BENGALURU: The crocodile which ripped off the forearm of start-up entrepreneur Mudit Dandwate was perhaps attracted by the smell of the pet dogs, feel state forest officials. Taking the dogs to a pristine water body inside the Bannerghatta National Park was wrong and violates provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, officials stated. “The protected Thattekere lake area is frequented by elephants, leopards, sloth bears, gaur, etc. This and other lakes in this region, which have been replenished by monsoon rains, are teeming with crocodiles. The two people had no business to enter this area. The techie is lucky to be alive today,” they added.
Bannerghatta National Park DCF Javed Mumtaz told Express, “The crocodile was attracted by the smell of the dogs and this resulted in this tragedy. The duo should not have been there as this is a place frequented by elephants and is an elephant corridor. If not crocodiles, there was every chance of them having been caught in the pathway of bears or leopards.”
“I am really amazed how the two friends, along with their dogs, entered this area. We have put huge sign boards warning people to stay off this wildlife area as also from the water body. We have the deepest sympathy for what has happened and maybe we can reimburse his medical expense. However, we have booked a case against these highly educated people for trespassing as such incidents should not occur again,” the DCF added.
With most water bodies in this region brimming, wild animals have been frequenting them for food and water. “People cannot just barge in any prohibited wildlife area,” officials add. “This has been increasing lately as the techie crowd from Bengaluru is unruly and unmanageable and have been trespassing prohibited areas in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks without bothering to read the sign boards. In a sanctuary area, one cannot take such liberties. At any given time during the monsoon, one can find 30-40 different species — big cats and pachyderms — at a water hole.”
Even local people from the nearby villages do not dare to go to these places, especially Thattekere, as there are crocodiles in the two-acre lake. There is a temple (Mahadeshwara) on the fringes of the national park and the mud track has not been concretised as it would disturb the movement of wild animals, the officials said.
A forest official added, “How these two people from Bengaluru, disregarding the sign boards, brought their dogs and entered a reserve forest area shows how careless and irresponsible educated people are.”
Range Forest Officer of Anekal, Ravi, under whose jurisdiction Thattekere falls, added that every weekend, with hordes of techies descending in this region, it had become a big headache for the forest staff. “The lake is 15-20 feet deep and none of the villagers come near the water fearing the crocodiles. In the last two years, we have been witnessing many incidents of trespass.”
Thattekere Lake
The lake witnesses many herds of elephants in the morning hours as also herbivores like spotted deer, gazelle and other antelopes. The water body is teeming with crocodiles and they come to the lake shore to prey on deer. It is part of Bannerghata National Park which is an important wildlife corridor for elephants and connects the B R Hills and the Satyamangala forests.