The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Shrinking forests drive big cats to `concrete jungles'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 12, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Shrinking forests drive big cats to `concrete jungles'

By Dasu Kesava Rao

HYDERABAD, DEC. 11. The latest incident of a leopard straying into the city underscores the rapidly shrinking wildlife habitat, forcing the animals to foray into human habitation. In a State where land-grabbing is not uncommon, even animals have become victims of this phenomenon.

The big cat is reported to have made five forays into the twin cities in the recent past. Hyderabad and its environs are not the only favoured destination. Forest officials recount a number of incidents of starving wild animals going on urban trek. Panthers are known to have strayed into Visakhapatnam and other places in the north coastal districts in search of food.

A rare `padayatra'

Probably the most interesting story relates to a tiger in Polavaram forests which had lost its way and undertook a week-long `padayatra' of West Godavari district!. It moved as far away from its sylvan sanctuary as the district headquarters town of Eluru and touched a few major towns before winding its way back into the forests. Few noticed the animal but many its pug marks and other trails while the lord of the jungle moved from one place to another, hiding in the paddy fields in daytime and preying upon goats, fowl and calves at night. This was in the late-seventies or early eighties.

`A meek surrender'

One of the most ferocious inmates of the Hyderabad zoo, well-known as Atmakur tiger, was trapped by a woman into whose cattle-shed it stole in. This again was in early-80s in Atmakur town of Kurnool district.

Years after it was shifted to the zoo here, the animal lost none of its fire and was for most part, confined to a cage not open for public viewing.

Decades ago when the zoo was located in the public garden, a weak, ageing lion was said to have created panic among the uniformed force in the office of the IG of Police (as it was then called) next door.

As the forest officials rushed there, the king of the forest surrendered meekly -- a regular phenomenon these days at the DGP office where Left-wing extremists `surrender' to the top cops.

Until a decade ago, inmates of the ashram school in Mannanur in Mahbubnagar district, would get up at day-break, but think twice and even thrice before stepping out of the room. It was not uncommon for tigers - Mannanur being a gateway to the Rajiv Gandhi wildlife sanctuary - to relax in the forecourt or verandah, scaring the daylight out of the young boys and girls.

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