Though I had been visiting the high court for the past 7-10 days, I had never had the experience to sit through a case hearing. So, when I got a call from CWS that the Bandipur case hearing was coming up that morning, I rushed to the court. I met Poornesha, from CWS, who had also come to attend the hearing.
The hearing was in Court Hall (CH) 1. This is located on the 2nd floor. We checked the list of cases that was listed outside the hall and noted that our case was listed 75! Wondering how long it would take for the court to reach till 75, we nevertheless took up our seats and got engrossed in the various cases that were being heard. Except for the odd case here and there, most of them were adjourned and our case came up at around 12pm.
It seemed like this was most prestigous case being heard that day. From the respondents, there were 8 advocates and there was our lone petitioner!
Some of the arguments put forth by the respondents were:
- Alternate roads are not good enough and vehicles reaching bangalore were coming in late.
- As per the RTI information from Muthanga, there have been no roadkills in the past 1 year.
- The photos given by the petitioner have no supporting documents to prove their authenticity.
- Convoy system should be allowed so that a win-win situation can be achieved. This can be trialed for at least 1 week to check for its effectiveness.
- The DC cannot implement the ban under Motor Vehicles Act since it is applicable only for public convenience and safety.
Against the above, the 2 judge bench including the Chief Justice Mr. Dinakaran, stated the following:
- The traffic is restricted only from 9pm till 6am. If it were from 6pm-6am, then the court could have considered the request. But the current timings were good and all business can be done before or after that. People have to adjust to these timings
- All impleads are from people point of view. Someone has to consider the point of view of wildlife and the court is doing that.
- The question is not only about roadkills happening at night, but animal behaviour is also affected. Hence, even convoy system is not advisable.
- Under the Motor vehicles Act, traffic is not being prohibited..it is only being restricted.
Further observations and conslusions of the High Court:
- According to information received from FD, animal movement has improved during night.
- The court is not convinced to vacate or modify the ban
- All parties have to submit authorized copies of traffic regulations implemented in protected areas across the world.
- The next hearing will be in 8 weeks time.
Participants:
KANS: Laxmeesha Acharya
CWS: Poornesha H.
-
Laxmeesha Acharya
President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Elephant Estimation @ Bannerghatta NP on Oct 30-Nov 1 2009
Members of KANS viz. myself, Ananthraj and Harish participated in the elephant estimation exercise carried out by A Rocha and the Karnataka Forest Department.
Background:
-----------
The forests between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has always been a region of high man-elephant conflict (MEC). In addition, the regional disparities have also played their role with the forest departments of each state blaming the other for 'pushing' elephants to the other region and creating havoc in the agricultural lands. KANS has already completed a study of the MEC with the help of ANCF. ANCF has in the past carried out trials of barriers that could prevent elephants from straying into human habitation.
Objective:
----------
KANS intends to reduce the MEC and for this it was important to understand the elephant behaviour and also understand the stand taken by the forest departments of the two border states in tackling MEC.
A Rocha and the KFD are carrying out this exercise to estimate the number of elephants. This will be followed up with a census in December by when the KFD expects an influx of elephants migrating from Tamil Nadu. Based on the increase, the KFD intends to provide adequate resources to manage MEC and incorporate this in the management plan for BNP.
The event:
----------
The event was addressed by Dr. Vijay from A Rocha who welcomed the volunteers and spoke about the gravity of MEC.
He was followed by the DCF Mr. Venkatesh B., who talked about the initiatives taken by the KFD for tackling MEC. There were further talks by the RFO of Anekal range who described the terrain and the constraints and challenges in tackling MEC.
A key point was the fact that from this year onwards the KFD was planning to refrain from pushing back any of the elephant herds migrating towards BNP. All efforts, would in fact, be put into restraining the elephant within the park boundaries. A Rocha was planning to assist in this by putting up 'Chilli-tobacco fence' at the exit areas of the park.
After a quick tea-break, Mr. Gopal Krishna, Senior Researcher A Rocha explained the techniques of the estimation exercise viz. Block count and Water hole count and the procedure to be followed for collating the data.
Subsequently, all the volunteers were divided into 3 teams..one for each range viz. Anekal, Bannerghatta NP and Harohally and they were shunted to their respective ranges.
At Harohalli: Day 1 (Waterhole count):
--------------------------------------
I was assigned to the Harohalli range. Gopal, who was in charge of the team, assigned the waterholes to each of the volunteers.
Geri and I were in-charge of the Erle Kallu Katte waterhole. Early on 1st morning, we took off with Gopal 'literally' on the wheel and we were dropped at our respective water holes. Bhommaiah was the guard entrusted with our lives, in case we were attacked by elephants.
Soon as we disembarked, we did a quick recce of the waterhole and found a shady spot where we could have our packed breakfast of pulav. Geri and Bhoomaiah dug into their b/f while I decided to stave off the hunger. Having experienced this at Ramanakere at Bhadra Tiger Reserve in May 2007, I knew that hunger will keep knocking at our stomach doors all day and I had realised that 'delayed gratification' was the only solution.
The hours ticked by slowly. No sign of elephants and Mr. Bhoomaiah was getting restless. While he suggested that we move to a higher altitude from where there is a possibility of sighting wildlife, we explained to him that the objective of the exercise was not to sight wildlife. For that we could have visited Bannerghatta Zoo!!
Soon after lunch, we undertook a quick 1 hr trek to a nearby hillock where we say a lot of elephant activity.
Upon our return, I continued my new hobby of chucking pebbles at frogs and towards evening we were joined by Senthil and Aruna who had spent the day at a nearby water hole.
Gopal came to pick us up, and in the intervening period the guards tried to make things a little exciting by narrating stories of people attacked by elephants and by alighting some of the bombs that had been given to us to scare elephants in case we ran into them!
There was a welcome surprise for us when we returned to the range office at Harohally. Lilavati (Lily) from BNP had been brought into town to carry the local diety, Chamundeshwari Devi, the next morning.
At Harohally: Day 2 (Block count):
----------------------------------
The team composition was changed slightly. I was teamed with Mr. Narayana Forest Guard. Enthusiastic fellow that he was, we scoured the block that we were assigned (Bheemadoddana halli to Ravutanahalli dam) up and down, criss cross...but no direct or indirect signtings :)
Finally at around 11.30 am we called it a day and caught up with the other teams who had to be picked up. Rajath and Shashi, however decided to play truant and did not appear till nearly 2pm while the actual reporting time for all the teams was 12 pm. Thankful that we were to see them in a single piece, we left for Kalkere where we had to assemble and share notes and make a quick estimation of the number of elephants.
The final count, arrived at after hearing from everyone was that the NP had around 50 elephants!
Conservation Notes:
-------------------
- The information received from the field staff was inconsistent. While one guard categorically said that elephants always come from TN, another said that KFD also pushes elephants to TN resulting in the TNFD and local TN villagers together pushing back an equal or higher number of elephants back into BNP.
- According to one of the field staff, there are nearly 300 elephants in BNP!
- According to one of the field staff, cattle grazing can be strictly curtailed but due to the ongoing crop-raiding, the KFD also seeks cooperation from the villagers and hence the cattle grazing threat is not seriously addressed.
- The neighbouring Kanakapura Reserve Forests can be notified and included within the BNP. The FD staff in Kanakapura RFs take bribes to allow live stock grazing and this puts the BNP staff in an uncomfortable situation.
- The count of elephants significantly increases during the months of Oct-Feb. This is primarly due to elephants migrating from South to North. These forests and the ones in the Hosur Forest Division receive most of the rain from the North-East monsoon and hence elephants have traditionally moved from South to North in search of water and food.
- The migratory behaviour brings a lot of pressure on the neighbouring agricultural lands which are raising fresh crops after the rains. The FD tries to control this through night vigil and firing bombs.
- The reason for crop raiding has to be ascertained. While it is clear that they find crops more palatable, the fact that the forests do not have ample fodder is a matter of concern. One reason for this could also be the degradation of the forest from livestock from the villages.
- Elephant population has also been increasing due to the protection measures adopted by the FD. However, the measures such as creation of artificial water holes should be analyzed properly. Wildlife should be left to remain wild. There should be no human intervention in providing them with fodder and water e.g. artificial water holes. This is the manner in which nature keeps a check on the population and any human intervention will lead to imbalance and could result in unpleasant actions such as culling!!!
Participants:
KANS Members:
-------------
Laxmeesha
Ananthraj
Harish
Others (in Harohally team):
-------
Rachana Patwardhan
Geraldine Fernandes
Aruna Vedale
Chitman Kaur
Shashikala
UdayKumar S.
Sunil Karthik
Senthil
Rajath Ravindran
Ayaraj
Suresh
-
Laxmeesha Acharya
President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Background:
-----------
The forests between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has always been a region of high man-elephant conflict (MEC). In addition, the regional disparities have also played their role with the forest departments of each state blaming the other for 'pushing' elephants to the other region and creating havoc in the agricultural lands. KANS has already completed a study of the MEC with the help of ANCF. ANCF has in the past carried out trials of barriers that could prevent elephants from straying into human habitation.
Objective:
----------
KANS intends to reduce the MEC and for this it was important to understand the elephant behaviour and also understand the stand taken by the forest departments of the two border states in tackling MEC.
A Rocha and the KFD are carrying out this exercise to estimate the number of elephants. This will be followed up with a census in December by when the KFD expects an influx of elephants migrating from Tamil Nadu. Based on the increase, the KFD intends to provide adequate resources to manage MEC and incorporate this in the management plan for BNP.
The event:
----------
The event was addressed by Dr. Vijay from A Rocha who welcomed the volunteers and spoke about the gravity of MEC.
He was followed by the DCF Mr. Venkatesh B., who talked about the initiatives taken by the KFD for tackling MEC. There were further talks by the RFO of Anekal range who described the terrain and the constraints and challenges in tackling MEC.
A key point was the fact that from this year onwards the KFD was planning to refrain from pushing back any of the elephant herds migrating towards BNP. All efforts, would in fact, be put into restraining the elephant within the park boundaries. A Rocha was planning to assist in this by putting up 'Chilli-tobacco fence' at the exit areas of the park.
After a quick tea-break, Mr. Gopal Krishna, Senior Researcher A Rocha explained the techniques of the estimation exercise viz. Block count and Water hole count and the procedure to be followed for collating the data.
Subsequently, all the volunteers were divided into 3 teams..one for each range viz. Anekal, Bannerghatta NP and Harohally and they were shunted to their respective ranges.
At Harohalli: Day 1 (Waterhole count):
--------------------------------------
I was assigned to the Harohalli range. Gopal, who was in charge of the team, assigned the waterholes to each of the volunteers.
Geri and I were in-charge of the Erle Kallu Katte waterhole. Early on 1st morning, we took off with Gopal 'literally' on the wheel and we were dropped at our respective water holes. Bhommaiah was the guard entrusted with our lives, in case we were attacked by elephants.
Soon as we disembarked, we did a quick recce of the waterhole and found a shady spot where we could have our packed breakfast of pulav. Geri and Bhoomaiah dug into their b/f while I decided to stave off the hunger. Having experienced this at Ramanakere at Bhadra Tiger Reserve in May 2007, I knew that hunger will keep knocking at our stomach doors all day and I had realised that 'delayed gratification' was the only solution.
The hours ticked by slowly. No sign of elephants and Mr. Bhoomaiah was getting restless. While he suggested that we move to a higher altitude from where there is a possibility of sighting wildlife, we explained to him that the objective of the exercise was not to sight wildlife. For that we could have visited Bannerghatta Zoo!!
Soon after lunch, we undertook a quick 1 hr trek to a nearby hillock where we say a lot of elephant activity.
Upon our return, I continued my new hobby of chucking pebbles at frogs and towards evening we were joined by Senthil and Aruna who had spent the day at a nearby water hole.
Gopal came to pick us up, and in the intervening period the guards tried to make things a little exciting by narrating stories of people attacked by elephants and by alighting some of the bombs that had been given to us to scare elephants in case we ran into them!
There was a welcome surprise for us when we returned to the range office at Harohally. Lilavati (Lily) from BNP had been brought into town to carry the local diety, Chamundeshwari Devi, the next morning.
At Harohally: Day 2 (Block count):
----------------------------------
The team composition was changed slightly. I was teamed with Mr. Narayana Forest Guard. Enthusiastic fellow that he was, we scoured the block that we were assigned (Bheemadoddana halli to Ravutanahalli dam) up and down, criss cross...but no direct or indirect signtings :)
Finally at around 11.30 am we called it a day and caught up with the other teams who had to be picked up. Rajath and Shashi, however decided to play truant and did not appear till nearly 2pm while the actual reporting time for all the teams was 12 pm. Thankful that we were to see them in a single piece, we left for Kalkere where we had to assemble and share notes and make a quick estimation of the number of elephants.
The final count, arrived at after hearing from everyone was that the NP had around 50 elephants!
Conservation Notes:
-------------------
- The information received from the field staff was inconsistent. While one guard categorically said that elephants always come from TN, another said that KFD also pushes elephants to TN resulting in the TNFD and local TN villagers together pushing back an equal or higher number of elephants back into BNP.
- According to one of the field staff, there are nearly 300 elephants in BNP!
- According to one of the field staff, cattle grazing can be strictly curtailed but due to the ongoing crop-raiding, the KFD also seeks cooperation from the villagers and hence the cattle grazing threat is not seriously addressed.
- The neighbouring Kanakapura Reserve Forests can be notified and included within the BNP. The FD staff in Kanakapura RFs take bribes to allow live stock grazing and this puts the BNP staff in an uncomfortable situation.
- The count of elephants significantly increases during the months of Oct-Feb. This is primarly due to elephants migrating from South to North. These forests and the ones in the Hosur Forest Division receive most of the rain from the North-East monsoon and hence elephants have traditionally moved from South to North in search of water and food.
- The migratory behaviour brings a lot of pressure on the neighbouring agricultural lands which are raising fresh crops after the rains. The FD tries to control this through night vigil and firing bombs.
- The reason for crop raiding has to be ascertained. While it is clear that they find crops more palatable, the fact that the forests do not have ample fodder is a matter of concern. One reason for this could also be the degradation of the forest from livestock from the villages.
- Elephant population has also been increasing due to the protection measures adopted by the FD. However, the measures such as creation of artificial water holes should be analyzed properly. Wildlife should be left to remain wild. There should be no human intervention in providing them with fodder and water e.g. artificial water holes. This is the manner in which nature keeps a check on the population and any human intervention will lead to imbalance and could result in unpleasant actions such as culling!!!
Participants:
KANS Members:
-------------
Laxmeesha
Ananthraj
Harish
Others (in Harohally team):
-------
Rachana Patwardhan
Geraldine Fernandes
Aruna Vedale
Chitman Kaur
Shashikala
UdayKumar S.
Sunil Karthik
Senthil
Rajath Ravindran
Ayaraj
Suresh
-
Laxmeesha Acharya
President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
KANS 1st Anniversary and 55th Wildlife Week
Celebrated KANS 1st anniversary and 55th Wildlife Week on Oct 4, 2009 at Denkanikotta where a medical camp was organised for the Forest Dept. staff. Karthik and I went there the previous day and after taking permission from the DFO for conducting the camp, met the Hosur RFO at Mathigiri to make arrangements for acco etc. Went over to Denkanikotta and inspected the location of the camp. Gave instructions for cleaning up the place and returned to Mathigiri. Sanjeev joined us in the evening and we went on a drive to SamiEri with the hope of catching a glimpse of the elephants...but no luck!
Next morning, reached Denkanikotta where I was joined by the doctors from Chennai and Bangalore and other KANS members. Mr. TNA Perumal was the chief guest of the event and after inaugurating the proceedings, the doctors Dr. Sudhakar, Dr. Balaji and Dr. Manjunath, got down to their job.
Around 45 people were inspected and medicines and prescriptions were given. The RFOs of Hosur and Denkanikottai, Mr. Madeshwaran and Mr. Ramachandran respectively also joined the camp and provided all the support during the entire day.
Next morning, reached Denkanikotta where I was joined by the doctors from Chennai and Bangalore and other KANS members. Mr. TNA Perumal was the chief guest of the event and after inaugurating the proceedings, the doctors Dr. Sudhakar, Dr. Balaji and Dr. Manjunath, got down to their job.
Around 45 people were inspected and medicines and prescriptions were given. The RFOs of Hosur and Denkanikottai, Mr. Madeshwaran and Mr. Ramachandran respectively also joined the camp and provided all the support during the entire day.
Visit to Bhadra Tiger Reserve on Sept 5-10, 2009
The long due visit to Bhadra Tiger Reserve happened finally. Prakash, Sunil and I left on our bikes (Thunderbird, Bullet)early on 5th morning to volunteer for a post-doctoral research project being conducted by Dr. Krithi Karanth, Columbia University on impact of Eco-tourism around Tiger Reserves.
Reached Chikmagalur towards noon (around 260 kms) where we were joined by other volunteers. From thereon, the route became interesting since had to go up the hills along a windy path and eventually after about 40 kms, we reached our camp for the next 5 days - Hulikanu Estate. This is the field station of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore. The rest of the evening was spent in settling down and interacting with the other volunteers. One group left in the evening for the Lakkavalli Range.
On 6th morning, we took off to do the questionnaire surveys. My route was towards Chikmagalur town and Vishnupriya and I left in that direction. Conducted interviews at the Lodges and Homestays in Chikmagalur town and near Mullaihnagiri and returned to Hulikanu by evening.
On 7th morning, Vikas and I biked towards Kemmangundi. This was the best route..lovely western ghats drizzle, mist, clouds, wind etc. made the ride unforgettable.
On crossing KM, Vikas and I split and visited some of the Homestays near Kalahatti falls and Ballavara. Had lunch with the amiable owner of one of the homestays and his wife and dad. Vikas also joined in and after lunch, visited Kalahatti falls. Returned to Hulikanu by around 7.30 pm. Around 90 kms covered.
On 8th morning, we were taken for a drive in the Muthodi range by DV Girish from Wildcat. Went along the Kesave beat and for the first time in my life I saw a Tiger pugmark.
Some other sightings we had were of Muntjacs, Gaurs, Chitals, Malabar Giant Squirrels and plenty of birds.
Later, Krithi, Santosh, Vishnupriya and I went on a ground-truthing exercise. Covered around 300 kms and travelled through CM-Kadur-Igati-Srirampura-Huliyar-Banavara and back.
On 9th morning, my bike conked out! It simply refused to start despite efforts by myself, Santosh, DV Girish and all. Finally took Sunil's bike and went to Chikmagalur town where I was supposed to interview couple of homestay owners whom I could not meet earlier. Finishing those, I joined Amit, Vishnupriya and Sunil who were lunching at Chikmagalur. Later Sunil and I went to a garage referred by DVG and asked them to pick up the bike and then we returned to Hulikanu.
10th was very relaxed. Most of the resorts/homestays had been covered and all the ground-truthing had been done. Took Prakash's bullet and biked to Mallandur where VP and Sunil were interviewing the last of the homestays. Headed to CM to pick up Chicken for the 'badaa khana' that was planned for the evening. I paid a visit to the garage to hear the sorry news that the valves had to be replaced and the entire engine oil had drained out. After giving him the money to buy the spare parts, I returned to Hulikanu. The evening was special since we were joined by Dr. Ullas Karanth and his wife, Ms. Pratibha Karanth. Over cocktails and snacks, we exchanged conservation stories and his exepriences with the late Mr. Kenneth Anderson. Had sumptous dinner prepared by Santosh and retired for the night.
Left for Bangalore on 11th morning. Sunil dropped me at the garage. The bike was ready by 2.30 pm and I headed back home to Bangalore and reached by 9.30 pm!
A good experience, many new friends made, first tiger pugmark sighting..hope to go there soon! The road beckons...
Reached Chikmagalur towards noon (around 260 kms) where we were joined by other volunteers. From thereon, the route became interesting since had to go up the hills along a windy path and eventually after about 40 kms, we reached our camp for the next 5 days - Hulikanu Estate. This is the field station of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore. The rest of the evening was spent in settling down and interacting with the other volunteers. One group left in the evening for the Lakkavalli Range.
On 6th morning, we took off to do the questionnaire surveys. My route was towards Chikmagalur town and Vishnupriya and I left in that direction. Conducted interviews at the Lodges and Homestays in Chikmagalur town and near Mullaihnagiri and returned to Hulikanu by evening.
On 7th morning, Vikas and I biked towards Kemmangundi. This was the best route..lovely western ghats drizzle, mist, clouds, wind etc. made the ride unforgettable.
On crossing KM, Vikas and I split and visited some of the Homestays near Kalahatti falls and Ballavara. Had lunch with the amiable owner of one of the homestays and his wife and dad. Vikas also joined in and after lunch, visited Kalahatti falls. Returned to Hulikanu by around 7.30 pm. Around 90 kms covered.
On 8th morning, we were taken for a drive in the Muthodi range by DV Girish from Wildcat. Went along the Kesave beat and for the first time in my life I saw a Tiger pugmark.
Some other sightings we had were of Muntjacs, Gaurs, Chitals, Malabar Giant Squirrels and plenty of birds.
Later, Krithi, Santosh, Vishnupriya and I went on a ground-truthing exercise. Covered around 300 kms and travelled through CM-Kadur-Igati-Srirampura-Huliyar-Banavara and back.
On 9th morning, my bike conked out! It simply refused to start despite efforts by myself, Santosh, DV Girish and all. Finally took Sunil's bike and went to Chikmagalur town where I was supposed to interview couple of homestay owners whom I could not meet earlier. Finishing those, I joined Amit, Vishnupriya and Sunil who were lunching at Chikmagalur. Later Sunil and I went to a garage referred by DVG and asked them to pick up the bike and then we returned to Hulikanu.
10th was very relaxed. Most of the resorts/homestays had been covered and all the ground-truthing had been done. Took Prakash's bullet and biked to Mallandur where VP and Sunil were interviewing the last of the homestays. Headed to CM to pick up Chicken for the 'badaa khana' that was planned for the evening. I paid a visit to the garage to hear the sorry news that the valves had to be replaced and the entire engine oil had drained out. After giving him the money to buy the spare parts, I returned to Hulikanu. The evening was special since we were joined by Dr. Ullas Karanth and his wife, Ms. Pratibha Karanth. Over cocktails and snacks, we exchanged conservation stories and his exepriences with the late Mr. Kenneth Anderson. Had sumptous dinner prepared by Santosh and retired for the night.
Left for Bangalore on 11th morning. Sunil dropped me at the garage. The bike was ready by 2.30 pm and I headed back home to Bangalore and reached by 9.30 pm!
A good experience, many new friends made, first tiger pugmark sighting..hope to go there soon! The road beckons...
Rapid Survey at Jowlagiri RF on Sept 12, 2009
Three transect routes have been marked out by the forest department and these three routes were taken up for survey
1. Pasumandoddi to Chennamalam (Gnanaskandan and party)
2. Jowlagiri to Kembudoddi (Khusro and Party)
3. Maragadadoddi to KembaraKotta (Debashish and party)
Three teams accompanied by their respective forest department personnel set off at 7:00 AM. There were 2 GPS between the 3 teams. Indirect evidences of Gaur, elephants and Chital etc were encoutered by all teams. The team on the second trek path also encountered pug marks of wild dog and jungle cat. Bird activity was subdued probably due to the overcast weather conditions.
Length of trek varied as all teams returned to the same starting point after touching the RF boundary. The longest was nearly 22 Kms. As the planned blocks were covered in one day, the teams dispersed in the afternoon after a couple of hours of birding in the early evening.
Eupatorium and Lantana are the most visible flora in most parts of the RF.
Team members:
1. Sanjeev
2. Khusro
3. GRP Karthik
4. Ajay
5. Gnanaskandan
6. Sripad
7. Varun
8. Debashish Bandophdhyay
9. Chandan Haldar
10. Rakesh Verma
11. Gowri Varanashi
12. Paul
Forest Department:
1. Forestor Rajamani
2. Muthu
3. Madangiriappa
4. Balakondappa
Food expenses were met by contributions from the volunteers, leaving over a surplus of Rs.500/- to KANS account.
-
Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
1. Pasumandoddi to Chennamalam (Gnanaskandan and party)
2. Jowlagiri to Kembudoddi (Khusro and Party)
3. Maragadadoddi to KembaraKotta (Debashish and party)
Three teams accompanied by their respective forest department personnel set off at 7:00 AM. There were 2 GPS between the 3 teams. Indirect evidences of Gaur, elephants and Chital etc were encoutered by all teams. The team on the second trek path also encountered pug marks of wild dog and jungle cat. Bird activity was subdued probably due to the overcast weather conditions.
Length of trek varied as all teams returned to the same starting point after touching the RF boundary. The longest was nearly 22 Kms. As the planned blocks were covered in one day, the teams dispersed in the afternoon after a couple of hours of birding in the early evening.
Eupatorium and Lantana are the most visible flora in most parts of the RF.
Team members:
1. Sanjeev
2. Khusro
3. GRP Karthik
4. Ajay
5. Gnanaskandan
6. Sripad
7. Varun
8. Debashish Bandophdhyay
9. Chandan Haldar
10. Rakesh Verma
11. Gowri Varanashi
12. Paul
Forest Department:
1. Forestor Rajamani
2. Muthu
3. Madangiriappa
4. Balakondappa
Food expenses were met by contributions from the volunteers, leaving over a surplus of Rs.500/- to KANS account.
-
Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Rapid Survey at Denkanikottai RF on Sept 5/6, 2009
Seven blocks were selected in Denkanikottai Range. These blocks are of various sizes and are in various reserve forests. Of these seven blocks four blocks which were in the vicinity of Aiyur were taken up for rapid ground survey.
Of the remaining blocks, Gutherayan RF was set aside for a comprehensive survey at a later date. Remaining 2 blocks have been set aside due to logistic reasons and non availability of volunteers. Some blocks of Anchetty and Denkanikottai range can be more easily covered from a convenient base camp other than Aiyur.
The four blocks selected had the following trek routes:
1. Galigattam to Mukankere
2. Mukankere to Aiyur
3. Nelkunthi to Panchapalli Eri
4. Denkanikottai extension reserve forest
Denkanikottai extension reserve forest could not be covered due to lack of resources.
The trek teams have noted down encouters of indirect evidences and direct sightings of birds on the data sheets.
Lack of GPS units
This survey was again hampered by lack of GPS units. Only one working GPS was available at the Field station at Aiyur. At least 4 working GPS will be required so that each team is equipped to note down significant indirect evidences of less sighted animals such as carnivores. This will be very helpful at a later stage when setting up Camera Traps.
Lack of ID Cards.
The team that surveyed Galigattam to Mukankere led by Saravanan was accosted by a large Police team lead by a Deputy Superintendent of Police carrying out combing operations. This happened when Sanjeev was dropping off the team to the starting point of the trek. The police could not be convinced even after we showed them permit letter from Hosur Division office and the Chief Wildlife Warden and demanded to see photo ID cards of ANCF. Unfortunately the name of KANS does not figure anywhere on the permit letters issued by either the Hosur Division or the CWW, hence they will be of no use. It is very important that the key personnel co-ordinating the survey have to be provided with photo ID cards. Anti Naxal operations are quite regular in these regions and a chance encounter can easily escalate into unsavory incidents. All KANS members carry their photo ID cards of the society and volunteers also need to be issued ID cards which are available with KANS. It is recommended that the following people Saravanan, Mohan and Madan be issued ANCF photo Id cards as soon as possible. It is also recommended that each trek team be accompanied by at
least one KANS member or ANCF member carrying their respective ID cards.
Team members:
1. Dr.Geetha Nayak
2. Saranavan
3. Karthikeyan
4. Khusro
5. Arvind Adhi
6. Manivanan
7. Akshay Ukey
Forest Department:
1. Kadirappan
2. Annadurai
3. Samappan
4. Nanjappan
-
Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Of the remaining blocks, Gutherayan RF was set aside for a comprehensive survey at a later date. Remaining 2 blocks have been set aside due to logistic reasons and non availability of volunteers. Some blocks of Anchetty and Denkanikottai range can be more easily covered from a convenient base camp other than Aiyur.
The four blocks selected had the following trek routes:
1. Galigattam to Mukankere
2. Mukankere to Aiyur
3. Nelkunthi to Panchapalli Eri
4. Denkanikottai extension reserve forest
Denkanikottai extension reserve forest could not be covered due to lack of resources.
The trek teams have noted down encouters of indirect evidences and direct sightings of birds on the data sheets.
Lack of GPS units
This survey was again hampered by lack of GPS units. Only one working GPS was available at the Field station at Aiyur. At least 4 working GPS will be required so that each team is equipped to note down significant indirect evidences of less sighted animals such as carnivores. This will be very helpful at a later stage when setting up Camera Traps.
Lack of ID Cards.
The team that surveyed Galigattam to Mukankere led by Saravanan was accosted by a large Police team lead by a Deputy Superintendent of Police carrying out combing operations. This happened when Sanjeev was dropping off the team to the starting point of the trek. The police could not be convinced even after we showed them permit letter from Hosur Division office and the Chief Wildlife Warden and demanded to see photo ID cards of ANCF. Unfortunately the name of KANS does not figure anywhere on the permit letters issued by either the Hosur Division or the CWW, hence they will be of no use. It is very important that the key personnel co-ordinating the survey have to be provided with photo ID cards. Anti Naxal operations are quite regular in these regions and a chance encounter can easily escalate into unsavory incidents. All KANS members carry their photo ID cards of the society and volunteers also need to be issued ID cards which are available with KANS. It is recommended that the following people Saravanan, Mohan and Madan be issued ANCF photo Id cards as soon as possible. It is also recommended that each trek team be accompanied by at
least one KANS member or ANCF member carrying their respective ID cards.
Team members:
1. Dr.Geetha Nayak
2. Saranavan
3. Karthikeyan
4. Khusro
5. Arvind Adhi
6. Manivanan
7. Akshay Ukey
Forest Department:
1. Kadirappan
2. Annadurai
3. Samappan
4. Nanjappan
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Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Monday, August 31, 2009
Rapid Survey at Rayakottai RF on August 29, 2009
The third rapid ground survey was carried out at the Udedurgam Reserve forest. This RF forms part of the Rayakota range and is the largest tract of forest in this range.
Trek Path: Kadur to Panchapalli Dam along the left bank Pennaiyar River. (time 11:00 AM to 3:45 PM)
The Pennaiyar stream enters the RF near Kadur and flows diagonally nearly bisecting the RF. The stream empties into the reservoir at Panchapalli Dam at the intersection of the Udedurgam and Aiyur Extension RF.
The teams started from Kadur and trekked along the left bank of the Pennaiyar stream looking for scat, pugmarks, hoofmarks and other indirect evidences of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Late start of the trek at 11:00 AM could be the reasons for the low level of bird activity and lack of any direct sightings of mammals.
All indirect evidences were noted down on the data sheets. A noteworthy highlight of the trek was the fresh trail left behind by a Leopard adult and cub along a sandy stretch on the pennaiyar river.
Spoor of Chital, Gaur, wild pig etc were found along the stream. Scat samples collected were handed over at the field station at Aiyur.
Team members:
1. Karthikeyan
2. Khusro
3. Chandrakant Konar
4. Yedhunandan
5. Manivanan
Forest Department:
1. Venkatagiri
2. Chellappan
3. Madhu
4. Lakshmanan
-
Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
Trek Path: Kadur to Panchapalli Dam along the left bank Pennaiyar River. (time 11:00 AM to 3:45 PM)
The Pennaiyar stream enters the RF near Kadur and flows diagonally nearly bisecting the RF. The stream empties into the reservoir at Panchapalli Dam at the intersection of the Udedurgam and Aiyur Extension RF.
The teams started from Kadur and trekked along the left bank of the Pennaiyar stream looking for scat, pugmarks, hoofmarks and other indirect evidences of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Late start of the trek at 11:00 AM could be the reasons for the low level of bird activity and lack of any direct sightings of mammals.
All indirect evidences were noted down on the data sheets. A noteworthy highlight of the trek was the fresh trail left behind by a Leopard adult and cub along a sandy stretch on the pennaiyar river.
Spoor of Chital, Gaur, wild pig etc were found along the stream. Scat samples collected were handed over at the field station at Aiyur.
Team members:
1. Karthikeyan
2. Khusro
3. Chandrakant Konar
4. Yedhunandan
5. Manivanan
Forest Department:
1. Venkatagiri
2. Chellappan
3. Madhu
4. Lakshmanan
-
Sanjeev Kumar S. R.
Vice President
Kenneth Anderson Nature Society
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