Kerala has become a graveyard for elephants, tigers, leopards, and cheetahs if the incidents that happened during 2023 and 2024 are any indication. The year 2024 saw four elephants losing their lives to the veterinarians’ tranquilisers which raised questions on the capability of the veterinary doctors who gave the shots and quality of the drugs used in bringing the wild tuskers under control.

On Wednesday, a leopard that got trapped in the steel fence around a farmhouse in Palakkd district and got injured in the melee to escape from the fence, died following the tranquiliser shots fired at him by the veterinary specialist. “There was no need for the doctor to fire at the big cat which was being carried to the nearest forest station,” said Rameshan, an avid wild life lover based in Walayar, Palakkad.

At least six big cats fell to the tranquilising shots of the specialists “deployed” by the forest officials to tame them. There is a pattern in these animals losing their lives. It is after they are captured by men that the shots are fired and these shots have been found to be fatal,” said John Peruvanthanam wild life conservationist.

The charge against these animals is that they “trespassed” into human settlements in search of water and food. But a probe into the charge of encroachment shows that it is the other way round. The human settlements are former reserve forests which have been usurped by the encroachers.

The Western Ghats Ecology expert panel under the chairmanship of Madhav Gadgil, noted environmental scientist which was constituted by the Union Government found that the forests in Kerala that fell under the jurisdiction of the Western Ghat were getting fast depleted because of encroachment and massive illegal quarrying.

“These are the prime reasons for the wild animals losing their dwelling places. Encroachments and quarrying have led to the destruction of water bodies and greeneries resulting in animals getting starved.

The “trespassing” animals are designated either as man eaters or rogue by the real trespassers to get public sympathy, said John.

The church as well as Islamic spiritual leaders undertook an agitation forcing the Government to dilute the recommendations of the Gadgil committee report. Encroaching and quarrying continue unabated in Kerala. Interestingly, the quarrying is done by relatives and associates of political leaders belonging to both the UDF and the LDF.

All the six fatalities of the wild cats have been reported in 2024. If the rate of death of wild animals continues like this, the day is not far away when our forests turn into deserts and wildlife becoming museum pieces, says John. As part of whitewashing these killings, a research scholar is busy preparing a PhD thesis with the claim that the farmers living in the periphery of the forests in the State are at the mercy of the wild animals.