Frost effect: Nilgiris, Valparai turn grey

The vast swathes of grassland and green foliage inside the dense forests of the Nilgiris and Valparai hills are drying up fast, thanks to heavy frost in the region over the last three weeks.

The situation is so worse that the lush green trees and shrubs in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, which is home to several tigers, present a barren look.

While it is common knowledge that the greenery is lost to frost during winter months every year, environmentalists say its effect has been more pronounced this year, as the temperature has dipped like never before.

The average minimum night temperature in the Nilgiris has been hovering around 4 degrees Celsius since December lastyear, with certain pockets of the hills even recording sub-zero temperatures.

This has resulted in a shortage of fodder for animals much ahead of the summer season.

“The animals will suffer due to shortage of food. They even tend to become lean during these dry months. But it is nothing to be worried about, as they will gain their original vigour once the green cover gets rejuvenated due to rain,” said K Kalidas of Osai, an environmental NGO.

According to K Mohan Raj of Tamil Nadu Green Movement, “The animals will shift to regions where there is better availability of fodder. They even move towards swamps in grasslands, where there is food, and try to adapt by making changes in their consumption pattern,” he said.

Mohan Raj, however, said that there is no need for any sort of human intervention either by creating fodder banks or waterholes for animals as it may trigger a human-animal conflict.

“When an artificial water source is created, the animals particularly elephants stay nearby, and may constantly raid the farms which abutt the forest cover,” he said.

When contacted, Forest Department officials admitted that there is heavy frost.

“However, it has not impacted the animals. There is still some green cover and not all of them have dried up. There is enough fodder available in the forest for the animals,” said an official from Mukurthi National Park.