View Point | From Lions, Elephants to Dogs, Cattle

Chennai: This week a video showing a lion pinning a cattle herder to the ground in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district went viral on social media sending shock waves across the country. The victim, who appeared to be bleeding, remained still throughout the ordeal and even reached out to touch the big cat in a bid to calm it.

In Tamil Nadu man-animal conflict in areas like the Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Erode is a critical concern. There have been several fatalities caused by elephants and Indian gaur. In the Nigiris, there are frequent encounters with elephants, leopards and gaurs and sometimes tigers due to overlapping tea estates, homes and wildlife corridors. High rates of human-elephant conflict have been reported around the fringes of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve and adjoining reserve forests. Water scarcity inside forests, lack of native fodder, commercial estates and human habitations blocking migratory routes are some of the main factors for the rising man-animal conflicts. Tamil Nadu forest department has been using advanced technology-driven solutions to protect the local communities and wildlife.

Unlike isolated wildlife encounters, dog and cattle attacks have emerged as a public safety and civic crisis affecting people across the state. While stray dogs, and in some instances, pet dogs, biting pedestrians pose a serious threat, especially to children and the elderly, stray cattle attack people and block traffic causing accidents on busy roads. Tamil Nadu has been struggling to control the population of stray dogs with sterilization and animal birth control (ABC) programmes. The Madras high court has intervened in the issue, laying stress on the need to ensure public safety while addressing concerns over illegal culling and acts of animal cruelty by angry residents. From forest fringes to our streets, coexistence cannot happen without responsibility, regulation and respect for both human safety and animal welfare.