Latest news with #AnamalaiTigerReserve


Time of India
02-08-2025
- Time of India
Tribal man's death in Udumalpet: Forester, watcher suspended
P Marimuthu COIMBATORE: A forester and a watcher have been placed under suspension following a tribal man's custodial death at the Udumalpet forest range office. Deputy director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (Tirupur forest division) B Rajesh suspended forester Nimal and watcher Senthilkumar on Friday. P Marimuthu, 58, of Melgurumalai tribal settlement in Udumalpet was found dead in a toilet at the forest range office in the early hours of Thursday. He was detained by forest officers at Chinnar checkpost on Wednesday evening while he was going to Munnar, where he runs a provision store. He was held for allegedly possessing a leopard's tooth. On Thursday morning, a statement from the Udumalpet forest department stated that Marimuthu hanged himself in a toilet on the forest office premises. However, the family members of Marimuthu found the circumstances suspicious and lodged a complaint with the Udumalpet police. The police registered a custodial death case. A judicial inquiry began on Friday. Judicial magistrate T Nithyakala inspected Marimuthu's body at the Tirupur Government Hospital mortuary. Marimuthu's wife Pandeeswari said, "Injuries were observed on his body, including on the head, arms, and neck. A case should be registered against those involved under the SC & ST Act." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !


The Hindu
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Book on snake awareness and bite prevention released in Coimbatore
The Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT) has brought out a 28-page educational publication titled 'Knowing Snakes and Making Coimbatore Snakebite-Free', aimed at enhancing public understanding of snakes and promoting coexistence through scientifically grounded information. The book was formally released on Monday at the Coimbatore Collectorate by District Collector Pawankumar G. Giriyappanavar; Venkatesh, Field Director, Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle; former District Forest Officer Badhrasamy; and Forest Range Officer Thirumurugan. M. Sirajdeen, coordinator of WNCT and author of the book, told The Hindu the book provided information on the 'big four' venomous snakes, visual identification methods, first response after a snakebite, and measures to minimise encounters, particularly in residential and agricultural settings. It also included safety protocols for labourers under the 100-day employment scheme, who were more vulnerable to snakebites. 'Our outreach will prioritise rural communities and educational institutions,' he said. 'While human-wildlife conflict often centres on large mammals, snakebites cause nearly 50,000 deaths annually in India. This book aims to bridge knowledge gaps, reduce fear, and highlight the ecological importance of snakes.' The book, currently available in Tamil, will be distributed free of cost to government libraries, Primary Health Centres, and schools. An English edition is planned. WNCT intends to expand the initiative across Tamil Nadu following its rollout in Coimbatore.


New Indian Express
19-07-2025
- New Indian Express
ATR sniffer dog Bairava hit by TNSTC bus near office in Pollachi, dies
COIMBATORE: Bairava, a sniffer dog attached to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), died in a road accident on Meenkarai Road in Pollachi on Saturday morning. At around 7.10 am, the four-year-old dog was on a regular practice session (walking exercise) with his trainer, within the Deputy Director of ATR office, when a group of stray dogs gathered outside the office. Bairava was chasing the stray dogs when a TNSTC bus passing the Pollachi-Meenkarai road hit him. The dog died on the spot. Bairava was instrumental in tracing the body of a four-year-old Jharkhand-native girl who was killed by a leopard and left behind between tea bushes after 17 hours of searching plantations in Pachamalai near Valparai. The dog also helped in tracing the accused in a tusk poaching case.

New Indian Express
17-07-2025
- New Indian Express
AI cameras, drones to track leopards in Valparai, Manombolly
COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu Forest Department is taking efforts to minimise leopard attacks in the Valparai region. Two children have been killed here in the last one-and-a-half years, the latest victim being a four-year-old girl in an estate at Pachamalai last month. Officials of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) are working out a plan to overcome the current difficulties in identifying the big cat. Currently, the people are well aware of the elephant movement through early warning systems like SMS as well as Whatsapp messages and the use of high-mast lights. As per the plan, Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras will be set up at vulnerable places on a trial basis. After the camera detects the movement of a big cat, an alert message will be sent to the range officer and the forest beat officer concerned. Subsequently, the team will be deployed in the area to trace the animal using a thermal drone. Human deaths due to wild elephant attacks have ben curbed over the last decade in the Valparai region by adopting these measures. "The plan is in the proposal stage, and it will be implemented after consultation with all the stakeholders and getting a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) since the incidents of wild elephants getting killed by trains are averted with the help of AI cameras at the Madukkarai forest range in the Coimbatore forest division," said a senior official of the ATR.


New Indian Express
22-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Bid to sell elephant tusks foiled, five arrested near Valparai
COIMBATORE: Officials of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) arrested five persons, including two temporary staff of the Tamil forest department, on charges of trying to sell two elephant tusks at Thaimudi Estate near Valparai on Saturday. The arrested persons are Manikandan (47), Raja (39) and Devabala (45) of Thaimudi Estate. The temporary staff of the forest department are Premdass (29) and Raman (35). A car used for transporting tusks was seized. "The length of the tusks is more than five feet. Manikandan retrieved the tusks from a dead elephant in the reserve forest in Valparai. Four others, including our temporary staff, helped him. We arrested them after we got a tip-off that they were trying to sell the tusks. Manikandan is the mastermind. He was involved in a similar poaching case," said a forest official. Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the official said: "Manikandan lured the temporary forest staff by offering to pay them a good amount after a deal on the sale of tusks. He asked them to inform him about elephant deaths. They obliged and alerted them about an elephant death. Thereafter, they took away the tusks from the carcass of the elephant. This likely occurred a few months ago. We are also investigating the involvement of others." The arrest of the temporary staff will be a lesson for other staff and will help prevent such incidents in the future," the official noted.