NILGIRIS: In a first, forest departments of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will work together to prevent human-animal conflict in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). The decision was taken in a meeting of senior officials from the three states held at Theppkkadu training centre in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Wednesday.
As per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the first meeting was conducted at MTR, in which field directors of Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Nagarkole National Park in Karnataka, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, along with the respective deputy directors and district forest officer (DFOs) of the three states participated.
The meeting was necessitated after an elephant killed a 47-year-old man at Manathavady in Wayanad in the second week of February. Sources said the elephant had earlier been captured by Karnataka forest department and released in the forest after fixing a radio collar. The animal entered Kerala through Wayanad and it is alleged that Karnataka forest department did not share the information with Kerala. As a result, Kerala forest department could not trace the elephant till it killed a human.
According an official in the forest department, “We have decided to convene a meeting once in three months as per NTCA guidelines. The date and place will be decided later. In the meeting held on Wednesday, we decided to approach the state concerned if a problematic animal crosses the border and extend help to drive away or capture it.”
“Only humans have land boundaries, but animals do not have such restrictions. We are seeing the animals thrive in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) landscape and addressing the issues with coordinated efforts,” the official added.