COIMBATORE: No lion-tailed macaque died in accidents involving speeding vehicles at Puthuthottam near Valparai in the past year, thanks to the efforts of a five-membered team formed by Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) and Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). The team, consisting of three ATR staff and two NCF members, are on the lookout for macaques on the road, and divert them back to Puthuthottam.
Deputy Director of ATR MG Ganesan said, "Tourists who visit Valparai, stop their vehicles in Puthutthotam and feed the primates, due to which they have become addicted to human food. Despite repeated warnings, they still feed the macaques, due to which the primates have developed a habit of snatching food from the people in the nearby areas. Usually, these primates occupy the tallest and shadowy rainforests canopies far away from human sight, but they roam on the ground in Puthuthottam, due to which warning signs have been placed in the area to alert the drivers. We have built ropeways for the macaques so that they won't have to cross the road, where they may get hit by vehicles."
The number of macaques is on the decline in the State due to clearing of forests. Ashni Dhawale, a researcher from NIAS, Bangalore, mentioned in her article published in 'KAANAGAM', ATR's bimonthly digital magazine, "Due to the extensive selective logging of our once contiguous rainforests that were cleared to pave way for commercial plantations and human encroachments, these macaques have been reduced to just eight sub-populations spread across the forest fragments of the southern Western Ghats, making it one of the many endangered primates in the world. One such forest fragment is the Puthuthottam forest fragment that neighbours the town of Valparai."
Ganesh Ragunathan, a research affiliate from NCF, who is monitoring the movement of macaques in Puthuthottam, requested the officials of ATR and TANGEDCO to take steps to insulate overhead power cables to prevent death of the primates by electrocution.
Apart from accidents, macaques also face issue of lack of availability of Cullenia exarillata (vedi palam), one of their main foods, from the forest.