Normally, the pristine forests at the foothills of the Western Ghats are teeming with wildlife all year long. Chital deer hop about from one green pasture to another, Giant Malabar Squirrels spend lazy afternoons snoozing on their tree top homes and big predators like the tiger patiently wait for the opportune moment when they can move for the kill. But this year, the forest saw what it had not seen in the last 40 years, an inferno that spread its fiery arms and embraced all that stood in its way. Huge trees rumbled, anguished animals ran for cover and in a matter of moments, the verdant patch of moist deciduous forest turned into a black morgue with charred remains of its inhabitants scattered all around.
Forest fires are not an unnatural phenomenon. In the cycle of life and death that Mother Nature has created, wild fires have a role of destruction so that regeneration may take place. But while the natural act is controlled, the same act takes a tragic turn when human beings err.
Over 3,500 hectare area (ha) of Nagarhole and 2,000 ha of Bandipur Tiger Reserve were destroyed in the recent catastrophe. According to wildlife biologist and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member K Ullas Karanth, 6.1 per cent of the forest cover in Nagarhole was damaged. The charred areas included the Anechowkur range, Veeranahosalli, Kallahalla, Metikuppe, Nagarhole and DB Kuppe of the forest. The Bandipur reserve lost 2.6 per cent of its forest area with Moleyur and Moolehole losing more than five per cent of wildlife. Read the full report here.
Source: Deccan Herald.
