Tuesday's panther attack on a girl trekking to Tirumala has sent chills down the spines of visiting pilgrims. The incident throws light on the need to respect the privacy of animals, even while ensuring pilgrims' safety.
Incidents of panthers straying into human habitations are not new to Tirupati, as the area abutting the hills played host to these unwelcome guests during the early years of this decade.
Woman mauled
A panther mauled a woman to death in Mangalam, while another one was seen perched on a culvert near Kapila Theertham, a residential area. A third one frequently tiptoed into the Sri Venkateswara University campus.
All the above incidents were attributed to the drying up of water bodies in the thickets due to severe drought, and the straying was dubbed as the panthers' “extended search” to quench their thirst.
While the ghat roads are officially closed between midnight to 3 a.m., the duration often undergoes shrinkage due to heavy rush or VIP visits.
Free movement
Though street lights are essential to ensure the safety of pilgrims, especially those on trek, they should invariably be switched off to facilitate free movement and breeding of nocturnal animals.
However, the glaring streetlights are seldom switched off.
As in the past, the panther was sighted again at the deer park near the Hanuman statue abutting the first ghat road (used by vehicles for down journey).
With as many as 200 deer housed in the park, it is only natural for the latter to make all attempts to sneak into the fenced park in search of prey.
No action
Though the Zoo Authority of India had, long ago, announced the setting up of the park by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams was in violation of wildlife norms and directed that the same be dismantled and the animals left into the woods, there has been no action so far.
‘Sporadic incident'
Dismissing the panther's visit as a ‘sporadic incident,' forest officials maintained that it could not have been a deliberate attack.
“A panther attack could be fatal, but we don't find it an attack,” said P. Mallikharjuna Rao, chief conservator of forest, Tirupati Wildlife Management Circle.
Apart from erecting a trap cage, the department has deputed two teams to the spot and set up a base camp to reassure the pilgrims.
