The chat room: Problem is with people, not animals

One of the prominent tiger and wildlife experts in the country, Dr K. Ullas Karanth, Director, Science-Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), speaks to Joyeeta Chakravorty about big cats, in the light of lions attacking safari vehicles at the Bannerghatta Biological Park over the last few months

“The problem usually has more to do with the people, the visitors or those who manage facilities like these, than with the animals. If big cats are fed meat by throwing it from vehicles instead of being fed away from the exhibit areas, then they associate vehicles with food. But then, I would not like to comment without knowing much about the specific incident and what preceded it," said Dr Karanth.

Luckily, none of the visitors were injured. But what is surprising is that it is the second time that the same vehicle was attacked. According to the videos shared, the vehicle was not a safari bus, but a Toyota Innova, a luxury SUV meant for those who pay higher fares. "If anyone had gotten out of the car it would have been a real disaster," he stressed.

Dr Karanth made it clear that the lions were not at all at fault.  "We cannot attribute 'fault' to animals, which have no reasoning power. There has to be something that clearly aggravated the lions," he said.

The minute-long video shows two lions following the car closely for quite some distance. While one of the animals tries to cross before the vehicle after pursuing it, another climbs onto it and bites the rear glass. The vehicle is then seen proceeding along the track, with the lions moving away and not pursuing it.

Santosh Kumar, BBP executive director, had said that the attack took place on January 28 or 29 and the driver was clearly at fault and that he should not have stopped the car, which he probably did to please the visitors. When asked whether the action taken by Bannerghatta authorities was right, Dr Karanth said, "I am not aware of the details, so cannot comment."

Speaking about the safety rules, Dr Karanth, who has won several prestigious awards, including g the Sierra Club's International Earth Care award (2006), World Wildlife Fund's J. Paul Getty Award, Sanctuary Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) and Bombay Natural History Society's Salim Ali National Award for Conservation (2008), said, "I am sure there are safety rules in existence in similar zoo safaris elsewhere. These would pertain to distance, access, prevention of people getting out and the like. I am not aware of the details but a good zoo manager would know."

He said, "People should be quiet, should not get out of vehicles or put their hands out and try to touch and feed the animals." Asked whether sanctuaries are the real answer to seeing the wild up close, he said, "This Bannerghatta Park is a safari with captive, artificially fed animals. It is not a wildlife sanctuary. Well-managed zoos and parks do allow people to see wild animals that are difficult and expensive to see in the wild. They have some educational value if managed properly. They are not meant for thrill seeking, as it often becomes under poor management.  The ill-informed, uncontrolled behaviour of visitors is the biggest problem in our parks and zoos."

But aren't these animals disturbed by constant attention at such parks? "These are captive-bred animals which are used to people. It should not be a problem," he summed up.