LTMS GO BACK TO THEIR HABITAT WITH STOPPAGE OF FEEDING
Meera Bhardwaj:
Feeding of endangered Lion Tailed Macaques (LTM) has finally come to a stop on the Agumbe Ghat Road. Earlier, weekend tourists to this scenic destination used to feed this species all sorts of junk food and fruits disregarding all warnings by forest department.
Some two groups of LTMs had become habituated to take all sorts of easily available food from people especially weekend tourists.
This could be seen on National Highway-169A that criss-crosses the undulating rain forests (the pristine habitat of these arboreal mammals) for 10 kilometres from Agumbe to Someshwara in Karnataka state, India.
A WATCHER ATTACHED TO A LTM GROUP KEEPS VIGIL ON NH-169A
After studying the behaviour of these animals, the Karnataka Forest Department has implemented an innovative measure to successfully stop the LTMs’ habit to feed on easy food. This was done by tracking the two groups and attaching two watchers to the groups. Each watcher attached to a group would track the group and stay with them.
This further dissuaded any feedings by tourists and imposition of fines on unruly tourists.
With the success of this scheme, in the last 2-3 weeks, there have been no sightings of LTMs on the busy highway road between Someshwara and Agumbe.
And forest officials say the primates are back to where they should be – their forest habitat with the availability of easy food vanishing.
ON THE AGUMBE STRETCH, ANOTHER WATCHER KEEPING TRACK
For the last five years, the two groups could be sighted on the retaining walls of the highway.
Wildlife activists reported regular sightings on the fifth curve where one group of 15 LTMs (and also Bonnet Macaques) could be seen begging for food from tourists who used to alight from their vehicles to feed the old-world monkeys.
Added to this, another group of 15-17 LTMs sometimes stood on the wall near the 7th curve asking for food. However, these two groups would change their locations frequently and they would disperse to places where tourists could be seen with food packets in their hands on the highway.
EARLIER, THIS WAS A REGULAR SIGHT ON THE AGUMBE GHAT ROAD
As LTMs are territorial with fixed home ranges, only two groups were identified on this highway and no other groups were seen in the last few years.
Despite the forest department’s “Warning Signs” boards on the 10-KM-stretch not to feed the animals, people still went on feeding all sorts of junk food like pop corns and chips while some people would feed fruits and vegetables till education campaigns were taken up by the Karnataka forest department and fines were imposed.
WARNING BOARDS DID NOT DETER TOURISTS FROM FEEDING
However, even this could not stop the tourists from feeding the LTMs, so the forest department deputed “watchers” to track the movement of these animals on the highway. DCF of Kudremukh Wildlife Division Ruthren P told Green Minute that the two troops of LTMs were tracked by watchers from a distance so as to wean them away from easily available food.
He added, “Earlier, the watchers used to continuously move up and down the ghat road to stop tourist feeding but this did not work out. So, we tried to understand the LTM behaviour and modified our program to stop them from feeding. On Saturdays and Sundays, the watchers attached to a group – stay with the group and patrol the highway. LTMs move in groups and do not disperse. So, our watchers stayed with the group where they were stationed. And the watchers’ presence with the group dissuaded the tourists from feeding…..”
A WATCHER PATROLLING THE HIGHWAY TO PROTECT THE LTMs
Locally, the fruit and vegetable vendors in the villages who used to dump their waste on the highway were sensitized and dissuaded from feeding the primates.
The DCF stressed, “We took up education campaigns and stopped the locals from feeding the animals. As far as tourists were concerned, we imposed a special drive by imposing fines on Saturdays and Sundays. With tourists and locals being stopped from feeding, this was a signal to the LTMs that no easy food was available on the road. Now they are back to forests since the last 2-3 weeks. We manged to push them back to their canopies as their behaviour changed with lack of food on the road.”
The Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and Kudremukh National Park have a very good population of Lion Tailed Macaques.
To save the endangered species from extinction, the forest department is taking all measures for their protection and conservation, the PCCF and Head of Forest Force Sanjai Mohan stressed. With the Western Ghats in Karnataka having the only remaining continuous stretch of rain forests in the country, it is imperative that the state government takes all measures to protect the habitat of these adorable canopy kings, activists appeal.
Although the LTM groups are not venturing into the highway now, the forest department will continue with their innovative vigil on weekends.