The water scarcity in the forest areas has forced the wildlife to venture into human habitations resulting in the death of some wildlife in some instances. The depletion of water has claimed the life of a stag and a leopard in the recent weeks.
A stag which came to Dothi village in Madnur mandal in search of water was hounded and killed by stray dogs on Wednesday. The villagers tried to protect it, but to no avail. Similarly, a leopard that probably ventured out for water was found dead in a deep gorge in Lingampet mandal. Further, four leopards were reportedly sighted on the outskirts of Abangapatnam in Navipet mandal.
Although the Forest Department has organised saucer pits and has been filling it with water for the use of wildlife in the forest area spread over 1,68,200 hectares — 86,000 hectares in Nizamabad and 82,200 hectares in Kamareddy — the scorching heat is causing rapid evaporation and the animals like leopards, sambars, spotted deer, nilgai, black bucks, sloth bears, hares, foxes, wolves, wild boars and monkeys, apart from birds, are being driven out of their shelters.
The Forest Department has set up 310 (160 in Kamareddy and 150 in Nizamabad) saucer pits. While the department officials claim that tankers are being sent to fill the pits on requirement field reports revealed that there was negligence in the discharge of duty.
District Forest Officer V. S. N. V. Prasad said that saucer pits had been arranged in every two kilometer radius and cement rings were also constructed for the storage of water. Water was being filled once or twice a week as per the requirement.
Water pits
He termed the recent incidents of wildlife coming out of forests as a “routine venture out”. Even when there is abundance of water and food in the forests the wildlife emerge out of forest areas and there have been incidents of leopards perishing under the heavy vehicles on the road or trains, he said making it clear that drinking water needs of the wildlife was being solved from time to time. “They are not coming out of their habitats because of water pinch or food shortage,” he added. The Forest Department has put up cages to trap the leopards that stray into human habitations, he said.
