A pilgrim's walk from Alipiri to Tirumala in Metlu (steps) turned out to be a great mothing session. There were a lot of Callitera thwaitesii moths resting in the steps. Indian giant squirrels were abundant and they sometimes come down to shop keepers to steal fruits. Sambars, Spotted Deers and Indian Boars are other common wild animals to watch out for.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) is the administrative authority of this eastern ghats range, which does a very good job in pilgrim service. But there is a dire need for TTD to put more boards with accurate descriptions of birds and animals that can be seen in the adjacent forests. Also this can be a transformed into a good place to educate people on wildlife, putting up signs like "Dont feed animals" etc.

As far as I have noticed, AP forest department doesn't care much about wildlife in Tirumala because there are pictures of foreign birds being drawn there to represent birds residing in the forest. They should up their efforts in Tirumala, and bring more initiatives to instill wildlife awareness.

Posted on April 18, 2022 03:40 AM by amarbharathy