The Hindu : No loss of wildlife, sanctuary fire put out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 27, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

No loss of wildlife, sanctuary fire put out

By P. Oppili

CHENNAI AUG. 26. No wildlife casualty has been reported in the forest fire raging in the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) near Tirunelveli, the State chief wildlife warden, Sukhdev, said here today.

More than 90 per cent of the blaze was put out by this morning, he said. Reports said the fire destroyed only wild grass in the Chengaltheri area.

Forest officials roped in Village Forest Committee members, who adopted the `beating-the-fire' method to control the blaze from spreading, he said.

P. Sudhakar, our Tirunelveli Staff Reporter, quoting R. Annamalai, Field Director, KMTR, reported that the fire was extinguished at 3 p.m.)

Mr. Sukhdev said well-protected forest areas in the State did not witness any major forest fire in the past four years. Absence of any significant fire resulted in an overgrowth of coarse grass. The herbivore population would not eat overgrown grass, but start migrating towards other forest areas where the grass growth was low. It would be followed by predators, Mr Sukhdev said. ``That is what happened in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nilgiris when a fire broke out a few months ago.

Both the herbivores and carnivores started moving towards sanctuaries in the neighbouring State in search of better feed,'' he said.

The present fire remained at the ground level, destroying only overgrown grass.

``If the protection is extended for a few more years, chances of the ground fire becoming a crown fire are very high'', he said.

In such a case, flames would jump from one tree to another, resulting in total destruction of the entire area.

Wildlife specialists say natural forest fires would help in re-germination of fresh shoots, which will supply micronutrients to the herbivore population.

It also leads to the appearance of fresh succulent grass, which herbivores look for.

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Southern States