While environmentalists and nature lovers are worrying over the escalating death rates of the animals of the wild, illegal tourism carried out by estate lessees in Valparai is fast becoming a major threat to the wildlife of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).

Starting from the setting up of unlicensed resorts to taking visitors on night tours, estate lessees are more than playing a bad trump card, with the alleged support of the local officials, right inside the tiger reserve.

Valparai, one of the ranges in the ATR, is home to various larger mammals including the tigers, leopards, elephants, gaurs, wild dogs, Sambar deer, and spotted deer. Smaller mammals like the mongoose and reptiles too coexist with members of other species on these pristine hills, with dense forest landscapes that are interrupted by the estate plantations in the area.

Venturing of wild animals into human habitations is a common occurrence in Valparai as the town itself is surrounded by the core and buffer area of the ATR. Making use of the wildlife presence in the area, and exploiting the region’s lack of contact with the outside world (since the area comes under a Tiger Reserve, which is one of the most protected forests), estate tenants have illegally started taking tourists for treks and night safaris, and providing them with lodging facilities inside estates, which is very much against the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949.

According to sources, estate lessees charge up to Rs.5000 from tourists for a night’s stay in the containers converted into lodges, and more than Rs.3000 per person to go on night safaris inside the thick jungles. Tourists are also allowed to get drunk in the estate premises, where animals roam freely during the nights.

Sources also allege that some tenants trap animals using high power electric fences inside the estates, and if the animals are killed by electrocution, they are reportedly disposed of without informing the forest officials.

Reacting to the issue, K. Mohan Raj, a Coimbatore-based environmentalist, said that officials should conduct regular checks in the area as such unlicensed resorts and tourist activities are not only a violation, but could also tend to tamper the wildness of the area.

“The estates were leased for a long term only for growing coffee, and not for tourism and trekking. Strict actions should be taken,” he said.

When the Covai Post tried reaching officials from the ATR regarding the issue, they were not available for comments.