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Journalism of Courage
Animals that venture out from the wild often trigger discussions on the increasing human-animal conflict and one such video has now emerged from Kerala. This time, a sambar deer has been caught on camera approaching a store and munching on some snacks offered by a man. The large deer is found in the Indian subcontinent and in southeast Asia.
While netizens were taken aback on seeing the clip, Indian Forest Service officer Dr Samrat Gowda has raised grave concerns over wild animals getting used to human habitations.
The clip shared by Dr Gowda shows the sambar curiously entering the store and staring inside as onlookers intriguingly observe its actions. An elderly man standing beside the store is then seen waving his hand and asking the sambar to go to him.
Appearing to recognise the man’s gesture, the sambar moves towards him and gobbles up a snack he offered, which seems to be a vada. A second man is seen trying to pose next to the animal and get a photo clicked, while another person steps forward and offers the animal a cup of tea. However, the deer is not interested and the man throws it away. As the video draws to a close, man capturing the clip is heard saying in Malayalam, “This is a sambar deer which eats from a hotel in Puliyilappara next to Athirapilly.”
According to the video, the incident happened in Kerala’s Thrissur district. “If Sambar goes to local hotel what will they offer?? On a serious note wild animals getting used to human habitations is not a good sign…,” Dr Gowda captioned the clip. Since being shared on Friday, the video has amassed more than 7,000 views on Twitter.
While some users poked fun at the deer, others raised concerns over the human-animal conflict. A user commented, “Probably he is searching for some idli-vada.” Another user wrote, “Don’t see what choice the poor animals have, with humans destroying their natural habitats at such a frenzied pace.” A third user commented, “It’s not wild animals getting used to human habitations. Its us who encroached their habitats.”
