First, a leopard escaped a zoo in Bangalore to take shelter in a school where, mercifully, it was spotted by its close-circuit cameras before the opening of the educational institution after the weekend closure. It was no easy job for the team that was sent to capture the big cat. At one point, the feline attacked a cameraman who accompanied the rescue team. However, it took 10 long hours to capture the animal. The police said that it took this long because the rescue party waited for the tranquiliser to take its full effect.Â
Then an elephant arrived in Dhaka city unannounced. The police had a real tough task in their hands. They did not take any risk with the largest land animal. A crisis call was issued for the forest department people to tackle the pachyderm. The team from the forest department too was hardly experienced in dealing with such an animal in small hours. Credit surely goes to the forest officials for herding the uncanny visitor out of harms way. They tranquilised the behemoth to successfully overhaul it on a truck before releasing in the Gazipur Safari Park.Â
In the latest such incident at least two lionesses have escaped a park and are thought to be stealthily roaming in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. A public notice has been issued in order to avoid any confrontation with the most dangerous members of the cat family.Â
In the Bangalore case, six people were left injured by the leopard attack. A follow-up story indicates that the leopard escaped once again. As for the modern-day mammoth that chose to visit Bangladesh capital, there is no confirmation if it was wild or tamed. The Kenyan capital will be more at risk because of the lionesses' aggression.Â
Now what brings the wild animals to the busiest of places when all animals prefer to stay away from humans? Has unrelenting encroachment on habitats of wild animals proved too much for them? They are no longer ready to tolerate the continued attempt to draw boundaries further to the shrinkage of animal kingdom. In Nairobi, this is most evident and it is not for the first time that lions have escaped the nearby safari park to enter the city. In fact the sprawling city has already occupied some areas of the animals' abode and their migration routes.Â
The Sunderbans and many such forests will amply testify to the clash of man versus wild animals. What was once a pristine expanse of verdant green has been turned barren by man. Human civilisation hardly knows where to stop and preserve not just the sanctity of Nature but also the future of mankind. It is because of this, the planet is growing abnormally warmer with ecological convulsions becoming so inevitable.Â
The film King Kong captures some of the rage animals feel when they are cornered by mindless men. What if all animals unleashed their rage on humans and exacted revenge for the wrongs done to them? On that count, the animals have suffered much and tolerated still more. It is time man restrained his demand and cared for other species on the survival of which mostly depends his existence on this planet.
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