Following the success of nature documentaries filmed in the Nilgiris, the demand from amateur photographers to capture images and footage of wildlife and landscapes from the district has increased exponentially. This has led to the proliferation of operators promising “wildlife experiences” across the Nilgiris who charge photographers steep prices to document wildlife.
However, the unregulated commercialisation of photographing the Nilgiris’ wildlife has led to huge problems for the Forest Department, which has begun acting against the operators of such unregulated photography tours.
One amateur photographer, who was part of one such group which operates out of Kotagiri recently, said that the recordings of the calls of rare and endemic birds are used by the operators to lure these species out into the open where they can be easily photographed. “The ethics of using such recorded birdcalls has been a matter of great debate among photographers, while these groups also use camera traps to get images and videos of wildlife,” said the photographer, who requested anonymity.
