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Tamil Nadu
A day to remember – for jumbos, visitors
PERFECT HARMONY: Tourists taking a close look at the pachyderms during the Elephants’ Day celebrations at Top Slip on Sunday. –
POLLACHI: Sunday was a day to remember both for elephants and visitors to the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve near here.
Fifteen elephants, including two calves, lined up at the reserve, as part of the Elephants Day celebrations, giving visitors, especially children, a chance to see the animals at close quarters and even touch them.
The calves aged four and six were the star attractions. Children had a great time playing with them and it seemed that these little jumbos too enjoyed their company.
The celebrations were held as part of the Wildlife Week organised during the first week of October. All the elephants were trained and were brought from the Kozhikamudhi elephant camp of the Forest Department.
Later, the elephants went on a procession.
This time the visitors included a few foreigners too. The reception area at Ulandy range of the 958 sq km Tiger Reserve was abuzz with activity.
As part of the celebrations, the Lions Club of Pollachi and Ramu College organised a cycle rally on Saturday. A total of 300 students participated in the 30-km long rally to create awareness on conservation of nature.
Competitions on drawing, elocution, quiz and essay writing were held for school and college students. The winners at the range/taluk levels competed at the sanctuary level contests and all the winners were given prizes sponsored by Non-Governmental Organisations.
Pollachi Sub-Collector J. Chandrakumar who presided over the celebrations said that since our lives were totally dependent on nature, conservation was an absolute necessity.
“Forests are the last hope of ensuring a better and healthier tomorrow for our future generations,” he said.
Divisional Forest Officer, Hosur, and former Wildlife Warden of Indira Gandhi Sanctuary (now known as Anaimalai Tiger Reserve), V. Ganesan said that every individual should learn to appreciate nature. Tamil Nadu Forest Department is the oldest government department with a 150-year-old history. From managing forest wealth since 1856 to taking up the role of conservator in 1956, the department has come a long way, he said.
Mr. Ganesan asked people to take an active role in protecting nature. Hugo Wood, a British national and a Forest Officer at Anaimalais between 1917 to 1919, wanted his body to be buried here, as he loved this land.
His cemetry lies on the Tamil Nadu - Kerala border with the inscription: “If you want to know who I am - look around.”
And if you look around you can see tall teak trees nurtured by him, Mr. Ganesan said.
Every individual should have such commitment and attachment to nature, he told the gathering.
H. Basavaraju, Field Director of Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, said that the objective of the Wildlife Week celebrations and Elephants Day was to remind visitors that forests and wildlife were not merely for recreation. They have a rich legacy and a promising role to make everyone’s life better.
Assistant Conservator of Forests, A. Thiyagarajan; Range Officer, S. Thangaraj Panneerselvam; and Forest Veterinarian, N.S. Manoharan attended the function.
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