The small game of deer, bears and lizards in the sparse jungles of the Satyavedu range on Chittoor-Tamil Nadu border see a ray of hope to survive from further reduction of their kind. Thanks to the slow growth of wildlife-friendly ambience at the forest fringe villages.
The hillocks from Narayanavanam to Satyavedu hold considerable vegetation to support the spotted deer, though their presence is limited to a few pockets close to the Telugu Ganga canal in the eastern side from Srikalahasti to Varadaiahpalem, and in Kambakam forest, and in the small patches of forests surrounding the Sri City zone at the intersection of the two states.
Sobering influence
In the last couple of years, villagers of forest fringe areas of KVB Puram, BN Kandriga, Pichatur, Nagalapuram and Satyavedu mandals have come across the deer sprinting close to their habitations, only to be attacked by stray dogs. With timely intervention of the villagers, mostly youth, several deer have escaped death and sprint back to their habitats. A silent trend has emerged in the villages that whenever they were woken up late in the night to the sounds of barking dogs, villagers would rush to the trouble spots, and shoo away the dogs, allowing the beleaguered deer to escape. So much so, in some hamlets, frequent busting of dogs’ deer pursuit by village youth has made the dogs docile towards their prey.
On August 15, villagers of Santhavelur village in BN Kandriga mandal rescued a fawn from canines in a three-hour operation. After feeding the frightened animal with milk and grass, it was handed over to forest officials, and was later released into the thickets.
A hit campaign
Forest Range Officer (Satyavedu) J. Prasada Rao told The Hindu that the department’s efforts to generate wildlife friendly awareness campaign became a hit in the last two years. “Incidence of villagers killing pythons and several reptile species has almost vanished from our area. Several youth who used to venture into the reserve forests in search of monitor lizards (known as Udumu) are now completely away from such activity. By staying away from the reserve forest zones and limiting cattle grazing to the fringe areas, it has led to a safer environment for forest animals like bears and totally avoiding the possibility of man-animal conflict,” he said.
Rescuing reptiles
Further, in a welcome sign, management of Sri City industrial zone has recently approached the Forest Department seeking permission to catch snakes on their premises and release them into the forests. “In view of the growing industrial activity near Sri City belt, incidences of reptiles coming into the open are increasing. We are going to take this matter to the notice of the Principal Secretary (wildlife),” Mr. Prasada Rao said.
