INDIAN ELEPHANT STORIES

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The jumbo highway

Karnataka is the first in the country to notify an Elephant Corridor and two of

them are already in place including the Kanniyanpura Corridor near Moyar River

at the Bandipur National Park and the Bekkattur Arabikere Corridor that connects

the Kollegal Reserve Forest division to Billigiri Ranga Sanctuary, Malini

Shankar tells us.

 

 

The elephant corridors are part of the Elephant Reserve 7, which has been

christened the Mysore Elephant Reserve by the Karnataka Forest Department. This

Elephant Reserve 7 originates in the Nilgiris and connects the Eastern Ghats to

the Western Ghats, through the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.

This reserve further connects to the Brahmagiri Thirunelli Elephant Corridor.

Professor Raman Sukumar, chairman of the Centre For Ecological Sciences in the

Indian Institute of Science, a well-known pachyderm scientist, explains “the

land for the Arabikere corridor has been purchased by the Wildlife Trust of

India, in association with the Asian Elephant Research and Conservation Centre

and it will be eventually handed over to the State Forest Department so that

this land gets incorporated into the protected area and not diverted for any non

wildlife purpose.”

Protected area network

The Elephant Reserve seeks to provide a protected area network for the preferred

migratory paths of the gentle beast. This corridor connects Nilgiris through the

Erode Hills, Dharmapuri Hills, Thali forest to Anekal forests, the Bannerghatta

Biological Park, Cauvery Wildlife sanctuary, Malai Mahadeshwara Hills, Kollegal

forests, Sathyamangalam Plains, Billigiri Ranga Temple Wildlife Sanctuary,

Mudumalai, Bandipur National Park, (all Eastern Ghats) Wynad, WL sanctuary (in

Kerala) Nagarhole National Park, to Brahmagiri Hills in the Western Ghats. This

elephant reserve spreads over an area 6,724.87 square kilometres. This reserve

has the highest number of wild Asian elephant population in the whole world.

The purpose of the corridor is to provide connectivity of elephant habitats.

Since the habitat is getting fragmented, the need for strengthening these

connecting forest areas and migrating paths of the endangered Asian elephant is

critical.

The Kanniyanpura corridor was possible thanks to the funds that the Project

Elephant allocated to the Karnataka Forest Department. Says Prof Sukumar “the

idea is that the elephants should be able to use the said land to freely move

between the BRTWL sanctuary and the forests of the Kollegal division freely.”

The department bought additional 300 odd metres of land from the revenue

department near Moyar Gorge at the Karnataka-TN border. The extra land enabled

realignment of the elephant protection trench and then the corridor was no

longer just 50 metres at its narrowest point – it became 350 metres.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, facilitated the buying of this land

through the Project Elephant. Habitat conservation is crucial for conservation

of sustainable elephant population and conserving the genetic diversity of the

existing herds.

Besides, like Project Tiger, the Project Elephant too seeks to protect habitat

for a variety of endangered species like wild dogs, tigers, bos gaurus, sambar

and other kinds of deer, elephants, avian fauna smaller mammals and not the

least, reptiles, butterflies etc. Estimates of elephant population in this

reserve by wildlife biologists, forest officials and scientists vary; they opine

that there are atleast 4,500 to 8,000 elephants roaming in this vast area.

This is the largest elephant population in Asia and also the largest protected

area dedicated exclusively to the Asian elephant anywhere in the world.

Man-Elephant conflict

However the elephants do not exactly have green meadows everywhere to trumpet

home about. Realities like human-elephant conflict, fragmentation of habitat,

and poaching are the main challenges to elephant conservation.

Human-elephant conflict arises from shrinking elephant habitats - these are

habitats, which are usurped by man to cultivate food grains. Until land use

policy is legislated, encroachment will remain. Another reason is selective crop

raiding. Once elephants taste a certain crop there is no stopping them. Unless

we create enough awareness among poor farmers that they can indeed change

cropping patterns.

Plantation owners

“Plantation owners must abstain from burying illicit country made liquor on

forest fringe plantations. Farmers must also abstain from cultivating sugarcane

in farms that abut forest fringes. Compensation to farmers must be expedited and

scientifically validated.

The ideal solution would be alternate cropping and extensive buffer zone

plantations. Compensation remains a short-sighted method insofar as it is not a

long term solution,” opines Madhusudan, Project Officer of the Asian Elephant

Research and Conservation Centre in the Centre for Ecological Sciences at Indian

Institute of Science Bangalore.

Adds Prof Sukumar “there has to be a legislation to protect corridors. The land

use policy has to be defined and backed by administrative cooperation, and

political will.

Challenges to habitat conservation remain - in that revenue lands with forest

cover - titled C and D class lands have to be transferred to the forest

department, there will be opportunities to restore forest land as per the

stipulations of the Kyoto Protocol.” Other challenges include pockets of

plantations in the midst of forest areas where “estate owners have to be

persuaded not to undertake any developmental activity detrimental to elephant

movement.”

Tribals living in the migratory paths of elephants - elephant corridors - are

simply desperate to move out, as they are exhausted with human wildlife

conflict. All they want is a good rehabilitation package and viable good

alternatives to livelihood and sustenance. Again, it calls for political will.”

Capturing rogue elephants and relocating them is just as short sighted a

measure. Elephants with their spectacular memory are known to trace their

migratory paths back to home ranges. Besides it adversely affects the gene pool

and gender ratios in a particular herd. “For every elephant captured there is

one lesser male elephant in the wild,” says Madhusudan.

HABITAT CONSERVATION

As part of the thrust for habitat conservation, the forest department is

undertaking consolidation of habitat with measures like management of marshy

glades or swamps for fodder lands as well as fire lines management. This would

be physically separated from forest area by cattle proof and elephant proof

trenches, solar fencing will also buffer the forest areas. Besides, the marshy

glades serve another crucial purpose… “it enriches the fodder banks for

elephants within protected areas.

This helps in eliminating obnoxious weeds like Lantana, Eupatorium, Parthenium

among others” according to Deputy Conservator of Forests of the BRTWL sanctuary,

Dr C S Raju.

The forest department also claims to ‘adopt strategies to scientifically manage

forest fires’ in an effort to usher the growth of new crop of succulent grass at

the onset of monsoons.

This scientific management of forest fires, says the DCF, sterilises the

grasslands from spread of veterinary infections from grazing cattle and other

wild animals.

“It is simply shocking to see the Soligas graze cattle near the Dodda Sampige

Tree which is in the core area of the sanctuary,” says Nagendra, a wildlife

activist.

Denying that water holes create artificial density of wildlife, the DCF said,

“We have to undertake desilting of water holes, as even elephants can get

trapped in the silt. We study the geographical spread of the wildlife before

pitting water holes. Wild animals are not penned, thus they have to have their

range of distribution, which is possible with wildlife management strategies

like water holes, salt licks (for smaller herbivores), trenches, and the like;

water hole management is based on this premise. Infact we also study the

rainwater acquifers, water percolation-drainage patterns before deciding on

locations of the waterholes.”

 

Saving the Asian tusker is an elephantine task

http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress & subsection=inbo\

mbay & xfile=September2005_inbombay_standard7970

A STAFF REPORTER | Monday, September 19, 2005 13:8:41 IST

Threat to pachyderm comes not only from poaching for ivory but also from rapid

loss of its habitat

 

 

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WadiaMehraboon Irani

for :

 

Sanctuary Magazine together with DSP Merrill Lynch hosted an evening with

American wildlife biologist David Ferguson to discuss the future of the Asian

elephant in the country that worships the elephant God.

 

The two-hour seminar involved the screening of the film 'Elephant: God or

Destroyer?' by Krishnendu Bose followed by an interactive session. " We all need

to think about what we

are doing for wild elephants and their habitats. Threats to the elephant come

not only from poaching for ivory but also from the rapid loss of elephant

habitats, " said Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP Merrill Lynch and founder of the

Wildlife Conservation Trust.One of the largest threats to elephants is from the

destruction of forest corridors that are vital for elephants to move from one

forested area to another. From Assam to Kerala, highways, railway lines, human

settlements and logging, threaten elephant corridors.Said Bittu Sahgal,

Editor-Sanctuary Magazine, " By protecting our last few remaining wilderness, not

only do we save charismatic species of mega fauna like the tiger and the

elephant, but we also ensure the ecological

security of future generations of Indians.

 

At a time when Indian wildlife is facing a serious threat from poaching and

habitat destruction, the conservation community gathered together to suggest a

way forward.Not many may be aware that elephants are listed under the Schedule-I

of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act-1972 that offers them the highest legal

protection. In southern India, the poaching of bull tuskers for ivory has

drastically reduced their population, resulting in skewed sex ratios of wild

Asian elephants. " With India having the largest remaining portions of the Asian

elephant, the onus is on us to ensure that we make concerted efforts to prevent

the largest land-based mammal from facing human-induced extinction, " added

Sahgal.

 

Posted on 19 Sep 2005 # IANS

http://www.newkerala.com/newsdaily.php?action=fullnews & id=23849

 

Rajasthan to probe trampling of guide by elephant:

Jaipur: In the wake of a tour guide being trampled to death by an elephant last

week, Rajasthan has set up a committee to probe the causes of " unusual "

behaviour of elephants that ferry tourists to the Amber Fort here.

 

Thursday's incident - reportedly due to the animal's irritation at a camera

flashlight and in which two Belgian tourists were also injured - sparked off

safety fears at one of the three mightiest forts in and around Jaipur city.

 

" We decided to constitute a committee to go into the reasons behind the death of

(tour guide) Vinod Bhambha at Amber Fort, " a tourism department official told

IANS.

 

Elephant specialist from Mayanmar Cain U-Mar, forest officials and veterinary

doctors of NGO Help in Suffering are members of the committee, which has been

asked to submit its report in a week's time.

 

The committee will study the behaviour and health conditions of the elephants

used to ferry tourists in the fort. It will also probe the handling of elephants

by mahouts.

 

Each elephant's daily routine along with the basic facilities provided by its

owner will also be scrutinised.

 

Five years ago two Japanese women on an elephant ride escaped death by a whisker

when the animal carrying them fell into a 50-foot-deep ditch.

 

It was learnt later that the elephant was blind, leading to concerns about the

animals' health conditions.

 

The Tourist Guide Association (TGA) has claimed that 20 of the 117 elephants

used to ferry tourists to the famous fort were blind.

 

However, animal rage is also a potent factor in fatalities.

 

A youth was trampled to death by a mishandled pachyderm three years ago. The

furious elephant threw the youth over with its trunk and crushed him under its

foot.

 

About eight years ago, an elephant killed a mahout when denied a dip in a lake

near the fort.

 

Amber Fort is among the more popular tourist destinations in Rajasthan, which is

famous for its palaces and deserts.