The continuous news of elephants falling prey to electric fences has certainly been a spot of bother for conservationists and elephant lovers in the South, especially in the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka that together along with Andhra Pradesh hold one of the largest elephant populations in the country.
In a recent incident, two elephants lost their lives to such a fence at Gudalur in Nilgris District of Tamil Nadu. The incident happened even as constant deaths of elephants caused by fences in Karnataka are still fresh in the memories. More than five elephants have been killed by fences in Karnataka in the last few months.
Being a pure act of violation, as the farmer who owns the fence gives the line directly to the main power source rather than the battery, such cases are examples of people’s hostility to animals, especially elephants.
Forget Ganesha, people have started seeing elephants as a pest and extremely hostile in their behaviour and mindset towards the pachyderm, for at the end of the day, their crops get damaged. But are these fences really aimed at keeping elephants away or killing them?
It is an undeniable fact that the elephant problem is a burning issue in many villages close to the Western Ghats, yet, in most cases of elephant deaths by fences or injuries by country bombs that eventually kill the animal, the real victim-to-be is another smaller mammal, that has turned out to be a master crop raider over the years.
Wild Bohrs, for long have created much trouble to farmers damaging crops of most kinds at night and crop raiding by wild bohrs is almost regular throughout the year in the Coimbatore Forest Division.
The damage caused by wild bohrs was so much that the State Government was forced to issue culling of the species. The order being very complicated as the procedure involved in culling is complex is still not welcome by farmers and they resort to dealing with the animal in one of the most brutal ways.
Unfortunately, elephants largely find themselves trapped in the traps aimed at wild bohrs. However, people only come to know of the violation when an animal as big as an elephant dies, as smaller mammals caught in such fences are easily disposed or consumed. The violators largely go unnoticed and no regular checking seems to be done by the authorities.
While fences are a major problem to elephants, country bombs that are kept to poach bohrs are also a major threat. In 2016 alone, more than six elephants were found with injuries in the mouth caused by such bombs. Again the number of injured elephants that did not show up after being injured and wild bohrs and other mammals that were killed could easily be above than the estimated number.
If the future should be without deaths on both the sides as even humans have found themselves killed by such fences in recent times, it is high time that authorities formulate methods to identify and punish violators and also bring about a solution to man-animal conflict.
In a recent incident, two elephants lost their lives to such a fence at Gudalur in Nilgris District of Tamil Nadu. The incident happened even as constant deaths of elephants caused by fences in Karnataka are still fresh in the memories. More than five elephants have been killed by fences in Karnataka in the last few months.
Being a pure act of violation, as the farmer who owns the fence gives the line directly to the main power source rather than the battery, such cases are examples of people’s hostility to animals, especially elephants.
Forget Ganesha, people have started seeing elephants as a pest and extremely hostile in their behaviour and mindset towards the pachyderm, for at the end of the day, their crops get damaged. But are these fences really aimed at keeping elephants away or killing them?
It is an undeniable fact that the elephant problem is a burning issue in many villages close to the Western Ghats, yet, in most cases of elephant deaths by fences or injuries by country bombs that eventually kill the animal, the real victim-to-be is another smaller mammal, that has turned out to be a master crop raider over the years.
Wild Bohrs, for long have created much trouble to farmers damaging crops of most kinds at night and crop raiding by wild bohrs is almost regular throughout the year in the Coimbatore Forest Division.
The damage caused by wild bohrs was so much that the State Government was forced to issue culling of the species. The order being very complicated as the procedure involved in culling is complex is still not welcome by farmers and they resort to dealing with the animal in one of the most brutal ways.
Unfortunately, elephants largely find themselves trapped in the traps aimed at wild bohrs. However, people only come to know of the violation when an animal as big as an elephant dies, as smaller mammals caught in such fences are easily disposed or consumed. The violators largely go unnoticed and no regular checking seems to be done by the authorities.
While fences are a major problem to elephants, country bombs that are kept to poach bohrs are also a major threat. In 2016 alone, more than six elephants were found with injuries in the mouth caused by such bombs. Again the number of injured elephants that did not show up after being injured and wild bohrs and other mammals that were killed could easily be above than the estimated number.
If the future should be without deaths on both the sides as even humans have found themselves killed by such fences in recent times, it is high time that authorities formulate methods to identify and punish violators and also bring about a solution to man-animal conflict.