Bittu Sejgal sets off witter storm about wrongly photographing wild animals through highways in tiger reserves

Bengaluru: To the embarrassment of Karnataka’s many wildlife enthusiasts — and its forest department — the iconic environmental activist Bittu Sehgal, a byword for animal conservation has outed the state’s questionable patrolling of highways that cut through the forests. Sehgal posted a picture two days ago of two tourists being photographed by a third, inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, with a wild elephant standing only a few feet away.

Mr Sehgal has called for action against the trio, as angry wildlife activists from Bengaluru lashed out at people who endanger the animals by violating rules inside protected areas. “If the wild animal attacks, then that animal gets branded a human killer. Then, opportunistic people...pressurise the forest department to either kill the animal or capture it,” he said. Outraged conservationists have called for increased vigil on the highways in the Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, where sighting of elephants is common.

Forest officials admit that despite the signboards and warnings, people try to get close to wild animals, saying “Patrolling long stretches of highways going through our reserve is a challenge.”