<p>Any discussion on urban wildlife in Bengaluru inevitably requires the presence of a senior representative of the Forest Department. But when Sanjai Mohan, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), took on the task, he found himself in the lion’s den.</p>.<p>At a panel discussion on ‘Living With the Wild’ on Saturday, Mohan defended the department following accusations of “insensitivity” by the city-based environmentalist Leo Saldanha and BJP parliamentarian Maneka Gandhi, who placed him in the spotlight over several issues.</p>.<p>While Maneka, who sat in the audience during the discussion, interjected to point instances of egregious actions or neglect by the department towards wildlife, she took a particularly hard stance on a recent order issued by the department to relocate all monkeys from the city.</p>.<p>“Kindly withdraw the monkey relocation order, chief. Crores have been spent relocating monkeys but they always come back,” she said, pointing out that a move by Himachal Pradesh to reduce the monkey population through sterilisation had backfired by creating troops of hyper-aggressive monkeys while costing the exchequer Rs 600 crore.</p>.<p>The mood became more combative when Saldanha of the Environment Support Group, raised the issue of an elephant being fatally struck by a train in Rajabhatkhowa, West Bengal, as a sign of society’s belief that wildlife has to follow human rules.</p>.<p>“That train did not belong there. The Forest Department needs to be educated about its lack of sensitivity. They have this belief that elephants will follow human rules,” he said.</p>.<p>Mohan responded that the department is a sensitive organisation. “We had a wildlife board meeting just two days ago. We should appreciate the addition of two PAs. Coming to urban wildlife, I have been wildlife warden for the last eight months and every day, there are hundreds of requests for snake rescues — but where is the habitat? I am concerned about snakes and monkeys. These cases are high,” he said.</p>.<p>Nagesh Manay, a trustee in the NGO People for Animals (PFA), which organised the discussion, pointed out the city has seen a decrease of animals which play a major role in keeping the city disease-free and green. PFA’s data shows that palm squirrels, bonnet macaques, rose-ringed parakeets and insects help with pollination. Owls, frogs, snakes, lizards, kites and spiders, deal with disease vectors such as mosquitoes, rodents and organic waste.</p>.<p>“If you remove wildlife from the city, you will lose all your flowers and trees, and your air,” Maneka said.</p>
<p>Any discussion on urban wildlife in Bengaluru inevitably requires the presence of a senior representative of the Forest Department. But when Sanjai Mohan, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), took on the task, he found himself in the lion’s den.</p>.<p>At a panel discussion on ‘Living With the Wild’ on Saturday, Mohan defended the department following accusations of “insensitivity” by the city-based environmentalist Leo Saldanha and BJP parliamentarian Maneka Gandhi, who placed him in the spotlight over several issues.</p>.<p>While Maneka, who sat in the audience during the discussion, interjected to point instances of egregious actions or neglect by the department towards wildlife, she took a particularly hard stance on a recent order issued by the department to relocate all monkeys from the city.</p>.<p>“Kindly withdraw the monkey relocation order, chief. Crores have been spent relocating monkeys but they always come back,” she said, pointing out that a move by Himachal Pradesh to reduce the monkey population through sterilisation had backfired by creating troops of hyper-aggressive monkeys while costing the exchequer Rs 600 crore.</p>.<p>The mood became more combative when Saldanha of the Environment Support Group, raised the issue of an elephant being fatally struck by a train in Rajabhatkhowa, West Bengal, as a sign of society’s belief that wildlife has to follow human rules.</p>.<p>“That train did not belong there. The Forest Department needs to be educated about its lack of sensitivity. They have this belief that elephants will follow human rules,” he said.</p>.<p>Mohan responded that the department is a sensitive organisation. “We had a wildlife board meeting just two days ago. We should appreciate the addition of two PAs. Coming to urban wildlife, I have been wildlife warden for the last eight months and every day, there are hundreds of requests for snake rescues — but where is the habitat? I am concerned about snakes and monkeys. These cases are high,” he said.</p>.<p>Nagesh Manay, a trustee in the NGO People for Animals (PFA), which organised the discussion, pointed out the city has seen a decrease of animals which play a major role in keeping the city disease-free and green. PFA’s data shows that palm squirrels, bonnet macaques, rose-ringed parakeets and insects help with pollination. Owls, frogs, snakes, lizards, kites and spiders, deal with disease vectors such as mosquitoes, rodents and organic waste.</p>.<p>“If you remove wildlife from the city, you will lose all your flowers and trees, and your air,” Maneka said.</p>
