Domestic and wild animals can negatively impact forests in several ways: Domestic animals like cattle can overgraze and damage forest regeneration. They also spread diseases and invasive weeds. Wild herbivores such as elephants, monkeys, and deer feed on and damage valuable tree species. Rodents and wild boars destroy seedlings by gnawing bark and uprooting plants. Control methods include trenches, electric fencing, and scaring animals away with noises to protect forests and allow regeneration.

1. Effect of domestic and wild
animals on forest

2. Effect of domestic animals :
Spreads certain diseases to wild animals.
Spreads new weed species to forest from farm land or main land, by carrying
the seed along with their body.
Grazing on forest regeneration which affects the forest productivity.
Shortage of grasses for wild angulates due to intensive grazing.
Habitat detoriation due to grazing behind carrying capacity.
Habitat disturbance for wild angulates.
INTRODUCTION :
In india lot of importance given to cattle wealth. Domestic animals enter the
forest mainly for grazing. This causes too many adverse consequences to forest
and wild animals
According to nation commission on agriculture and national forest policy
there should be an equal balance between agriculture , forestry in order to keep
requirement of fodder more effectively.

3. Case study :

4. Effect Of Wild Animals
Several wild animals can causes some damages to forests , especially so with
wild herbivorous who by their nature feed on plants and may eventually harm
some plants which are valuable.
A. Damages caused by Carnivores
Tigers and Chethas can scratch on trees like to sharp their nails or
to mark their territory demarcation . But that is just superficial and may not
cause any notable damages .
B. Damages caused by Herbivores
I. Damages caused by Elephants
II. Damages caused by Monkeys And Black Beer
III. Damages caused by Wild Buffalo And Gaur
IV. Damages caused by Porcupine And Rodents
V. Damages caused by Chital, Sambar, Nilgai
VI. Damages caused by Wild Pigs
VII. Damages caused by Birds

5. Elephants :
An adult elephant can feed on about 270kg
fodder per day (oliver 1986)
 elephants need fodder equivalent to 1.5% of
body weight in dry season
Browsing more important for elephant during
dry season
53-83% of elephant food from C3 plants (
browse and bamboo ) in T.N-Karnataka border
region
In T.N-Karnataka border region Malvales and
Leguminous plants are predominated in
elephant browse ( Sukumar 1989 )

6. Damages caused by elephants :
Tusk bromming ( rubbing of elephant tusk over a main stem ), bark of the sal and
Artocarpus is stripped off upto 12-15m.
 Uprooting/breaking of trees , poles of certain fodder species are uprooted after feeding by
them.
 they crush regeneration under their feet during course of activities like walking, resting,
sleeping etc.
 in addition to above they also cause damage to telephone lines .
Control measures :
 Digging of Elephant proof trenches : it is 2-2.5mtr wide at top and 1-1.5mtr
wide at bottom with 2mtr deep.
 Electric wire fencing with punctuated electric current flowing through the
fence which is effective , easy , cheap and shiftable.
 Rehabitation of degraded forest is necessary so as to improve the fodder
availabiity within the forest
 Using drums , firing crackers or guns is usefull in scattering of elephants
temporarily

8. Case study :

9. Monkeys and Black beer
 Monkeys eats fruits and seed of many edible species inside the
forests like fruits of Garcinia indica.
In one way it reduces regeneration of certain plant species and in
another way it helps seed dispersal of several species.
Bears can cause extensive damage to trees, especially in second-
growth forests, by feeding on the inner bark or clawing the bark
to leave territorial markings, this adversely influences the plant
growth and make vulnerable to pest and disease attack.
The major sap sucking species by black beer is deodar, Pinus
wulchiana and Picea morinda.
Black bears damage orchards by breaking trees and branches in
attempts to reach fruit. They often return to an orchard nightly.
Control measues :
 They can be scared and dispersed away by firing guns , brusting
crackers , beating drums

11. Case study :

12. Damages caused by wild buffalo and gaur :
Damges caused by wild buffalo and gaur
to the forest is limited
Gaur strip bark off Acrocarpus fraxinifolia
and browse on seedlings of Artocarpus
hirsutus , Dalbergia latifolia , Pterocarpus
marsupium.
Wild buffaloes also browse on seedlings ,
both can cause mechanical damage to
plants
Control measers like cattle proof
trenches , electric wire fences is effective.

13. Case study :

14. Damages caused by rodents :
Rodents include porcupine , rats , squirrels .
They have chisel-edged incisor teeth with which they cut bark,
root and even wood .
Porcupine cut off khair seedlings and girdling the bigger trees
Rats and mice eats the bamboo seedlings after gregarious
flowering.
Rats barrow holes below the tree sometimes it may cause
death of the tree.
Control measures :
Porcupine-proof fence and regular day to day inspection of the
fence or fences with underground wire.
Cyano-gassing porcupine in their barrows.
Poisioning with baits for rats .
Presence of Natural enemies like cat , dogs , mangoos etc

15. Case study :
• The grey squirrel was introduced into Ireland at Castle
Forbs in Co. Longford in 1911.
• The grey squirrel causes severe damage to commercial
broadleaved plantations through stripping bark on
branches and main stems as the crops pass from
thicket to pole stage. Multiple forking of the main
stem can occur as a result of the tree top dying back.
• Control measures currently consist of shooting,
trapping and using hoppers baited with cereals treated
with the chemical pesticide warfarin
Grey squirrel – a serious pest of
broadleaf plantations

16. Damages caused by the wild boar :
Wildboar are omnivorous and they feeds on root and
tubers of many edible plants. This exposes the roots and
reduces the growth of plants or results in mortality of
plants.
Eat germinating sal seedlings and uproot them , also
girdles the deodar.
In the Himalaya , besides damaging regeneration by
digging , they girdle deodar and cypress trees.
They can dig out complete lines of plants in plantations
and thus creating gap.
They can damage bamboo plantation to feed on rhizomes.
They can dig out seedligs, trying to feed on succulent root.
Control measures :
 Porcupine fences and firing gun are useful in reducing the
problems

18. Case study :

19. Damages caused by chital, sambar and nilgai :
These are herbivores that graze and damages to
seedlings and pole.
These animals feed on young shoots of sal , thus
killing them or arresting their growth.
They rub their antler against poles and exposes
cambium, this enhances the possibility of
pathogen attack.
They also strip bark off sal, chukrasses etc.
Deer feed on tender shoots of Chlorxylon
swietenia , Dalbergia latifolia , Pterocarpus
marsupium, Albizzia lebback , Morus laevigata
and young sandal , Hopea .

20. Case study :

21. Damages caused by birds :
The birds eats seeds sown in the seedbed that reduces the seedlings.
Seedbed can be covered with nets. This can be controlled by the
usage of scarce crow and firing of blank cartridges or crackers.