In Kodagu, a deer was spotted eating a plastic cover in the forest. The district sees many tourists, who often discard plastic garbage on the roads near forest, leading to wildlife ingesting it.Heart breaking image of deer chewing plastic is the proof we have failed our fellow creatures. Humans have made living conditions hell for the wildlife. This image reveals the deer in the forest trying to eat the plastic cover, for want of food leftovers, discarded by the tourists in the forest areas of Kodagu. The boom in tourism activities in Kodagu has ended up generating a lot of plastic waste. Sadly, the waste discarded by the tourists are fed upon by the wild animals, without realising that the plastic waste will be detrimental to their lives. With the dumping of garbage on the forest boundaries by local bodies too, has become a serious issue that will have the animals attracted to the garbage. What we leave behind in our wilderness impacts all living things in many ways. This forces these herbivores to munch on plastic which in turn results in their death due to stomach bloating. Over tourism not only hurts Kodagu in terms of traffic, plastic pollution, mushrooming of unregistered homestays, but has largely affected the wild too. Every person who does not dispose of their garbage responsibly is at fault here. We need to start taking responsibility of our actions, although we might already be too late. Implementing strict rules prohibiting tourists from stopping along forest roads can help preserve the natural environment and wildlife, prevent accidents and ensure safety of both tourists and ecosystem. Such rules could include designated stopping areas or fines for unauthorized stops to discourage this behavior. Additionally educational campaigns could be launched to raise awareness about the importance of respecting these rules for the conservation of forest and wildlife.
Dear tourists, next time you take a drive into Coorg, make sure you don’t throw a packet of chips or cans of aerated drinks to the wild animals that longingly look at you along the route. You could be turning them into junk food addicts. The increasing footfall of tourists seems to be affecting animals in the wild. The image which surfaced on social media says it all.
