Man-animal strife: Seeking answers in the bountiful repository of tribal wisdom

Forest dept, KFRI collaborate with communities for valuable info

- ANIL S @T'Puram

Did you know that stones pelted by women don't scare away monkeys or that bears that return to a spot three-four times suggest that they are feeling threatened and are likely to attack? That one can read elephant behaviour from the manner in which it folds its trunk or sways its ears? That rotten sardines can keep animals away?

Such seemingly obscure nuggets of information have long been part of tribal wisdom. Cashing in on this, a rich repository of traditional tribal wisdom is being documented in the state as part of the collaborative effort of the state forest department and the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).

The project has assumed greater importance at a time when Kerala has been witnessing an increase in human-wildlife conflict; and its widespread ramifications—both social and political—are being felt across the state.

Pushed to the wall, the forest department came up with the novel initiative to tap into the traditional wisdom of forest-dwelling communities that have long lived in peaceful coexistence with wildlife. The fact that a few indigenous people also lost their lives in recent attacks has made it all the more pertinent to cash in on such indigenous knowledge that is part and parcel of tribal lives.