BENGALURU: Noted wildlife conservationists and retired forest department official, Kotrangada Medappa Chinnappa (KM Chinnappa), breathed his last on Monday morning.”Chinnappa (84) had been sinking. He had health and age-related ailments for a long time. He suffered a heart attack on Monday morning at his house in Kumatoor Village, Srimangala, Kodagu District. He will be laid to rest on Tuesday,” said his family members.The news left a vacuum in the hearts and minds of many conservationists and forest officials who worked with him. Many conservationists and politicians, including leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka took to social media-X to express condolences. Ashoka in his X-post termed Chinnappa as a walking forest encyclopedia.“President of Wildlife First since 1995, Chinnappa was one of India’s most respected and well-known crusader for wildlife protection. Chinnappa is a shining example of how a tough forest official fought for tiger conservation against immense odds, inspiring others in the process. With his extraordinary field craft, toughness and bravery, he led from the front. As a result of his actions, wildlife populations had dramatically recovered by mid-1980s with densities higher than anywhere in Asia,” said Praveen Bhargav, Trustee, Wildlife First.Born in 1941, in Kumtur village near Nagarhole to a soldier father, who fought during the First World War, Chinnappa wanted to become a mustachioed soldier. He did become one but with a difference – he transformed into a gun-toting, frontline forest warrior.Chinnappa joined the forest service in 1967 as a Range Forest Officer. During his career, he faced numerous challenges. He became a one-man army to revive the Nagarhole forest which was under threat from poaching, rice cultivation, encroachment, and timber lobbying. While implementing a slew of measures initiated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Chinnappa paid a hefty personal price. He was arrested, jailed and transferred. His home was burnt down. In an interaction he said: “What’s the use of just going to office. I led a colourful life.”
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