COIMBATORE: In the wake of the recent killing of a four-year-old Jharkhand girl by a leopard, Tamil Nadu forest department has launched an awareness drive targeting school students on the risks posed by wildlife.
During visit to schools, the department staff instruct students on the dos and don'ts while en route to their houses and near their houses. They advise students not to roam alone near their houses and near the bushes in the tea fields as there is a high chance of leopard movement and this would pose a risk. The staff bring with them a big cat toy.
Increasing awareness among school students to remain alert is a key step in mitigating human-leopard conflict as there are no mechanisms in place to get alerts on leopards well before their movement, unlike those on wild elephants.
M SureshKrishnan, Valparai Forest Range Officer, said, "Usually, we create awareness among the residents of labour quarters and directly approach the estates where we can get a large number of workers at one place. However, this is the first time we have started creating awareness among students during school hours. Out of the eight schools in the Valparai town we have created awareness drives in a couple of middle schools. We will be holding a similar programme in the coming weeks and it will be extended to the estate areas too."
"We have advised students not to come out of the houses after dark and not to go amidst the tea bushes. If necessary, the students can come along with the parents or their adult relatives. We have told them that the leopard does not purposefully attack children but it mistakes children as prey considering their (children's) low height," the official added.
Meanwhile, following the instructions of the forest department staff, estate authorities are clearing bushes, including at Pachamalai where the girl was killed by a leopard on June 20.
"Nearly, 70 percent of the bushes were cleared in and around Pachamalai estate alone. We have also advised the tea estate workers to take their children to a children's shelter in the estate and bring them back after completing the work under their care instead of leaving them alone. We have also advised the migrant workers not to take the children to collect spinach," said the official.
Pachamalai is in Valparai within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR),
Manomboly forest range official K Giritharan said they have advised the estate workers not to stay in isolated places and stay along with a group of workers.
"We are giving much focus to migrant workers during the awareness drive as they are coming here in large numbers. People already based in Valparai are well aware of the danger posed by wildlife," the official added.
The Jharkhand native was taken away by a leopard from the premises of her house while she was beside her mother.