A grandmother and granddaughter aside an endangered Nilgiri tahr, the rare mountain goat which is endemic to the Eravikulam National Park.
| Photo Credit: JOMON PAMPAVALLEY

In a strategic move to protect both wildlife and local communities, Eravikulam National Park (ENP) — the natural habitat of the endangered Nilgiri tahr — has embraced the controlled burning of grasslands. As fresh grass carpets the hills, wild animals find ample food, and the once-rising cases of human-animal conflict in Munnar are now on the decline.

ENP assistant wildlife warden Nithin Lal said that this year, the Forest department conducted controlled burning on nearly 750 hectares. “The controlled burning process starts in December and is completed in January. After the summer rain, hills where controlled burning was carried out changes into green carpets,” said the official.

“Every three years, the grass in the grasslands of ENP will become unsuitable for grazing. Nilgiri tahr and other animals will not feed on such grass. At that point, controlled burning will be carried out to ensure food security,” said Mr. Lal.

“Newborn Nilgiri tahr calves are eating the newly-grown grass from the grasslands. Controlled burning also ensures food security for wild elephants, including other animals in the Munnar landscape,” said the official.

Since three decades

According to officials, the Forest department started the process in Eravikulam around 30 years ago, based on the know-how from the tribal communities.

According to Forest department sources, after the new grass grew following controlled burning on the hills, the wild animals, including wild elephants begin camping on the grasslands, which also reflects the reduction of human-animal conflict cases in Munnar.

The Forest department, in association with the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and the Scheduled Tribe Development department, has launched an initiative called ‘Gothrabheri’ to use tribal knowledge to mitigate human-animal conflict incidents in the State and also highlighted the importance of controlled burning.

‘Gothrabheri’ State nodal officer Raju K. Francis said that tribal population across Kerala an immediate tool to mitigate human-animal conflict cases in forest border areas. “Controlled burning should be conducted inside forests in an emergency manner,” said Mr. Francis.