Black panther movement in MM Hills highlights need to protect wildlife corridor

The sighting of a black panther, earlier documented in the BRT Tiger Reserve in the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Division, has brought to the fore the necessity of protecting a narrow forest corridor, connecting the two protected areas amid increasing traffic on a road that intersects them.

Experts noted that regulating the traffic on the Kollegal-Hasanur Road, which connects several villages and tribal hamlets in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was a key factor which will determine the future of wildlife conservation in the two reserves.

The melanistic leopard appeared in the camera traps set by wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi and his team of Holematthi Nature Foundation in the BRT Reserve as well as PG Palya range of the MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. It was first documented in the Forest Department’s camera traps in August 2020. With this, the black panther has been found in all the five tiger reserves.

Gubbi said a narrow forest corridor of 1.6 km connects BRT Tiger Reserve and MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. “The documentation of this black leopard in both these protected areas further highlights the importance that the corridor is critical and needs to be conserved. The Kollegal-Hasanur Road (SH-38) passes through this narrow wildlife corridor and the vehicular traffic poses a significant threat to the wildlife and obstructs the movement of large mammals.”

A previous study by Gubbi had noted that one leopard is killed in road accidents every three months in Karnataka. As a result, efforts were made to install vehicle-slowing infrastructure on the stretch of the road passing through the 1.6 km forest corridor. However, rumblings fixed in the area were illegally removed by private transport operators.

BRT Tiger Reserve Director Santhoshkumar G said he was aware of the issue.