green patches as protected areas

Photo: K. R. Deepak

Man’s foray into the hilly terrain at Rushikonda. —

VISAKHAPATNAM: Leopard strays into city…attacks man. Leopards spotted at dumping yard… Leopard attacks 19-year-old girl on a hill at Rushikonda… Reports like this have become a recurrent feature in the past few years, more so during the last few months.

A decade ago, it was big news if a leopard was sighted in the city. The big cats used to be spotted rarely when adventure lovers or hunters strayed into the wild.

But why are the big cats leaving the wild and straying into the concrete jungles frequently?

Reasons

The reasons are obvious: destruction of forests, killing of their prey and disturbing their habitat in the name of eco-tourism and the like. Leopards, spotted deer, mouse deer, barking deer, pythons, monitor lizards and a host of rare animal species used to be found in the wild in and around Visakhapatnam a few decades ago. Increasing poaching of deer and monitor lizards is depriving the leopards of their food.

The city is growing by leaps and bounds, and with hardly any scope for expansion in the city centre, the urban planners are looking at the hills and green patches on the outskirts to construct new buildings, be it for residential purposes or to house offices of MNCs. Environmentalists have been raising a hue and cry for the past few years about the mindless felling of trees and flattening of the hills in Yarada, Madhurawada, Rushikonda and other areas.

“To add fuel to the fire, the tranquillity of reserve forests like Kambalakonda is being disturbed by humans in the name of eco-tourism,” feels founder and executive director of Green Mercy K.V. Ramana Murthy.

Poaching

Many invaluable species of animals that are on the verge of extinction will be lost forever if the authorities concerned do not wake up to the problem and declare the green patches and hills as protected areas, feel wildlife activists and environmentalists.

Poaching of wild animals should be prevented at any cost to ensure sustained availability of food to the predators. The wildlife activists condemn the trapping of leopards and say that it’s no solution to the problem. The trapped animals do not survive for long and die a premature death, they say.

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