Three men were killed in an attack by a wild buffalo in Erumeli of Kerala's Kottayam district on Friday, May 19. The deceased have been identified as Chacko (65) and Thomas (60), neighbours in Erumeli, and Samuel Varghese (65) in Idamulaikkal. While Chackochen died instantly, Thomas passed away when he was undergoing treatment at Kottayam Medical College. Varghese was rushed to a private hospital, but he succumbed to injuries.
Chackochen was reading a newspaper at his house on Friday, when a wild buffalo attacked him, killing him on the spot. Thomas, who lived next door to Chackochen, was also attacked by the same buffalo, and despite fighting for his life at the Kottayam Medical College hospital, succumbed to injuries.
Outraged by the attack and the deaths, local residents assembled in large numbers and blamed forest officials for their alleged callousness in tackling the problem. Angry protesters took to the main road and blocked traffic. "Just as people live peacefully in towns and cities, we too have the right to live peacefully. In yesteryears, our forefathers used to ensure that adequate food was there for the wild animals. Such a mechanism is not there now and hence the wild animals stray into human settlement areas," said an angry local resident.
Forest Minister AK Saseendran has announced that special squads will be set up under Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) in these regions, and the families of the deceased will be provided the necessary support.
Anto Antony, the Congress MP of the area, said, "This is a sad state of affairs. There seems to be no action on genuine problems by the authorities. Two lives have gone, and if lives of human beings have no value, then what's the use of a government? Steps should be taken to tackle this issue," said Antony, suggesting that the animals should be culled if needed.
The wild buffalo is listed under Schedule I of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which protects it from being poached or killed. However, the Act mentions that if such an animal becomes dangerous to human life, the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) is allowed to give permission to hunt it, and even order for it to be killed if satisfied that it cannot be captured, tranquilised or translocated. The wild buffalo is also listed as endangered in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Another similar episode was recently reported in Thrissur, where a wild buffalo strayed into a residential area, but no untoward incident occurred as the animal was chased away. Of late, human-animal conflict in Kerala, especially in the areas bordering forests, has increased, and the local residents have taken to protests demanding solutions from the government.
