194 people, 241 elephants killed since ’01

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The Assam Tribune, Guwahati, 18 July 2005 (www.assamtribune.com)

 

194 people, 241 elephants killed since '01

By Sivasish Thakur

GUWAHATI, July 17 – The man-elephant conflict in the State has once

again taken a turn for the worse with the unprecedented depredation

by a herd at Numaligarh in the past few weeks, resulting in the

death of eight persons. Over the past decade, the conflict has shown

little sign of abatement, with devastating consequences for both.

Since 2001 till mid-May 2005, 194 people have been killed by

elephants, while 241 elephants have died during the same period, of

which only 61 are natural deaths (including tiger attack, infighting

and senility). Poisoning, electrocution, accidents, poaching, etc.,

took a heavy toll, accounting for 118 deaths, while the reason

behind 62 casualties could not be established. The figures are as

per forest department data.

 

Rapid shrinkage of forest cover and large-scale encroachment on

elephant corridors are the main factors behind this escalating

conflict. The last decade has seen appalling destruction of forests,

something that is having a direct fallout in the form of the growing

elephant depredations and the resultant clash with humans.

 

" Elephants need large areas for their movement and the fast-

shrinking forest cover has compelled them to turn to cropland and

human settlements in search of food, " Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury, noted

conservationist, says. He feels that strict protection of the

existing forests and clearance of encroachment on the elephant

corridors is the only long-term solution to the conflict.

 

Sonitpur district, which suffered a record loss of 23,000 hectares

of forest cover in just four years from 1999, has naturally been the

worst hit by the menace. Reduced to a virtual human-elephant battle

zone, the district has stood witness to the death of 221 people and

48 elephants from 1991 to 2003. The damage to standing crops has

been equally devastating at Rs 1 crore a year.

 

While 2002 and 2003 respectively saw the maximum casualties for

humans (61) and elephants (75) in the State, the fatalities were

less during the first five months this year. But it took an ugly

turn in June, and during the following fortnight the Numaligarh

tragedy occurred. The presence of a rapidly expanding stone quarry

in close proximity to a known elephant corridor of the Kaziranga-

Karbi Anglong Elephant Reserve has been confirmed as the cause of

the unruly elephant behaviour. The forest department has constituted

a committee to study the situation and suggest remedial measures,

but much damage has already been done.

 

The man-elephant conflict becomes all the more saddening, and

ironical too, when viewed in the context of the age-old bond that

has existed between the people of Assam and elephants. Intrinsically

intertwined with Assamese folklore and culture, the elephant has

always been an object of love, reverence and worship for the people.

It is in Assam that the art of capturing elephants evolved before it

spread to other States. Even today, Assam and the North-east remain

one of the last few strongholds of the Asian elephant, harbouring

over one-third of the country's total elephant population. But the

alarming trend is that the elephant population has shown a steep

decline in all the north-eastern states in recent years.

 

Although the growing man-elephant conflict has now rendered the

elephant a most despicable enemy for many, a dispassionate analysis

of the situation will expose the humans as being solely responsible

for the sorry situation. Rampant destruction of forests and elephant

corridors has left the elephants with little room, leaving them with

no option other than to descend on cropland and human habitations.

 

The abnormal increase in the number of elephants suffering unnatural

death from poisoning, accidents, electrocution, etc., testifies the

growing magnitude of the man-elephant conflict. Driven out of their

natural habitat by human-induced factors, elephants often fall easy

prey to all sorts of accidents.

 

In the past decade, the North-east accounted for 90 per cent of the

elephant poisoning cases, 30 per cent of electrocution deaths and 60

per cent cases of elephants run over by trains besides 20 per cent

of elephant poaching cases.

 

It is hardly surprising that the North-east also accounts for 43 per

cent of the human deaths caused by elephants. The forest department

pays a compensation of Rs 40,000 for every human life lost besides

Rs 1,000 for crop loss per bigha up to a maximum of Rs 2,500. The

amount is paid out of the Central Government's Project Elephant

grants, which is meant for utilization in habitat management,

mitigation of conflict, payment of ex gratia relief for loss of

human lives and crop damage, strengthening of anti-poaching

measures, capacity building of field staffs, etc.