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Guess WHO was spotted at Pilikula?
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The Pilikula Bioreserve Park provides sanctuary to wild animals orphaned in the forests around Mangalore, reports JAIDEEP SHENOY
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Hungry kya? The two latest additions at Pilikula Bioreserve Park.
HUMANS ARE lucky. Orphaned children are usually taken care of. But what about young animals abandoned in the wild? With wildlife in the Western Ghats being severely threatened by habitat destruction, it is very important to safeguard the wild animals that remain.
One of the ways of ensuring this is by rearing orphaned animals till they are able to manage themselves. They're then let into the wild. The Pilikula Bioreserve Park at Moodushedde Village in Vamanjoor does exactly that. The park not only provides a sanctuary for orphaned animals but also plays host to excess animals from zoos across the state.
Irrespective of the reasons why these animals end up at Pilikula, visitors to the park have obvious reasons to cheer. They not only get to see some magnificent animals up close, but also spend some time in the environs that replicate the wild to near perfection. The park recently welcomed three leopard cubs, which were abandoned in the wild by their parents.
According to Jayaprakash Bhandary, Park Director, Forest Department officials recently brought in two small leopard cubs which were found wandering near forests at Hebri. Just as the staff was coming to terms with looking after these two naughty cubs, they were saddled with yet another. This cub was found near Mudigere.
"The cubs are like small children both in attitude and behaviour. One has to treat them with lots of love and affection. They can be very fussy and choosy in whatever they do. You just have to be patient with them till they are at least six to eight months old," says Bhandary.
The park also has tigers (one of them died recently), crocodiles, deer, snakes including a king cobra and porcupines. And visitors will soon come face to face with the king of the jungle, the lion. Bhandary says the enclosure for the lions will be ready in six months.
But how well do wild animals adapt to life in a cage? "They do take some time but get acquainted pretty soon. It helps that none of the animals have been captured from the wild. They have either been brought very young from the wild or have been gifted to us as a part of the animal exchange programme," says Bhandary.
On the question of releasing the animals back into the wild, he says, "The animals are released into the wild once they are healthy enough. We recently released 10 snakes into the forest near Charmadi Ghats. We take extreme care while releasing them."
In addition to the existing animals, the park is also soon going to get animals from the Mysore zoo. The park authorities are busy constructing enclosures for these animals from Mysore, which are expected to include an otter, hippopotamus, sloth bears and black bears.
How to get there
Pilikula Bioreserve Park is located some 3 km off NH 13 from Vamanjoor village and is 18 km from Mangalore. Visitors can hire taxis or take the bus from the State Bank of India terminus. For more information, call 2263300.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Madurai
Mangalore
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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