Point Calimere Sanctuary is receiving thousands of litres of tanker water every day because drought has dried its wetlands, reduced natural drinking water for wildlife and disrupted one of Tamil Nadu’s important bird-arrival sites. The emergency response is keeping animals supplied, but it also shows how a wetland ecosystem is being forced to depend on a costly, temporary substitute for rainfall and groundwater.
There has been no rainfall in the region since February, according to Nagapattinam district forest officer D Rameshwaran, while temperatures have risen in conditions attributed to El Nino. Within the 21 sq km sanctuary, swamps, mudflats and salt marshes that normally retain water have dried up. Muniyappan lake, described as one of the largest water bodies and a key congregation point for wildlife and birds, has also dried up.
The sanctuary is a Ramsar site and a complex of habitats rather than a single lake or forest patch. It supports herbivores such as blackbucks, chital and black-naped hares; carnivores including golden jackals, monitor lizards, Indian grey mongooses and jungle cats; omnivores such as bonnet macaques, wild boar and small Indian civets; and frugivores such as the short-nosed fruit bat. The drying of water bodies therefore affects several parts of the food web at the same time.
The forest department’s immediate response has been to buy water from different sources, transport it by tanker and fill drinking troughs. About 20 drinking-water points serve wildlife in and around the sanctuary. Some locations have storage tanks, sumps and bore wells, but officials say the groundwater table has fallen. Plastic saucer-type tanks have also been placed at different locations, including along roadsides, and are filled with tanker deliveries of 15,000 litres.
This arrangement reveals the operational burden of managing drought inside a large and varied wetland landscape. Water has to be sourced, transported, stored and distributed repeatedly. The task is not limited to filling a tank once: forest staff must maintain access points, monitor consumption, manage evaporation and deal with contamination. A Joseph Daniel, Vedaranyam forest range officer, said heat causes water to evaporate quickly and that feral horses deposit large quantities of dung in the troughs.
The feral horses are central to the sanctuary’s water demand. They are neither native to the sanctuary nor classified as wildlife, but hundreds live in the area. A sanctuary staffer said an adult feral horse needs about 40 litres of water a day and that the horses account for the largest share of consumption. Their presence adds a management challenge to an already stressed system, because water supplied to sustain animals during a drought is also being consumed by a population outside the sanctuary’s formal wildlife classification.
The figures illustrate the difference between a natural water system and an emergency supply chain. In normal conditions, wetlands, lakes, groundwater and seasonal rainfall provide water across multiple habitats. During this drought, the department is using tankers and decentralised tanks to recreate access points artificially. This can keep animals alive in the immediate term, but the source material does not establish whether tanker supply can be sustained throughout the dry period or how much it costs.
Groundwater is already under pressure. Officials report that the groundwater table has fallen, even as bore wells continue to be used at some sites. That creates a second layer of vulnerability: surface water bodies have dried, while the alternative underground source is becoming less reliable. The sanctuary’s water response is therefore not simply a question of transporting more water. It involves the declining availability of both visible and hidden water reserves.
The ecological effects are visible in animal movement. During dry periods, spotted deer and feral horses enter nearby villages in search of water. This exposes them to the risk of vehicle collisions and attacks by stray dogs. The forest department has stepped up patrolling in villages to track animals that move outside the sanctuary. The situation links wetland management directly to road safety, village-edge policing and the protection of people and animals beyond the reserve boundary.
The migration of birds is another indicator of the drought’s reach. Wildlife biologist I Arivu said the sanctuary is among the state’s most important bird-arrival sites, but that fewer migratory birds are currently being seen because of the drought. Arivu expects migratory bird numbers to increase once rainfall returns. That statement identifies rainfall as the immediate ecological trigger, but it does not establish how long the habitat will take to recover or whether the current drying pattern will affect future arrivals.
Point Calimere’s significance comes from this combination of ecological functions. It is a wetland complex, a wildlife habitat, a bird congregation site and a landscape connected to nearby villages. When its water bodies dry, the consequences are not contained within a boundary marked on a map. Animals move towards settlements, staff extend surveillance, tanker routes become part of conservation operations and a habitat that ordinarily stores water becomes dependent on purchased supply.
The institutional responsibilities are also distributed. The forest department is managing drinking points, tanker deliveries, bore wells, storage tanks, patrols and the movement of animals near villages. Forest range officials are dealing with the cleanliness and usability of troughs, while district-level forest administration is monitoring the broader drought response. The source does not identify a separate long-term drought adaptation plan, funding allocation or interdepartmental water-sharing arrangement for the sanctuary.
That absence is important in understanding the limits of the current response. The reported measures are designed around immediate access to drinking water. They do not, on the evidence supplied, amount to restoration of Muniyappan lake, replenishment of groundwater, recovery of dried marshes or a formal resolution of the feral-horse population. Nor does the material establish whether the sanctuary’s water points were designed for present animal numbers and rising heat conditions.
The crisis also demonstrates why protected areas cannot be treated as isolated conservation islands. Point Calimere’s water balance is experienced through wetlands, groundwater, village boundaries, roads and seasonal bird movements. The forest department can place tanks and patrol village approaches, but the underlying conditions involve rainfall failure, evaporation and declining groundwater. The sanctuary’s immediate needs are therefore connected to the wider management of water in the surrounding landscape.
The evidence currently confirms four linked changes: natural water bodies have dried; tanker deliveries and artificial tanks are supplying wildlife; groundwater availability has weakened; and animal and bird behaviour has been affected. It also shows that feral horses are consuming a significant share of the emergency supply and that animals entering villages face additional risks. What remains unclear is the duration, cost and long-term ecological effect of the tanker-based response.
The next significant milestone is rainfall and the return of water to the sanctuary’s wetlands, including Muniyappan lake. Until then, Point Calimere will continue to depend on daily logistics to compensate for a failing natural water cycle, while forest officials monitor animal movement, drinking-point conditions and the pressure placed on surrounding villages.
