School students get lessons on avoiding big cats

IN the wake of the recent killing of a four-year-old Jharkhand girl by a leopard, the Tamil Nadu forest department has launched an awareness drive targeting school students on the risks posed by wildlife.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Coimbatore

During visits to schools, the department staff instruct students on the dos and don'ts while en route to their houses and near their houses. They advise students not to roam alone near their houses and near the bushes in the tea fields as there is a high chance of leopard movement and this would pose a risk. The staff bring with them a big cat toy.

Increasing awareness among school students to remain alert is a key step in mitigating human-leopard conflict as there are no mechanisms in place to get alerts on leopards well before their movement, unlike those on wild elephants.

M Suresh Krishnan, Valparai Forest Range Officer, said, "Usually, we create awareness among the residents of labour quarters and directly approach the estates where we can get a large number of workers at one place. However, this is the first time we have started creating awareness among students during school hours. Out of the eight schools in the Valparai town we have created awareness drives in a couple of middle schools. We will be holding a similar programme in the coming weeks and it will be extended to the estate areas too."