‘Unregulated wildlife photography tours in Kotagiri putting humans, animals at risk’

In Udhagamandalam, demand for wildlife photography has led to unregulated operators offering "experiences" for a fee. This has caused problems for the Forest Dept. as these operators use recorded birdcalls to lure wildlife out, and charge more for rare animals. Conservationists fear this could lead to animals being disturbed or attacked. The Forest Dept. has warned these operators and issued notices that they will be charged under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Following the success of nature documentaries filmed in the Nilgiris, the demand from amateur photographers to capture images and footage of wildlife and landscapes from the district has increased exponentially. This has led to the proliferation of operators promising “wildlife experiences” across the Nilgiris who charge photographers steep prices to document wildlife.

However, the unregulated commercialisation of photographing the Nilgiris’ wildlife has led to huge problems for the Forest Department, which has begun acting against the operators of such unregulated photography tours.

One amateur photographer, who was part of one such group which operates out of Kotagiri recently, said that the recordings of the calls of rare and endemic birds are used by the operators to lure these species out into the open where they can be easily photographed. “The ethics of using such recorded birdcalls has been a matter of great debate among photographers, while these groups also use camera traps to get images and videos of wildlife,” said the photographer, who requested anonymity.

The rates charged by these operators also varies, based on the rarity of the animal that they get as guests to photograph, say forest staff from the region. “Most of these groups operate out of Kotagiri. If the operators successfully track down a leopard, they charge many thousands of rupees from their clients,” said a forest staff who did not wish to be named. There are even reports that a chance to photograph a melanistic leopard could cost photographers in excess of ₹5,000.

This incentivises getting clients as close as possible to potentially dangerous wildlife, such as leopards, tigers, elephants and sloth bear, say conservationists who add that these disturbances could also have huge impact on the wildlife that is being photographed.

“For instance, if these people get too close to a leopard or a sloth bear, which could be with cubs, this could lead to the animal getting spooked and either abandoning the cubs or attacking people,” a forest staff told The Hindu.

Following complaints from wildlife activists and conservationists across the region, the Nilgiris forest division has begun clamping down on these operators. District Forest Officer (Nilgiris division), S. Gowtham, said that the forest department has been aware of the issue of private, unregulated wildlife photography tour operators. for the last month.