The recent spate of floods in the state has affected man and
animal alike, uprooting them from their homes and rendering them shelter-less. A
tenuous struggle for survival and escape from the rising waters has taken a
toll on lives - both human and animal. This is just a collection of pictures of
the flood-laden landscape of animals and accompanying little vignettes.
Take a close look at the picture above of villagers gathered
around their precious few possessions in a country boat as they paddle to
higher ground. The bottom right corner of the pic shows a man perched upon what
looks like a little mound, and something resembling maybe a tree stump in front
of him. A closer observation reveals that the stump is actually the tip of the trunk of an
elephant thrust upwards by the pachyderm to breathe in air, and the man is the
elephant’s mahout clinging on precariously to the great beast’s back. The
Asiatic Elephant is on an average, 9 feet tall at the shoulder; so the ground
must be submerged under atleast 9 feet water.
Deer like the ones shown here sheltering on an embankment, are particularly at threat in
the present situation. Deer in the wildlife parks of the state are being
compelled to escape from their protected environs. Reports suggest that a large
number of deer have entered villages at the fringes of such parks, where some
have been bitten by dogs while many others have been injured after getting
entangled in fences surrounding people’s homes. A great many number of deer,
being the naturally jumpy, nervy animal that it is, have been struck down by
speeding vehicles on highways. Added to all these, poachers are having a field
day killing large numbers of deer which have ventured out. Venison is highly
regarded as a local delicacy and with the deer forced closer to human
habitations, they have become exposed. However, while at one end, there are
wantonly careless drivers who are mowing down hapless animals and opportunistic
poachers killing the animal for their meat, due recognition has to be accorded
to the efforts of wildlife guards and conservationists who have rescued and
saved stricken animals – deer, rhino and elephant calves, primates. I saw a news footage of
a herd of deer that had taken refuge at a football ground besides some cows contentedly munching grass, alongside a
group of village kids playing ball nonchalantly in the background.
The rhino featured in the pic here stopped traffic in the
busy national highway (NH 37) for almost half a day when it strayed out of
Kaziranga park, searching for shelter on the highway. Forest guards fired blank
rounds in the air in a bid to chase the rhino away into the adjoining hills. Even
as the guards’ efforts proved futile, the busy traffic on the highway slowly
and gingerly weaved its way forward under the watchful eyes of the foresters,
with the rhino being at times, hardly more than 20 feet away from some of the
vehicles. The rhino took its own sweet time however, in moving away from the
scene after some hours.
In the midst of all these – nature’s fury, tireless efforts
by wildlife personnel and the grimy acts of unscrupulous poachers – I hope and
pray that animal (and man) emerge from the present ordeal triumphantly stronger
and hopeful.