Booby traps boomerang

Trapped animals turn violent, wildlife menace bothers locals of Ilam, Panchthar

ILAM, Sept 14: The use of traditional booby traps by the locals of northern Ilam and Panchthar districts to control menacing wild animals has backfired, threatening their own lives rather than fending off the troublemaking fauna.

The wild animals that enter the buffer zone and destroy crops and vegetables often turn violent after getting into traps set up by the village folks and resort to attacking them out of desperation.

Sixty-two-year old Ghanshyam Thebe, who lives in a settlement bordering a dense forest of Piple in Jamuna VDC of Ilam, got severely attacked by a wild boar on Saturday morning after the enraged boar managed to free itself after getting struck in a net.

"I went to see the net I had kept to catch the wild boar the previous day. When I tried to take control of the boar, it just jumped over me suddenly and injured me," said Thebe.

He was rushed to a nearby health post and then transferred to a district hospital due to the severity of the case. He lost two fingers on his right hand during the attack.

Locals of buffer zones surrounding several jungle areas of Ilam and Panchthar have adopted traditional methods of using nets to catch wild animals to protect their crops. They took the initiative on their own after the concerned authorities turned a blind eye to the growing animal menace they have been facing of late.

However, their method has not been quite helpful. The locals have noticed that the wild animals turn far more violent when they are trapped in nets, leaving them terrified and confused on how to control the wild beasts' menace.

The fear of wild animals has recently displaced about 26 families of Jouwari and Ingla of northern Ilam, according to a local, Umesh Gurung. The people were forced to leave their home after the wild animals destroyed all their corps and posed threat to their life.

"Besides boars, bears, deers and rabbits also destroy crops in our village. The animals have taken away our source of living," said Gurung.

Villagers of Maimajhuwa, Puwamajhuwa, Pyang, Chamaita, Jogmai, Mawu, Nayabazar, Gorkhe have also been affected by the animal menace.

Ram Rimal from Nayabazar VDC said that the locals started to use traps after being fed up with the animals destroying their corps. He added that the move was like digging up their own graves as the animals have started to attack them.

"We have no option but to look helplessly at our crops being destroyed. We are not allowed to hunt openly and setting up of traps have boomeranged," said Rimal.

Rimal recalled that two locals - Khadga Rai and Ashok Shrestha - had been attacked by wild boars a year ago. Ashok had lost two fingers in the attack.

According to Rimal, the boars destroy anything from potatoes to cardamom grown in the farm.

As forests are being increasingly encroached upon, human-animal conflict issues have been increasing in the areas affecting both locals and the animals.

Harka Singh Rai of Jogmai-3 had a life-threatening attack by a bear a few years ago. He was attacked right on his face while he was on his way to the market.

His son Budha Bir Rai said that although they spent Rs 400,000 for his father's operation at BP Koirala Health Institute in Dharan, he has not yet recovered fully.

"He lost one of his eyes and his facial skin will never be normal again," he added.

He also shared his grievances regarding not getting any compensation from the concerned authorities.

Furthermore, other two locals of Bangin and Manedanda had also got injured in wild boar attacks last year. Although the locals have been plagued by the attacks, the District Police Office has no records of such cases.

Sub Inspector Manish Thapa of the DPO said that such information can be obtained from nearby police posts.