Tiruparankundram, the first of Lord Muruga’s six divine abodes, is famous for several reasons. One among them is the peacocks, the national bird that is also revered as the symbol and vehicle of Lord Muruga. Devotees who had taken a girivalam around the hillock fondly recall feeding the birds. They say there used to be hundreds of them all around the hillock. But now only a few are seen following the threats that they face from encroachment, stray dogs and poaching.
Due to transforming of agriculture lands into housing plots and increased vehicular population on the girivalam road in the recent years, the birds were forced to confine themselves to a few acres belonging to the Subramaniya Swamy Temple behind the hillock. Flanked by the eco-park and Thenparankundram cave temple, the site where the peacocks currently live is now an ill-maintained bushy place.
A painted notice board mentions that the place which is supposedly the nandavanam (garden) of the temple was fenced in 2001 with funds from Tourism Department. However, the barbed wire barrier has come off in places, resulting in trespassing. “The land has also become a haven for anti-social activities. In the evenings, it is alleged, men loiter around and drink alcohol hiding behind the thickets,” says Balasubramanian, priest at a local temple. Members of Madurai Nature Forum (MNF), who undertook birding at Tiruparankundram last weekend, complained of the empty bottles of liquor, broken shards of glass, plastic bags and polythene water packets littered inside the fencing.
“Four years back when I used to come for bird-watching here, there were at least 200 peacocks. Now there are hardly 40 left,” says Raveendran, a member of MNF. “We are concerned about the safety of the peacocks, as several residents have told us that they haven’t seen the birds with chicks in the past two years.” Ganesan, a local resident who feeds the birds every morning, says that the peacock population has come down over the years mainly because of stray dogs. “Many dogs have taken shelter inside the temple land. I have seen them killing peacocks,” he claims.
“Some of the birds fly into the nearby Harveypatti tank and the surrounding paddy fields, where they get poached,” adds Ganesan.
Arumugam, an employee of Subramaniya Swamy Temple and the caretaker of the nandavanam , agrees that the stray dog menace has caused a drop in the peacock population. “The dogs also eat the eggs and hence we haven’t seen any young ones recently,” he confirms. “Building small raised parans (open lofts) with hay spread on the top can provide safe nesting for the peacocks as dogs can’t reach up,” he suggests.
MNF members say even monkeys can be the predators of peacock eggs. “Devotees and tourists to the temple feed the monkeys, which makes them aggressive. Instead, if more fruit-bearing trees are planted, the natural habitat of monkeys will also be preserved,” says Raveendran. “Earlier, this place was dotted with palm trees and now the seemai karuvelam plants have spread all over.” Arumugam adds that a huge Banyan tree and a few jamun trees have fallen inside.
Raveendran adds, “There is no proper feeding habitat and water facility for the peacocks. Cement troughs built for providing water to the peacocks have all gone dry. We need to take stock of the situation; else we may lose more peacocks.”
When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner of Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruparankundram, Mr. Chelladurai, assured that necessary action would be taken to prevent trespassing and littering of the Temple nandavanam . He added, “After inspecting the place, we will ensure that the peacocks living inside the area are protected.”
Where are the white peacocks?
A star attraction of Tiruparankundram is the white peacocks, which are a rarity. Many who have sighted the white beauty of a bird say there were three of them while some say there was a pair. However, what the residents uniformly say is that not a single white peacock has been spotted in the recent months. Arumugam, who guards the temple garden is clueless about what happened to the birds. “They don’t come out these days. Probably they are up the hill amidst the thick bushes,” he says. Residents and nature lovers fear that the peacocks were killed by dogs or they fell sick and died. “We will find out about the white peacocks soon and take care of their well-being,” says Chelladurai, DC of the temple.
District Forest Officer, Nihar Ranjan, says, “Since the place is not under forestry, we can only act after getting due permission from the Temple administration. However, the forest department is willing to extend support in reviving the peacock population in Tiruparankundram.”
