Other States - Orissa   

Flying foxes are part of their lives

Nayagarh: Sight of thousands of bats hanging on two trees in Kural, an interior village of Nayagarh district, will surely take any passer-by by surprise. But for villagers these flying foxes are part of their life.

Welcome to the world of a unique coexistence of man and animal where people have inherited conservation of this creature for decades now. One banyan and an Asoka tree of Kural village house more than 10,000 bats and their number has been increasing over the years.

“In 1970s, the panchayat of Kural has taken a decision to impose fine if anybody attempts to kill these bats. The restriction is still in force. We have been protecting the animals for generations,” says Arun Kumar Mishra, a resident of Kural.

These bats find the place a safe haven despite the fact that their meat has immense medicinal values. Villagers claim they have not come across anybody killing these bats. Besides people’s protection, these bats have got conducive atmosphere to thrive here. A water body and huge vegetation of fruits reduces their search of food.

Bats find it difficult to cope with summer season when a dozen of casualties are reported every year.

The situation could have become worse if people don’t come to their rescue.

As the nearby water body gets dried up in summer, these bats cannot fly long distances. Villagers spray water on the two trees and these flying foxes source the much-needed water from it.

“Although these bats eat fruits here, never a villager has complained about it. Rather they have shown more interest to save these bats which has become almost an identity of the village,” Surya Narayan Mohanty, another villager, says.

People have now come forward to create awareness about protection of bats among outsiders. As a first step towards this effort, they would put up a display board containing information about the bats at the entrance of the village.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Flying foxes are part of their lives
Hibiscus gardens at hill shrine
Mission heritage conservation
Naxals warn youth against joining police force
Extend Sambalpur-Puri train to Berhampur
Villagers vow not to part with land for proposed projects
‘Missing’ nursing student returns
Microsoft reaches out to rural areas
Incessant rain hits normal life
Jail staff blamed for prisoner’s murder
Gastroenteritis cases on the rise
Minister’s dig at Paswan

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu