The WTI is planning to acquire 365 acres farmland adjoining the Grizzled Wildlife Sanctuary at Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu, to begin with.
This area was declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1989 with the aim of securing the habitat of the squirrels.
The grizzled giant squirrel is becoming extinct in India mainly because the man-squirrel conflict.
Endemic to the Western Ghats in India, the grizzled giant squirrel is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Despite the protection accorded by the law, the squirrels are persecuted by farmers irked by crop damage caused by the animals.
The squirrels move out of the sanctuary in search of food like mangoes, jackfruits, tamarind and also coconuts. These trees are understandably more abundant in villages, and attract the squirrels. Hence they destroy the crops and incur loss for the farmers.
